A few hours' trek up did us good. We stopped at a nice hill top and sat
down for lunch.
Those of us are lucky who could enjoy the two beautiful faces of Kals -
one by the river and another up in the mountain. Not any other mountain
but Grossglockner, the king of Austrian mountains.
- Back
June in Alpine world is a time when the winter meets the summer.
In June 2018 we came back, for a third visit to Kals. Once here, we are
torn by the two temptations - the river and the mountain - usually end
up succumbing to them both!
Most of the serious climbers follow the path on the southern slope, which
we decided to try, though only the easy part with a bag of sandwiches and
a beer each.
The late afternoon sun travels through the stained glasses, casting mellow
lights inside the chapel.
The routes are shown on the leaflet you pick up at the bergbahn station,
and you will be guided by the wooden signposts along the paths.
On the skyline to the west, we saw another famous peak, Grossvenediger
shining in snow.
Up the slope at the back of the station, in10minutes you'd reach a height
where you can command a 360degree view.
Yes, you are now watching over more than 60 peaks beyond 3,000meters mark
- in one sweeping look!
Well, this isn't the end but only the beginning - this is indeed the starting
point of your trek.
Variety of hiking routes lasting 1-4hours can be chosen. Enjoy your day
in the heavenly world of 'Europa Panoramaweg'.
It takes half an hour to gain 1,000meters to the upper station, at 2,305m
above sea.
The air is infinitely clear and crisp. The sun is blindingly strong. We
were already in an alpine world, if not outer space yet.
Some interesting sights to see down in the village of Kals itself also.
The St. George church, built in the meadow just outside the village dates
back to 1366. The mixture of the architectural style - the bell tower in
Gothic and the chapel in Romanesque, is widely known, and loved as the
symbol of the village.
Casting its shadow in the quiet afternoon, the church emits somewhat lonesome,
nostalgic, yet peaceful atmosphere.
We hiked to Blauspitze (Blue peak) - 2 hours to and back. Steep steps at
places, with due amount of sweats and thrills, too.
A big cross stands on the summit, and a visitors' notebook was stored in
the iron cabinet at its base. We soaked in the alpine air to our heart's
content.
In the mountainous land of Japan and elsewhere, we had enjoyed fair number
of lifts before. But no, nowhere near as spectacular as this one here!
In late September there were few fellow tourists. Shame we couldn't share
our fun (and fear)!
Kals is situated at 1,350meters above sea. There are numerous hiking ways around. Some are for experts, while many for beginners.
For those of us not quite ready, there's a lift, Bergbahn. The return ticket
was misleadingly cheap at mere 12euro, but what a seeerious flying machine
it was!
In the south western part of Austria, as if to serve on Grossglockner, stand many rugged peaks exceeding 3,000m above sea.
Passing by the town of Matrei, we got on a steep zig zag road up the eastern
slope of Isel valley. After 15minutes' steep ascent, we were driving in
a peaceful meadow on top of the plateau. By the time we noticed the tall
Gothic church looming up ahead, we were almost there in the pastoral village
of Kals.
The peaks were covered in a thin layer of fresh snow. A gorgeous September
day.
- Europa Panoramaweg -
