Mallnitz

Train-free day today. After breakfast at the hotel, we trundled past the nearest supermarket to pick up some lunch as we began our hike up a nearby valley to Stappizer Lake and beyond. The first hour we were more or less on our own surrounded by unbelievable views. Part of our walk was also part of the Alpe Adria trail, a trail from the highest point of the Austrian Alps all the way to the Adriatic Sea.

We picked up some fellow hikers as we reached Ankogelbahn gondola and the beginning of Hohe Tauern National Park, but still not many. We walked through the the floor of the valley (ignoring the gondola, having done something similar yesterday), following a crystal clear river and spying multiple waterfalls in the surrounding mountain sides. We were able to scramble up to the base of one of the falls which was spectacular, save for a very dead goat decomposing in the pool. The route up was absolutely buzzing with critters - so many grasshoppers especially, some of which were huge. We had to deet up though, with flying critters galore.

We hiked passed Stappizer Lake and on to a pub/lodge at 1330m (just 100m higher than where we started) where we stopped for a restorative beverage (radler...because it was bloody hot, but we'd still earnt a drink!!). Hiking back, we cut slightly south on the valley floor and hiked through shady trees, reminiscent of Yosemite NP or Glacier NP. As we hiked we were treated to an amazing view of the mountains, trees and waterfalls that towered over a stampede of horses. We also came across as Eisloch - a spot where the glacial water seeping through from above created a drop in the temperature at the eisloch to just 4-6°. Unfortunately the shady path was closed towards the end so we had to ford the river, resulting in my rather wet feet.

As we again approached the gondola, the valley floor opened up, and the mid-afternoon sun was oppressively hot with very little shade. Once back in Mallnitz, we had a well-needed break in the room - we think B was still suffering a bit from the heat, which was unrelenting on the return journey. Once better, we popped out to a dinner of pizza. Mercifully we were sat discussing where we should go next whilst waiting, as it took an age for the food to arrive! Now, I'm sat in the window of our mountain view room, drinking a beer and admiring the view. Nearly 31,000 steps and 21.5km today according to Fitbit. On to Nuremberg tomorrow...we think!

Beer Index (Mallnitz) - €4.40/0.5lRead more