Here's a short account of my (hopefully temporary) farewell hike in the Wienerwald, source of so many blog entries and pleasant hikes over the lifetime of this blog! It had been years since I last climbed to the highest peak in the Wienerwald, the Schoepfl. It isn't too hard to reach with public transport but you do need to go rather early and on a Saturday via bus. Saturday is often ignored for hiking due to the fact that it's the only day off where the shops are open!
Nonetheless I managed to collect together a couple of companions and we set off on a perfect hiking day, warm and intermittently sunny but with plenty of clouds, breezes and fresh dew on the ground to ensure we weren't going to overheat. The hike heads pretty much immediately upward, past some very rural scenery. There are lots of farms in this area and something about it reminds me of Buckinghamshire, perhaps just that there is a lot of grass compared to other parts of the Wienerwald.
The Schoepfl itself however is steep and wooded, projecting up several hundred meters above the surrounding hills. As part of a large single ridge (of hard sandstone, geo-fans!) it really seems to catch the wind very well and it got a lot cooler and windier on the way up. For a few magical seconds we were in a thin misty cloud and the sun and shadows created
a crazy barred effect just like on Stuhleck that one time. But this was a lot more short lived and reaching the top of the stepp part we were greeted by a sunny overgrown meadow. We trekked up to the lookout tower for great views and really fierce winds, then dropped down to the shelter of the (closed for the holidays) gasthaus garden for lunch, accompanied by the loud baa-ing of a sheep herd who apparently had learned to beg for attention as if they were dogs...
The weather held as we completed the rest of the walk, crossing broad fields, teeming meadows, and shady woods, everywhere summer in obvious full swing. Towards the end we were greeted with the spectacle of a faraway rain shower, colouring the sky dark and moody. Dry ourselves, we dallied briefly picking raspberries before heading to the true and much longed-for destination of our hike: the village ice cream parlour! Nothing like tea and a massive ice cream bowl to round off a summer hike :-)
Foe-toes can be accessed by clicking on the green link!!
Bis bald,
Der Tom
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