 |
| Pre-breakfast view from our room |
We took the bus into Schnalstal/Valle Senales/Schnals Valley; the journey was an adventure in itself! The winding roads are very narrow in places, with sheer drops to one side and rocky walls to the other, but offering great views. I would not want to be a bus driver there! All oncoming traffic had to revert to where the two vehicles could pass each other.
After about 45 minutes of this, we got off the bus in the tiny village of Vernagt where we embarked on a hike around the man-made lake, a reservoir. Dense woods on one side and more open land on the other side made for a lot of variety.
Just before reaching one of the farms where we intended to stop for a shandy, I got stung by a horse-fly - twice, and through the fabric of my hiking trousers!! It hurt a LOT, and I didn‘t have a chance to defend myself - we‘d not seen it coming, and the fly landed on the back of my thigh.
O.K. made sure it was really gone, and I hurried to the farm where I went straight to the toilet and applied the insect stick I usually carry in my rucksack. The cooling effect helped a little, but for the next three days, I had a large red hard swelling on the back of my thigh and didn‘t dare using the sauna anymore for the rest of our stay.
Anyway, we had our shandy and then walked back to the bus stop, arriving at the hotel in time for coffee and cake on the sunlit terrace. I rested in our room, nursing my bites (actually, horse-flies do not bite, they sting) and leaving O.K. to go for a stint in the spa alone, before having a shower and change for dinner.
 |
| Sunset as seen from our room. |
 |
| Hand-stitched cloth on the wall at the farm where we stopped. |
I think those photos show the most stunning scenery of the trip. The lakes, mountains and pathways make great shots. The horse-fly sounds awful stinging through your hiking trousers. I have never been bitten or stung by one. I suppose the area you were hiking through was a perfect habitat for them.
ReplyDeleteAnother stunning scenery awaited us the next day, which you will see in my next post.
DeleteWhen the horse-fly stung me, I was standing near a field with cows - they love cows, not just horses. My arms and legs were well covered; I certainly did not expect to be stung through my trousers. Last time one of those flies got me, I was about 19 or 20. The reaction then was so bad I had to go to the doctor‘s and he gave me a tetanus shot. I was hardly able to walk stairs for several days becuase of the swelling and pain in my leg.
Oh, sorry to hear about that horsefly sting! Sounds painful. Did you try icing it? Some times that helps with stings.
ReplyDeleteThose views are amazing and your pictures are really fabulous, Meike!
The anti-insect bite stick has a cooling effect. Tips vary between applying heat (which makes sense because of the protein contained in the poison) and cooling, which also makes sense because of the swelling. I was just glad I didn‘t react the same way as when I was 19 (see my reply to Rachel).
DeleteThe pictures are a mix of mine and O.K.‘s. We enjoyed the scenery very much.
More wonderful views :) My favourite among this lot is the one with the building and terrace to the left and the lake down below. Sorry you got stung, glad it did not get "too" bad.
ReplyDeleteThat was the farm where we stopped for a shandy. The family live there all year round and have been doing so for many generations; it is considered one of the oldest and most beautiful of the traditional farm buildings in that area.
DeleteI can still feel where the horse-fly stung me, but the swelling and red patch are completely gone.