Bavaria and Middle Rhine

The weather is clearing, which is great for us, but it's been a dry summer here and they could use the rain. Busy day, with lots of pictures and excitement. First, a hike up to the Bindalm. This is the high pasture where the family whose farm we're staying at keeps their cows in the summer. If all goes well, they dress them up and parade them back down in the fall, which we won't be around to see.

We only had a few days here, and a lot we want to see. This was our first hike into the Alps. We walked back down to the village, not wanting to wait for the bus. I think we've got it figured out. The bus starts just outside the village and makes a loop, then goes back out, and vice versa, so I think you can catch it on either side and you'll get to where you're going in Ramsau eventually.

So we walked down to get the bus, instead of waiting up by the farm because we're not really bright. Bus comes, we get on with free guest card. YAY! It's crowded, and a lot of people get off at the same stop as we do. Most of them went the opposite direction though. Hmmm.

Anyway, we pass the entrance to the national park, pass the raptor wood carving, and keep going. It's nice. A little overcast, but green and cool. As we gain in elevation, we really see the mountains for the first time, cloud wreathed but visible at last. Then there are the cows, grazing peacefully off in the grass.

Then we come to the sketchy bridge. It's fairly new, built in 2010. A nice, swinging bridge over what would normally be a lively river, but due to the lateness of the season and lack of rain, it was pretty dry. Alternatively, it also looks like the kind of bridge a troll would live under (think Three Billy Goats Gruff). A lot of people turn back here, but not us.

Finally, after one more slope, we found the bindalm. There were two barns. We just randomly chose one. We went inside, and got our first cup of fresh from the cow milk and a ham sandwich. We sat around, enjoyed the view. We had a decision to make here: continue up the trail and over into Austria, or head back down and see things in the valley.

We opted to head down. I was tired. The slope leading away from the bindalm looked awfully steep, and I just wasn't up to it. Technically, our goal had been the cow pasture and we made it, so I didn't feel too bad. Now, we had the long walk back down.

As always: more photos on the FB page.Baca selengkapnya