On Wednesday, the 16th of September, we wanted to reach the highest mountain top nearby, the Riedberger Horn (1,787 m). And we did!
It was another sunny day and warm enough for short sleeves, but we still packed something warmer to cover up in case it would be windy and chilly further up.
A free bus ride (public transport for the area was included in the guest card every tourist receives at the hotels and holiday flats there) took us to Grasgehren, half way up the Riedberg pass road.
From there, the path to the Riedberger Horn is clearly signposted and well maintained - nonetheless, it is an ascent and had me panting and puffing away, as usual when going uphill. Even if I keep saying that, it does not mean I wasn't enjoying our hikes - I did, and do! It is good for me, physically and mentally, to do something that requires a real effort, and the feeling of having accomplished something with nothing but my own two legs. Plus the clean, fresh air and beautiful views make it all worth it anyway.
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| Another beautiful sunrise view from our room. |
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| Looking back towards Grasgehren. |
I am including a short video O.K. made with his mobile phone and hope it works for you. We found it amazing how well the sound of the cows' bells carried in this natural amphitheatre; they were actually rather far away:
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| The way we had come |
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| Riedberger Horn, 1,787 m |
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| View from the top along Balderschwang valley |
The path down on the other side of the mountain was rather steep and difficult on the first bit, but the rest of the descent was easier, and we were lucky in finding the "Mittlere Alpe" still open for business - time for a shandy with great views!
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| The path back down |
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| More silver thistle! |
Our tour leaflet suggested to either take the bus back from Grasgehren to Balderschwang or walk it. Guess what we did! Part of the path back took us across pastures still busy with cows, something I never feel entirely at ease about, but we made it through without trouble. Imagine my relief, though, when we finally left the pasture and closed the gate behind us!
Our hotel is somewhere around the bend, on the slope at the right-hand side of the valley.
A relatively long, comfortable stretch through woodland about half way up the slope followed before we reached the bottom of the valley again, where we walked along the stream. The meandering path is one I could easily walk every day back and forth and never get bored.
As the day before, we were back at the hotel still in time for coffee and cake on the terrace, a quick visit to the spa and then dinner before retreating to our room.
Beautiful video and the sound of the cow bells too - they make it extra special.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pat! Wherever we went, sooner or later we would always hear the bells. I am not sure whether they are a good idea from the animal protection's point of view, but their sound is definitely one of the typical things of the region associated with it.
DeleteGrand photos--love the panoramic and the sound of the cow bells. Enchanting. Also a lovely photo of you.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary! As for the cow bells, please see what I have written as a reply to the comment above yours.
DeleteStunning views! And I'm happy for you that you got such good weather for your holiday!
ReplyDeleteIt suited us, too - although we had been prepared for much cooler weather and packed many woolly wintery things, none of which were needed.
DeleteYes! I can see the video and very nice it is too! You know I am glad you walked back, I knew you would! Your smiling face shows how much you were enjoying yourself. I'm glad y'all had such a great hike in such a gorgeous spot.
ReplyDeleteThat shandy was such a welcome refreshment, but of course it was just one reason for me smiling like that :-)
DeleteTaking the bus back would have meant going back to the same spot where we started, and we knew there would not be any more steep ascents, so it was an easy decision :-)
The countryside is so lovely there! I love the video too along with the cow bells. We have lots of cows here but none with cow bells. That is a wonderful picture of you!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bonnie! I am in two minds about those cow bells, see my reply to Pat (the first comment on this post). It adds to the alpine atmosphere hearing them, but I am not sure what they do to the cow who has that clanging noise in her/his ears all day, every day, with every movement of the head.
DeleteWhat a beautiful, beautiful country you live in, my friend! I made one of these photos my desktop background, but I had a hard time picking one. :) I ended up choosing the second one after the video. And you look great! You're just beaming in that photo, and I can see how happy you were! This was a great post.
ReplyDeleteDear Jennifer, that is so nice to know you have one of my pictures as your desktop wallpaper! I like that picture, too; it shows how there are rows and rows of mountain ridges on the horizon, and yet another and another... seemingly stretching forever.
DeleteI love your photos and reading of these walks from Australia where we’ve been bushwalkers and cross country skiers from way back, but the mountains and ridges look a bit different. I don’t often comment but particularly enjoyed these posts and they beautifully evoke memories of walking in Austria and Switzerland and once in Germany.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jayview; I am glad that my mountain holiday posts brought up fond memories for you and made you comment.
DeleteAs we were so close to Austria, I am not surprised my pictures reminded you of walking in that country!
Very unusually I am in the living room with my laptop waiting for a concert by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. I decided to catch up on your holiday blogs and suddenly realised that I could watch your photos on the big screen of my television. So, having spent a few minutes reminding myself how to achieve that, that is what I did and and what I will do with the other posts later after the concert.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that it brought the whole walk to life and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I did, however, make me feel a little sad that all the hiking I did as a youngster is partly recorded in photos but not, like your walks, recorded in a way that I can now go back and enjoy them again.
I'm very glad that you enjoyed yourselves and that you have made it possible for us to enjoy your walks too.
I did try to watch the video before I cast the photos but couldn't. When I've sent this comment I'll re-load the page and try again.
Which I did successfully. Wonderful.
DeleteGraham, the possibility of looking at anything from my iphone or ipad on the big screen of my TV set is one I truly appreciate about my "Apple" devices. In the past few years, I have invited my family over after a holiday, to show them my pictures - a bit like having a slide show evening in the past, only less tedious (I hope!).
DeleteYour hikes can still be replayed in your mind, I guess, but yes, blogging about my holidays makes me relive them and stretch them out longer.
Also, when it comes to places where I have been before - such as on our Black Forest walks -, I enjoy looking at my own previous posts and compare what it was like there in a different season.
Glad to know the video also worked on the TV!