A Slice of Alpine Life

Next time you are tasked with the job of cutting your lawn consider the plight of the Austrian farming family

Whenever there are three consecutive hot, sunny, completely dry summer days, the farming community have to cut as much alpine meadow as possible on both the mountain slopes and in the valleys - this makes the precious winter fodder for their cattle. When the weather forecast is right the sounds of mowing in the Alps can be heard echoing around the valleys; on the second day the grass is lifted, turned, thrown in the air and made into furrows; on the third day the now dry alpine hay is gathered in to be safely stored away in barns. There is no shying away from the job, if the weather is right then the task must be done.

Depending on the location it is quite a feat to observe. The higher the meadow the harder the task.

This was taken half way up a mountain from a chair lift - it was much steeper than it appears - my camera lens zoomed down from on high

On the second day the hay is drying nicely; on the third very hot day we spent the morning walking but decided to return to the hotel and seek some shade on the balcony with our books. However, not much reading was done as we watch the extraordinary antics of a farmer and his family

A large tarpaulin white sheet was dragged up the mountain slope - mainly hidden from view by the tree

The farmer used a blower and rake to collect the hay together

I couldn't catch the next action as the tree blocked the cameras view - the farmer piled the hay on to the tarpaulin and made a large haystack. To our atonishment he then pulled the tarpaulin complete with haystack down the mountainside backwards - as the load gathered momentum he ran faster and faster, still backwards! - we watched with our hearts in our mouths until he reached safety at the bottom of the mountain - the whole process was repeated several times until all of the meadow grass was safely gathered in.

Job done - at least 6 little truck loads passed beneath our balcony on their way to the storage barns - the aroma of good hay smells sweet which this did.

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Some of the village decorative details that I admired

Trekking in the Stilluptal

It's early in the day, and we have already trekked down from the Grüne Wand mountain hütte at the head of this valley - the pathway travelled can be seen meandering off into the far distance. The Stilluptal is a beautiful 'U' shaped valley that was once home to a mighty glacier which has now split into three, two parts can still be seen on the mountain top, the third is hidden by crags. On the walk through the valley we counted 25 waterfalls cascading down its rocky sides, and our attention was continually captured by the abundance of alpine flowers

How lucky were we to have it all to ourselves apart from busy bees, butterflies, insects, and the inevitable cows. As well as enjoying the magnificient scenery I was in botany heaven. The Stillup Valley is privately owned by 15 local Mayrhofen families, and entry is allowed only with permission. 

The peace and silence only broken by the screech of a bird of prey patrolling the skies, distant waterfalls crashing down from on high, and in the meadows the pleasing dulcet tones of cow bells chiming in harmony

Years ago the farmers would travel up to these high alpine meadows with their cattle and stay from early summer until September. Today with the advent of their own power for milking the cows and 4WD vehicles it is not now necessary for them to remain in these high pastures for weeks on end.

This chalet is over 400 years old, and although no longer used as a residence it still provides shelter, and a place in which to work from and stay if necessary

It is these grazing traditions that have given the Alps their distinctive appearance of large flower strewn meadows that would originally have been covered in forest

Finally after several hours the end of the valley comes within sight terminating

 at a reservoir filled with turquoise glacial waters. This is the main source of hydro electric power for the whole of the Zillertal Valley. 

Time to enjoy our well earned ham and cheese rolls

and absorb our beautiful surroundings

Haflingers & Schnapps

 Schwendau is a beautiful little village in the Zillertal region of Austria lying in the middle of a fertile valley. It is criss-crossed by pathways through flower strewn alpine meadows and completely surrounded mountains.

one of several panoramic views from our balcony
The nearest shop was a 30 minute walk - a farming community whose men would meet in our chalet hotel most evenings to drink and socialise. Apart from the hotel, there was a young man making schnapps, fine brandy and sweet liqueurs from the local fruit.

Needless to say a bottle of delicious Apricot liqueur travelled back home with us.
 There was a breeder of Haflingers nearby. Do you know what Haflingers are? I know that my blogging friend Gina does.  

Apart from the Haflingers he also breeds these lovely big friendly dogs called Bernese mountain dogs. This is mum and these are her eight adoreable puppies.

Tyrolean Haflingers are beautiful mountain horses - pale chestnut in colour with flaxen manes and tails. The breed traces its uncertain ancestry back to the Middle Ages.  There are two main theories - the first is that they descended from horses abandoned in the Tyrolean valleys by Goths fleeing from Byzantine troops after the fall of Conze in 555 AD. The second theory is that they descended from a stallion from the Kingdom of Burgundy sent to Margrave Louis of Brandenburg by his father, Louis lV, the Holy Roman Emperor.  

the foals have curly manes and tails which become straight as they mature

This Tiroler Bergschaf sheep was the young distillery owners pride and joy - that is apart from his beautiful wife. A strange looking Tyrolean mountain sheep, but this is no ordinary sheep for he is a big prize winner. He would tower over other sheep as he has very, very long legs

Living all alone whilst waiting for another competition show day, he has five rabbits to keep him company. He wanted us to keep stroking him and was reluctant to let us go but.....

the mountain views from our other balcony were calling. This is the Ahornspitze rising to 2976m which conjured up fond memories for H. He went to Austria as a teenager with a walking group. However, on arrival he met an older experienced German climber who invited H to join him climb the Ahornspitze. They spent two days together getting to the top and back which included a night in a climbing hut. H recalls that in the hut was a long raised platform made from rustic wooden boards which everyone spending the night slept on whilst using their rucksacks as pillows - there were at least 12 others bedded down on the rack for the night. Today I imagine that the facilities are rather more sophisticated for the weary tired climber, but we wouldn't be checking them out for ourselves. The chair lifts would take us up and the long valley walks suffice. 

Thank you for your thoughtful comments on the previous post which I enjoyed reading on my return♡