The Saturday morning (I arrived Friday afternoon after our Rappenlochschlucht-walk, too late to do any exploring at "our" village) after breakfast, we set off on a walk to Schoppernau, the village just up the road from Au, where we were based.
Schoppernau has some very nice houses in the traditional style of the area. We found all of them well cared for, neat and tidy, with flowers on many windows.
As you can see, the weather was... shall I say, threatening with rain (and therefore a proper mountain hike did not seem feasible), but we kept dry throughout the walk.
These two views are back towards Au, about half way to Schoppernau. In the first picture, the rocky mountain to the left is the Kanisfluh, mentioned already a few times on my blog:
Schoppernau houses:
A mix of the very modern and the traditional:
This nice cat kept us company for quite a while:
The little church - which was surprisingly big inside. Unfortunately, the pictures I took of the baroque wall and ceiling frescoes came out too blurred to show them here. Preparations for a wedding plus christening were under way:
Making our way back via a slightly different route, but still coming up (of course) towards the Kanisfluh, because it is so close to our hotel:
I am still convinced these painted rocks were meant to be the Barbapapa family (you may not be familiar with them unless you were a kid in Europe in the 1970s), although the proportions are not quite right:
Time to head back to the hotel - coffees and cake were waiting there for us, and then another massage!
It looks like the clouds were hanging low and the light was rather grey but you made the most of things. The area looks wonderful.
ReplyDeleteIt was exactly as you describe, but it wasn't raining all the time we were out that day.
DeleteYou are intrepid walkers. I would probably have chickened out, being a bit of a fair-weather person.
ReplyDeleteGreat views and very attractive houses.
When it comes to going for a run, I am very much a fair-weather person, too. But walking - provided I have the right kind of coat and shoes on - is nearly independant of the weather for me.
DeleteOh you poor thing, that lovely walk in fresh air and gorgeous scenery and then you have to eat cake and have a massage! Life is tough! HA!
ReplyDeleteYes, it was really hard to fit all that into one day - and then hang out at the spa until it was time to get dressed for dinner (a 5 course affair every night...) :-D
DeleteWhat a beautiful place! It all looks so foreign and mysterious to me.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Kay's comments made me laugh.
It looks foreign to me, too, which is why I took so many pictures. Compared with the typical "Wälder" houses, the houses here in my town look plain and boring.
DeleteAnother wonderful walk which reminds me of parts of Bavaria, Switzerland and Northern Italy. Every time I see your walks with mountains and traditional houses I want to renew my acquaintance with the areas I mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard of the Barbapapa family. I shall away and look them up.
Oh. So now I know.
DeleteThey were a fixture on children's telly in my childhood, Graham. My sister and I loved them, and some years ago she gave me a rubber Barbabella who know sits on my book case.
DeleteI liked seeing how well people seem to be doing in that area. There seems to be a healthy mixture of economy going on, a lot of wood/timber/carpeting businesses plus the cows (both for milk and meat) are still playing an important role. Also, I was pleased to see even the small villages at elementary schools and good shops. Often, you find communities suffer when they are stripped of schools and shops etc. and all that there's left is a sleepy place during the day with nobody home.
I was not a kid in Europe in the '70s, but somehow I remember Barbapapa...But I'm not sure it was from Europe...What a lovely village this was, and you need a change from always sunny with blue skies! This was very atmospheric and you kept on walking. Nothing stops you!
ReplyDeleteWe were well equipped with rain coats and sturdy walking shoes, so indeed nothing (short of a blizzard) stopped us :-) And it wasn't even raining that day while we were out.
DeleteLovely collection of traditional buildings - and more dramatic clouds! And well spotted with the Barbapapas!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Monica!
DeleteYou know, maybe a massage after a walk is a good idea. I hadn't thought of that!
ReplyDeleteI remember Barbapappa. Even if the stones aren't intended to be them, they're rather cheerful, aren't they?
I love to see mountains with clouds floating around them, so you can see both clouds and mountains together. Trouble is the clouds often thicken up so the mountains disappear.
Some of the mountains were completely hidden from view, but we still knew they were there! O.K. had climbed several of them during the week before I arrived, so he could tell me exactly what was where.
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