Day 3: Velden am Wörrhersee to Baumgartenerhof

Guten Tag from Austria!

It was a long 15 mile day on the trail, but we were happy to dodge the rain and even caught a glimpse of the sun today!

Official first day on the Alpe Adria trail!

We left the youth hostel after a good breakfast and picked up a takeaway lunch for the trail.

Clouds covered the mountains for most of the morning, but by mid-afternoon, we were treated to views of the snow-covered peaks of the Julian Alps around us.

Our stop tonight is at the base of these peaks. Tomorrow’s trail follows the upper ridge on right side of this photo.

The trail was wonderfully varied today. We walked on roads, through small farming villages, residential neighborhoods, and serene forests. Here are a few pics from the trail:

Look Mom… a bottle tree!

Our trail passed by the ruins of a Romanesque castle called Finkenstein Castle. It first appeared in written history in 1142 AD. We didn’t explore, but enjoyed from below.

Pepper roasting! Not quite like hatch green chiles, but still very aromatic !

The walk wasn’t too difficult, aside from a steep 3-mile climb to reach our lodge for the night. It’s a beautiful alpine lodge with stunning views in every direction.

This direction shows valley we trekked through today. Way off in the distance we could even see the lake we stayed at last night (blocked by Bob’s head).

Oh gosh… our dinner tonight was absolutely unforgettable! We indulged in traditional Austrian cuisine at the lodge restaurant.

I had red deer ragout …

…and Bob enjoyed pork belly with a creamy sauerkraut .

We both started with “knoblauchcremesuppe” (garlic crème soup), which we’ll definitely try to recreate at home.

We’ve now settled in for the night to stretch our sore legs and get some much-needed rest.