Monday (30.09.2024) was our last day in Naturns - we'd be driving home the next day after breakfast.
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| View from our balcony last Monday. |
The weather looked a bit unsettled, and it wasn't clear on which side of the valley one would have the best chance at catching a bit of sun - turned out we chose the "wrong" side, but I didn't really mind. We still had a great hike up and down the mountains, through very varied terrain and with wonderful views across the valley and the city of Meran.
As before, we started by bus, getting off at the valley station of the Texelbahn on the outskirts of Partschins/Parcines. The Texelbahn is another one of the funiculars dotted around the area, and it allowed us to cover a difference in height of over 900 m within minutes.
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| Too early for us to stop, but I liked the name! |
From the top station, we walked past Giggelberg to Nasereit and then on to the Tablander Alm, one of the summer farms that offer hospitality as well.
The paths were extremely rocky in parts and not always easy to manage, but I fared better with the uphill bits than I had feared, and enjoyed the mysterious dark green woods and big moss-covered boulders and rocks very much.
We often stopped for the views (allowing me to catch my breath at the same time), and most of those pictures are O.K.'s; I didn't take all that many.
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| Nasereit. The flag of South Tyrol usually indicates that a place is open for business. |
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| This little block house tucked away from the main path belongs to the Anglers' Association. |
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At the Tablander Alm, a warm welcome by a friendly host awaited us, and we did not only order our customary shandy, but also had a bowl of soup each.
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| Tablander Alm. The stork sign near the door indicates that the family have a new baby. |
We then tackled the descent - without using the funicular, meaning we covered over 1,000 m of height difference hiking downhill on foot. It was challenging in parts, but we made it, and our knees were hardly protesting. It probably helped that we'd already been hiking up and down the mountains for over a week!
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| Tabland, a small settlement outside Partschins |
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| There, we spotted the largest parasol mushrooms I have ever seen - my pack of tissues is for size comparison. |
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| Typical mountain farm house for this area. |
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| And guess what - the sun appeared just as we were nearing the end of our hike! |
The hike was about 13.5 km long, not all that much in terms of length, but the terrain required good sturdy hiking boots and the leg power to match.
After a relatively short wait, the bus took us back to Naturns. As it was already 6:00 pm by the time we arrived at the hotel, there was no coffee and cake for us today, but we had ample time to shower and change for our last dinner here.
Another lovely walking experience - immersed in nature. You earned that huge glass vase filled with cold shandy. As for Giggelberg, it sounds like Giggleswick in North Yorkshire. I expect that people are always laughing in such places.
ReplyDeleteThey're not laughing when they have to check into rehab.
DeleteNeil, I was indeed thinking of Giggleswick when I saw the signs for Giggelberg. In my Swabian dialect, "giggeln" means the same as the English "giggle".
DeleteBeautiful landscape, looks like a great hiking destination. Looks like they drink a lot of beer and wine there, which is not good for anyone's health. Alcohol is a leading cause of cancer, heart and liver disease, the health benefits of all that nice walking can be cancelled out by beer drinking.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your concern, Anonymous.
DeleteIt is indeed a great hiking destination, and "they" do indeed drink a lot of beer and wine there, but probably not more so than in other regions of Europe. It is important that we all know our limits and remember that having a shandy during a hike and a glass of wine with dinner is the exception, not the norm.
Wow! what a hike, Meike! Those giant boulders must have tumbled down from above! Do you ever worry about falling rocks while you hike? The views are fabulous and I'm glad you finally got a bit of sunshine at the end.
ReplyDeleteWe usually do not hike in areas where there is current danger of rock falls, but of course I always look at the big ones and wonder what a huge noise they must have made when they came tumbling down those steep slopes - I certainly wouldn't want to be anywhere near them then!
DeleteThe sunshine at the end was welcome, but I really didn't mind that most of the hike was cloudy. A cloudy sky can be very atmospheric, too, and we'd had plenty of sun and blue skies the day before.
Glad you enjoyed your holiday.
ReplyDeleteWe did, Monica, thank you :-)
DeleteI enjoyed your walk and the photos in this last part are very good particularly when the sun shines. It is an area where hikers who read your blog and are looking for a holiday destination may like to go.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rachel. South Tyrol and especially this area (Vinschgau/Venosta) is very popular with hikers, walkers and cyclists, and all of them are well catered for in terms of infrastructure. People come mainly from nearby Germany, Austria, Switzerland and of course within Italy itself, since the trip can be made relatively easy by car.
DeleteWell that sounds like a healthy (and picturesque) outing! Giggelberg is a fabulous name.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it in spite (or because of?) the challenges, last but not least because I knew it was our last hike for quite a while.
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