Gschwandt

My original plan in Austria had been to head to Hallstatt, another tiny little town that’s found fame thanks to Instagram but it’s been raining since I arrived and it doesn’t seem to have any plan to stop soon.

On my arrival in Bad Goisern I’m greeted (or more accurately, tolerated) by the hostel owner who seems to be in the running to be the grumpiest man in Austria. The hostel is simple and clean and reminds me of hosteling as a kid (rain and all!) Since it’s a washout, visibility is low, and nothing in the town seems to open until tea time, I catch up on admin and laundry, and squish in a few naps.

Headlines inform me later that Slovenia has been victim to flash flooding with 3 people dead and most of the country having shut off main transport links on Friday after they received one month’s worth of rain in 24 hours. While I’m somewhat relieved that I crossed the border on Thursday just before the worst of it, I can’t help but feel a pang of sadness. Once again this trip seems to be bringing me up close and personal with the effects of climate change as Southern Europe and the Balkans are battling wave upon wave of extreme heat and flash floods almost one after the other.Read more