This was not a walking day, but an exceptional day for views as the coach took us higher and higher to the very apex of Austria – the Grossglockner. The images speak for themselves, and although I could name ridges and mountains I doubt if you would care much. The glaciers have retreated enormously since I was last there in the 1960s. I remember having a snowball fight with my peers in this location, but there was not a drop of snow to be seen below the glacier level this year. There are numerous notice boards dotted around the visitor sites, explaining that the process of deglaciation is not uncommon in the vicinity if you look back over the aeons. Nonetheless the rate of change is quite remarkable as you will see from the photos.
and from former days:
After this, we travelled to the beautiful alpine village of Heilingenblut. This traditional village has an iconic church and tremendous views down the valley, but little else for the passing tourist unless you have time in your hands, in which case you could visit the waterfalls or amble along the valley. The church graveyard was beautifully maintained with flowers in every single grave and with photos of the departed in each one, enjoying the afterlife as in life, with the glacier in the background.
On this journey, I found it quite remarkable that where the glaciers would have combined to be a great force to be reckoned with, where the dams now exist across their exit down the mountain, there is only the merest sliver of land through which all the water would have had to travel when the snow melted. I imagine this must have caused catastrophic floods during its ancient history.
There were also some lovely alpine flowers including masses of purple gentian and a hapless butterfly feeding on a plant yet to be named.
Tomorrow I am planning a walk on my own again, after a trip up the Gondola to the top of the local mountain.
Walking with Gill 