Vogelbeer Panoramaweg Nature Walk

The hills are alive with the sound of … footsteps, chatter, picnics being unpacked, neighbours hailing each other in greeting. Yes, it was that time of the year again when Austrians escape the fog down in the valleys and head for the hills in search of winter sunshine.

I don’t know if it is anything to do with the covid situation, but I don’t think I’d ever seen so many walkers out, especially mid-week. There certainly seem to be a lot more people on the forest paths than on the shopping streets down in town on their way to the supermarket, post office, chemist’s and… Oh, I suppose that’s the end of the list of where they are allowed to go at the moment. No wonder they get the shopping done quickly and have time to go up the mountains.

En-route we briefly saw the effects of the freezing fog. What a wonderfully creative artist Mother Nature is! But by the time the Oldies had parked in the pretty village of St. Kathrein am Offenegg, the sun had long broken through.

Not only had we escaped the fog, but also the cold. St. Kathrein is a mere 10km from home, but it is worlds apart in terms of temperature. It was hard to believe that it was -1⁰C down there, +14⁰C up here! A quick glance at the Dynamic Duo as they puffed and panted their way uphill, shedding layers of clothing as they progressed upwards, was enough evidence of the rising temperature.

Typically, the Oldies just happened on the Vogelbeer Panoramaweg by accident, but if ever a walk had my name on it, it had to be this one. The literal translation of Vogelbeer is ‘bird berry’, the correct but more boring English version being mountain ash or rowan berry. The mountain ash certainly thrives up here and countless bunches of the vibrant red berries dotted the entire length of the well laid out panoramic trail.

I know that Austrians like their comforts, but I’d never seen so many wooden benches provided along a walk as on this one. No wonder it took the Oldies hours to complete this relatively short and easy walk. But I don’t blame them. Each bench is well positioned to take in the magnificent panorama and it’s practically impossible not to feel compelled to stop off to drink in the views.

Goodness, those views were quite magical. I kept thinking I was looking down on an ocean of fog, with the mountain tops peeking out (or peaking out?), forming islands. In spite of the altitude, this old seabird felt very much at home.

Speaking of which, our home town is down there … somewhere.

We also came across a giant ‘sofa’. It was a bit on the large side for me. In fact, it even dwarfed His Lordship which takes quite a bit of doing!

There were plenty of other gimmicks along the way to keep even the youngest hikers amused – a giant picture frame to pose in, various sculptures made of horseshoes and giant tubular bells to bang on in the Klangoase (sound oasis). I’ve no idea what the actual purpose of these bells is. They certainly make good bird scarers, reminiscent of the klapotec that scared the bejaysus out of me in Jeruzalem in Slovenia!

I was just puzzling over this constant human need to add value to something as simple as a nature walk, when we came across a very valuable installation indeed! Slap bang in the middle of the forest, some caring soul had thought to supply a forest bar.

It was self-service of course, complete with a nice solid bar table and even a loo. Perfect! I am sure that this has been here for years but in this time of covid restrictions it was a particularly welcome find.

As the route took us back down the hill toward St. Kathrein again, I could see Her Ladyship sending wistful glances towards Edelbrennerei Graf, Graf Distillery. She’s a big fan of their Vogelbeerschnaps, which supposedly has a very distinctive taste, reminiscent of marzipan. Because of the altitude, the rowan berries apparently ripen quite late in the season which gives them a more intense flavour. I am not surprised Herself likes the Vogelbeerschnaps, schaps and marzipan being two of her favourite things. It certainly doesn’t sound like something I’d go for, but I could be outnumbered on that point. The local birds are supposedly quite fond of the marzipan flavour of the berries – and of the alcohol that develops as the berries start to ferment with the early frosts.

I had been wondering about the overexcited birdsong I kept hearing along the way. Perhaps the fermenting berries had something to do with that. Uh oh, this bird berry walk could turn into a bird berry stagger if I’m not careful.

I think I’d better stick with the beer!