Hiking in Nassfeld!

Hiking in Nassfeld!

Yesterday we took the bus up to Sportgastein where the road ends at Nassfeld.  Spotgastein is not a town or even a village but a ski lift that is only open during the winter ski season.  It has one restaurant that is closed until winter.  Sportgastein is located at the entrance to Nassfeld, a beautiful alpine valley high above the tree line.  There are number of small farms in the valley and we could see small herds of milk cows and horses as we hike through the valley.  The farms are owned by families who supplement their farm income by creating small restaurants in their homes.  The food served here is simple but delicious – fresh bread, homemade cheese and home cured ham.  You can also purchased “spritzers” made from local berries, beer, wine and schnapps.  The last summer that we were here it was much colder.  I remember when we stopped at one of the alms (farm restaurant) for lunch we sat outside but were bundled up in our jackets against at very cold and cutting wind.  Yesterday when we stopped for lunch, the weather was perfect – the sun was warm with a cool breeze.  We could enjoy the incredibly gorgeous scenery while enjoying our lunch.  There is not much to eat there for a vegan – ham, cheese, milk, butter and butter milk so I had a piece of fresh bread with jam while Doris enjoyed an open face ham sandwich with fresh butter.  Doris also bought some cheese to take home with us.  Doris had to break off a piece of the cheese before we even left the restaurant – delicious. 

After hiking across the Nassfeld we hike up the mountain toward the Hagener Hütte where we had a panoramic view of the Nassfield.  It’s hard to describe the beauty of the mountains and the Nassfeld.  Both the mountains and the Nassfeld are covered with flowers – red, blue, purple, yellow and occasionally white flowers.  The flowers are set against multiple shades of green that give a subtle backdrop the panoramic view.  As you ascend or descend the mountain the flowers change – some disappear and others begin.  I would see an occasional, solitary flower – different from all of the other flowers – which would multiply as I changed altitude and the more numerous flowers would begin to fade.  I saw butterflies, bees and several kinds of ants toiling away oblivious to my existence.  Doris and I stopped at a small stream that flowed down through the Nassfeld from the snow capped mountains.  I took my boots off and sat on the bank, dangling my feet in the water.  Within a few seconds my feet were numb so I quickly pulled them out of the water while Doris is standing knee-deep in a pool at the bottom of a small waterfall, the rushing water massaging her legs.  I waited a minute, five minutes or more waiting for her to emerge from the cold, icy water but she stood there like some mountain nymph oblivious to the bone chilling cold of the water as she experienced some kind of aquatic bliss with a large, beatific smile of joy on her face.  Doris and water – it is a mystery beyond my imagination.

We finished out hike of the Nassfeld and arrived back at Sportgastein.  Rather than wait for the bus there, we decided to hike down the upper valley to Böckstein where we would catch the bus back to Bad Hofgastein.  The path down the valley meanders along a rushing mountain stream with numerous waterfalls.  The stream is tree lined and the wide banks of the small mountain streams that flow into the river are still covered in places by a sheet of ice 3-4 feet thick.  The ice is dirty from dirt washed down from the spring thaw and the streams have undercut the ice during the summer so they flow freely down to the river on the valley floor.  We met hikers and mountain bikes on our way down.  It was a 2 hour hike from Sportgastein to the bus stop in Böckstein and we arrive 15 minutes before the bus was due.  The ride back to Bad Hofgastein was scenic as always.  I enjoy riding through Bad Gastein with its picturesque hotels built on terraces that make them appeared to be suspended in the sky.  It has a slightly other-age elegance that I find incredibly charming.

Doris has finished her newspaper so I will finish my blog for today so we can plan our day – maybe a lazy day after so much hiking and swimming.