Our last day in Austria was Tuesday, 8 September. We wanted to mark it with a "Grande Finale" as our good-bye hike and chose the Damüls round tour we'd done three years ago. Click here if you want to read my post from back then and see the pictures.
It was once more a sunny and warm day at 29C/84F, but most of the hike was going to be at around 2,000 m above sea level, where it was going to be a bit cooler.
The view from our balcony at 7:42 that morning
To get to the start of the tour, we opted for the car; it is possible to reach Damüls by bus, but it would have involved changes with longish waits in between.
From the parking lot, a funicular took us up to 1,800 m.
The path leads up and down several hills and covers two peaks rising above 2,000 m, the Hochblanken and Ragazer Blanken, not far apart.
The landscape has many more features apart from the rugged peaks; there is also a water reservoir (man-made) and a natural lake further on. Alpine plants, some of them rare, line the way; there are butterflies and birds, and somewhere in the distance you nearly always hear cow bells, even though we didn't come close to their pastures this time.
As always, I found the uphill bits challenging, and some paths required me to use not just my feet but also my hands, they were so steep and rocky.
Naturally, the views made it all worth while, and the fresh air and sunshine felt so good.
O.K.'s shadow hovering over me as I use my hands to climb Ragazer Blanken :-D
We walked for about 3 hours and 45 minutes, climbed 500 m up and more than 800 down (which presented its own challenges). It truly was the grand final we had wanted!
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I remembered this small private chapel from 2023. |
Dinner at the hotel seemed even more delicious than usual, but maybe it was us knowing that we'd have to leave the next day after breakfast. An evening walk after the meal allowed us to take in the sunset and say "good-bye" to Bizau.
Wow! What views and what an amazing hike! Just like my comment in 2023, I am always impressed by the skies! So lovely. I did want to see a photo of you and your husband sitting on that bench with the heart behind you but I remembered that OK does not like to be photographed. :)
ReplyDeleteThere is a photo of the two of us on that bench, but O.K. does not want his photo to be published on my blog. He doesn't mind being photographed, he just doesn't want to be "made public" on here, and of course I respect that. Our wedding picture was an exception :-)
DeleteI’ve really enjoyed all your holiday photographs. The scenery is wonderful , such big views & so green . My husband & I have always been walkers but steep inclines make me quite bad tempered . Thanks for taking me along to enjoy the views .
ReplyDeleteWendy in York
Thank you for "coming alng", Wendy!
DeleteThose big skies and panoramic views are what keeps drawing us to the mountains for our holidays. I can walk for hours on relatively even ground without tiring much, but steep inclines are a real challenge every time.
Goodbye to Bizau ?
ReplyDeleteNot so fast, Meike. I'm not ready for das Lebewohl.
I'm having too good a time here. I'm feeling like Hamish MacInnes in dreamland.
How did the Furnicular feel ? Were you both suspended like angels in the Empyrean ?
I could drink the blue of that reservoir. Hochblanken. Ragazer Blanken. Gilded names.
The craggy peaks are what God gave to Cain. A crocodile's teeth of them far far away.
O.K.'s shadow left its imprint on the rockface as you clambered up with both hands.
A four hour hike. Cowbells ringing as you reached the heights. Perfect photo of you !
How was the descent ?
DeleteAs I said, the descent presented its own challenge. You see how rocky and narrow the path was in places, and because it was so very dry everywhere, the loose bits of rock came away under our feet easily. I often detoured on the grass to give the soles of my hiking boots a firmer grip.
DeleteThe funicular was comfortable, nice and easy. No being suspended in the air like angels! In front of us was a couple with a dog; they took the dog in the middle and kept hold of him during the journey.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE every single photo! You know how much I love the heart shape behind the bench. It looks as if it is made of wood and is just perfect. Of course, the food was wonderful, after all that exercise, I bet you would have thought even MY cooking was good. LOL! Okay, just going back now to look at your photos again and simply enjoy. Thanks for sharing this with us!
ReplyDeleteYou know I was thinking of you when I added the photo with the heart shaped frame around the bench to the post :-) It is made of wood, like the bench itself. Wood is the one commodity that is easily had all around Bregenzerwald, and often even the smallest village has wood-working companies such as joiners and carpenters.
DeleteThank YOU for reading and commenting!
❤️
DeleteI am out of breath just looking at the pictures of your hike. What a beautiful view.
ReplyDeleteHello Katie!
DeleteThose views were even more beautiful in real life, but the pictures give a pretty good impression.
The views are breathtakingly beautiful and the chapel and heart shaped bench very charming.
ReplyDeleteThe hike was really appropriate as our good-bye to this beautiful part of the world.
DeleteHow beautiful. In fact, I just set one of the photos as my computer background (#14).
ReplyDeleteThat's nice to know, Jennifer! What I can't remember is whether O.K. or I took that picture, because this post contains a mix of both.
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