Highs and lows in Austria | 6

Day 7: A gorge and an identity crisis

The day started with rain and thunder – so I took a dip in the pool in the morning and swam lots of misshapen circles like a fish in a too tiny goldfish bowl. But then, at noon, the sky cleared up and it got sunny and hot. So we jumped in the car and drove to the Siegmund Thun Klamm in Kaprun for a short gorge hike. I had never been in a gorge before so I naturally was very excited and curious – unfortunately, since it was Sunday, the place was very crowded. I chose this gorge because the nearest one to Dienten (Liechtensteinklamm) was closed due to a rockslide and another one at close distance (Kitzlochklamm) offered a torch-lit hike on Tuesdays which I definitely wanted to join. Also, the Siegmund Thun Klamm is pretty small, only 320 meters – ideal for rookies like me. So how was it? Very impressive – I had never walked through a narrow canyon with this many waterfalls before. Also, the lighting in a gorge like this is heaven for ambitious fotographers; you can take various different shots from all possible angles – depending on the incidence of light your picture will look differently every time.

After exiting the gorge we kept on walking and circled the Klammsee which had the most beautiful clear blue water I have ever seen (check out the picture above). All in all it was a nice, not too intense afternoon walk.

We returned right on time for cake and decided – while indulging in multiple delicious pieces of apple strudel – to make the most of the perfect weather and go for another short hike in Dienten. The sun cast long shadows on the ground below us and the meadows shimmered faintly with the residual moisture of this morning’s rain. We had to pass several herds of cows which made me feel like a total country girl – just the opposite of what I feel like at home. “I could get used to that” I thought as we climbed up the hills, overlooking the tiny mountain village with the mighty Hochkönig in the background.

Lesson learnt today: “Zwei Herzen schlagen ach in meiner Brust” – I am a country girl trapped in a towns woman’s body, obviously.