Its been two hours since we left home,driving through country roads till we reach theautobhan and then its a long stretch of the most beautiful road with picturesque views on either side and not a pothole in sight.Not once does a pedestrian cross unexpectedly no do animals amble along the roads as they do here at home.
As we cross the boarder from Germany to Austria we are told that the beauty will be breathtaking.Unfortunately we are delayed and by the time we reach the rain is beating a steady rhythm on the roof of the car and the light fades and all we can see are looming shadows which look menacing in the dark.We arrive finally at a little village at the foot of the alps and are shown to our apartment which is a well appointed two room home for the next three days.We try opening the windows but the icy blast of an alpine wind makes us close it in a hurry.We snuggle up in soft feather pillows and equally soft duvets and drift off to sleep and the silence ensures we have a deep and dreamless sleep.
We wake next morning to a view that will forever stay in my memory as the most beautiful way to wake up.As I stretch lazily in bed the mountains beckon blue and inviting.Outside the window is the most pretty cottage I have seen,all wood,lace curtains twitch and the windows burst with flowerbed in a profusion of colour.I jump out to take it in and as i stand on the balcony the view outside is different.The grass is emerald green,the houses a deep dark wood interspersed with flowers and the village is surrounded by high alps.Some blue with pine trees,some with a touch of snow in the higher peaks.The air is so fresh my lungs (used as they are to polluted air) gasp at the purity of it all.I breath deep and get a mixture of fresh earth drenched in rain and mixed with hay and pine.
This is a little bit of Paradise I think until I am told that the day involves a climb into the high mountains.Used as I am to walking on concrete in a city with hardly any green,I am daunted at the very thought but looking around the cottage there are a multitude of reminders that god alone can help me get there.I pray a silent prayer and quote the psalm and literally lift up my eyes to the hills from where i hope to get help.
We set off at a steady pace and the walking isn't all that bad.We decide to talk a small walk up some nursery slopes (by Austrian standards) and walk all the way past the village.As we leave,we see less and less of people and the country side become more stark.The silence engulfs us and its a silence broken not by words but by the tinkling of cow bells and music from some distant churches.The hill seem to be alive with the sound of music but created by bells,the whistling of the wind in the trees and by the silence of the mountains.
We reach the lake and its emerald green perfection is broken only by a duck or two but otherwise its still.We stop to throw pebbles to create ripples and continue to walk.The path narrows and become steeper and my muscles grown with every step.Determined to do this I slow my pace,breath deep and find myself a pine stick to help me up.Its a slow amble but the stillness is what is the beauty as we walk in silence with our breaths breathing little rings as the air get colder and colder.We finally reach our waterfall and stop to wonder at natures beauty and drink from clear mountain springs.The water is clear and cold and refreshing so we wait awhile to enjoy it.The walk back is even better.Leaving the regular path we decide to take the forest path that meander through tall pine forests with gurgling brooks and gushing waterfalls.A lone bird sings in the trees and content cows munch the grass in such beautiful surrounding that I wonder how the milk must taste in these parts.We stop right there to drink fresh milk in an alpine cottage and fest at the creaminess of the milk.Its wholesome goodness is manna to the system.I gulp in a large glass and set off once again.
A lunch break at a lakeside place gives us yet another sense of the majesty of nature.In a space of some ten minutes while we wait for lunch,the alps put up a performance that no theater can beat.The rain falls like a torrent and the clouds turn dark and gloomy and threatening.Suddenly it stops and the light is back the sun shine albeit a pale sun but its back,then just as we bask in the warm sunshine,the clouds decent and once again we are shrouded in cold cloud.We reach out to feel the vapours and just as suddenly it all changes and we are faced with a clear bright day,the sun is shining with even more warmth,and the mountains and visible once again.We marvel at the performance and understand why the mountains are dotted with beautiful churches all singing praised to god and nature.We marvel at the simplicity of the people who live with nature and its many moods.People to whom all this is a way of life ,who graze their cows and sheep in the high alps and bring them down in the harsh winters.They breath clean air,untouched by multitudes of tourists,make their own cheese,butter and eat meat from animals reared on fresh grass and greens.
I offer a silent prayer of thanks to have been this close to such beauty.To see the world from the eyes of local people to be so far removed from the sweat and grime of my everyday life is truly a blessing.A memory to be cherished and enjoyed.
As we cross the boarder from Germany to Austria we are told that the beauty will be breathtaking.Unfortunately we are delayed and by the time we reach the rain is beating a steady rhythm on the roof of the car and the light fades and all we can see are looming shadows which look menacing in the dark.We arrive finally at a little village at the foot of the alps and are shown to our apartment which is a well appointed two room home for the next three days.We try opening the windows but the icy blast of an alpine wind makes us close it in a hurry.We snuggle up in soft feather pillows and equally soft duvets and drift off to sleep and the silence ensures we have a deep and dreamless sleep.
We wake next morning to a view that will forever stay in my memory as the most beautiful way to wake up.As I stretch lazily in bed the mountains beckon blue and inviting.Outside the window is the most pretty cottage I have seen,all wood,lace curtains twitch and the windows burst with flowerbed in a profusion of colour.I jump out to take it in and as i stand on the balcony the view outside is different.The grass is emerald green,the houses a deep dark wood interspersed with flowers and the village is surrounded by high alps.Some blue with pine trees,some with a touch of snow in the higher peaks.The air is so fresh my lungs (used as they are to polluted air) gasp at the purity of it all.I breath deep and get a mixture of fresh earth drenched in rain and mixed with hay and pine.
This is a little bit of Paradise I think until I am told that the day involves a climb into the high mountains.Used as I am to walking on concrete in a city with hardly any green,I am daunted at the very thought but looking around the cottage there are a multitude of reminders that god alone can help me get there.I pray a silent prayer and quote the psalm and literally lift up my eyes to the hills from where i hope to get help.
We set off at a steady pace and the walking isn't all that bad.We decide to talk a small walk up some nursery slopes (by Austrian standards) and walk all the way past the village.As we leave,we see less and less of people and the country side become more stark.The silence engulfs us and its a silence broken not by words but by the tinkling of cow bells and music from some distant churches.The hill seem to be alive with the sound of music but created by bells,the whistling of the wind in the trees and by the silence of the mountains.
We reach the lake and its emerald green perfection is broken only by a duck or two but otherwise its still.We stop to throw pebbles to create ripples and continue to walk.The path narrows and become steeper and my muscles grown with every step.Determined to do this I slow my pace,breath deep and find myself a pine stick to help me up.Its a slow amble but the stillness is what is the beauty as we walk in silence with our breaths breathing little rings as the air get colder and colder.We finally reach our waterfall and stop to wonder at natures beauty and drink from clear mountain springs.The water is clear and cold and refreshing so we wait awhile to enjoy it.The walk back is even better.Leaving the regular path we decide to take the forest path that meander through tall pine forests with gurgling brooks and gushing waterfalls.A lone bird sings in the trees and content cows munch the grass in such beautiful surrounding that I wonder how the milk must taste in these parts.We stop right there to drink fresh milk in an alpine cottage and fest at the creaminess of the milk.Its wholesome goodness is manna to the system.I gulp in a large glass and set off once again.
A lunch break at a lakeside place gives us yet another sense of the majesty of nature.In a space of some ten minutes while we wait for lunch,the alps put up a performance that no theater can beat.The rain falls like a torrent and the clouds turn dark and gloomy and threatening.Suddenly it stops and the light is back the sun shine albeit a pale sun but its back,then just as we bask in the warm sunshine,the clouds decent and once again we are shrouded in cold cloud.We reach out to feel the vapours and just as suddenly it all changes and we are faced with a clear bright day,the sun is shining with even more warmth,and the mountains and visible once again.We marvel at the performance and understand why the mountains are dotted with beautiful churches all singing praised to god and nature.We marvel at the simplicity of the people who live with nature and its many moods.People to whom all this is a way of life ,who graze their cows and sheep in the high alps and bring them down in the harsh winters.They breath clean air,untouched by multitudes of tourists,make their own cheese,butter and eat meat from animals reared on fresh grass and greens.
I offer a silent prayer of thanks to have been this close to such beauty.To see the world from the eyes of local people to be so far removed from the sweat and grime of my everyday life is truly a blessing.A memory to be cherished and enjoyed.
