Cafe Culture

On the sunny SW side of the valley and about 35 minutes walking uphill from home is the Annen Cafe. Its a lovely family run spot with fantastic views. It looks just how you'd expect an Austrian mountain cafe to look. Lots of distressed wood and carvings. Surprisingly, this part of the building wasn't even here 6 months ago, they have brought it in from the Tyrol. The family is justly proud of what they have put together, its idyllic and well worth the walk.

I earned my beer today as I have been painting windows ready for the winter.
Going to buy paint locally is always a fun experience.
Once the colour is chosen from a pallet they will always try an up sell, oh you will need to clean the wood so you need this solvent, and this cleaning material is essential etc. I did pretty well with my German initially, I knew what I wanted and what it was called but the intricacies of painting windows in Austria beat me. Oh and you need to stir the paint for two minutes so here is a free stirrer. Bit of a difference from B & Q.
Last time I bought emulsion here for the walls I ended up with a hat and tee shirt (as well as the paint).

Postcard from Bad Hofgastein in October

Like a coin the valley has two sides.

One side of the valley faces North East and has all the skiing. The mountain restaurants on that side are now closed and the lifts are taking a rest until December. The other South West facing side is more for the walkers and has some excellent cafes dotted around, all with sun terraces. You are never too far from an apple strudel!

The sun drops behind the mountain soon after 3pm if you are down in the valley. When it hides it's just like the fridge door has been opened. The light's on but theres a cool blast of air.

Up the South West hill there's an extra hour of solar warmth.

School time is definitely rush hour. They start at eight in the morning and the streets are swarming with older kids on bikes and the younger kids carrying multi-coloured back-packs. Don't see any parental school runs and less Chelsea tractors than you see at home which is bizarre when you consider the relative terrains. The kids seem quite happy jumping off the buses from the local farms and hamlets. Much of the town is pedestrianised so morning trips to get fresh bread can be a bit hazardous as they tend to swarm in groups across the streets. Good excuse for going out later!

There is a big tourism college in town, students come from all over the region. Tourism is a major industry and working in a hotel or in catering is seen as a proper job and people get trained. They seem a happy, lively lot anyway.

As for the weather, its been a lot brighter of late and good for cycling. No problem staying warm on the ascents but need to wrap up for the downhill. It takes so long getting to the top of the hill but then a fraction of the time to get to the bottom even with the brakes on. Did my own personal Mont Ventoux, not nearly as steep or as long as the real thing, only up to 1200m, but a regular challenge as its a climb all the way.

Bad Hofgastein beat local rivals Radstadt 6 – 2 so that was good. Football looks to be a decent standard and is played on Astroturf. A crowd of about 100 saw the match from the touchline, no stands yet.

Sauna you than me

Across the road from us is the Palace Hotel which is pretty convenient because we can use their indoor tennis courts and their swimming and sauna area. The Hotel might be considered to be a bit dated, I think if you were building a hotel today in the style of the 70's and 80's this hostelry would give some creative inspiration. Bring back those Formica Years! It seems popular all year, the car park is always full with Austrian and German plates. Probably the buffet dinner, with beer and wine included, is a success factor. Need to be quick off the mark before all the puds disappear though!
They seem to have a formula that works and know their customers.
For example, the sign telling people not to reserve sun loungers is only in German. The sign telling people not to wear swimming costumes in the sauna is only in English and Italian.
Modesty must be language specific.

One feature of the Austrian Sauna to be wary of is the Aufguss. This is where one of the victims, or the attendant, pours water on the stones and then waves a towel like a demented football supporter to direct the super-heated steam to the furthest corners of the wooden box. If you know Aufguss is coming you have the opportunity to beat a swift retreat. If you are caught unawares its a brave man or woman who tries to open the door and escape during an Aufguss. Imagine your welcome to Hell - a fire breathing dragon burning the flesh from your back, yes that's Aufguss. Still might be favoured over the abuse you'll get if you try and leave in the middle though!
Anyway, the sauna visit brings to mind the old joke – two old colonial types are sitting in their club when an elderly woman 'streaks' through the lounge. One old boy says to the other, “what on earth did she have on?”. “No idea old boy, but it needed ironing!”

The swimming pool gave me a first, Aqua Aerobics! I was happily honing my new found swimming skills when we failed to notice a fitness instructor had landed and all the residents were getting ready for their afternoon session. The pool steps had been blocked, there was no escape! “You vill exercise now”. Being severely uncoordinated this was a bit of a concern however 1.5m water hid my lack of balance and timing and I survived the 30 mins without too many reprimands and I don't think I injured anyone.
The swimming and sauna costs 9 Euro each and the tennis is 12 Euro for the court.

Postcard from Dorfgastein in October 2009

Dorfgastein is the smallest and arguably the prettiest of the three towns in the valley. Its certainly the most rural. There's a distinct farmyard smell about the place. Many of the visitors here are Dutch for some reason, there's a joke there somewhere. It has excellent ski runs and links to Grossarl in the neighbouring valley. The ski area doesn't link to Bad Hofgastein but there's a free bus down the Valley in Winter that takes about 15 minutes..
In summer its great for walking, the Gondola normally runs every half-hour. For bikers and there is a smooth and easy cycle ride, mainly off-road, from Bad Hofgastein to Dorfgastein and back.

The pins are definitely stiffening up after all the walking we have been doing! Nothing like walking downhill to make the legs ache.

Trachtenmusikapelle Bad Hofgastein

As we are now officially tight wads we are always on the look out for some free entertainment. This is one of the local bands putting on an Autumn concert in the Kursaal. There's a whole mix of ages in the band and they sound pretty good. The programme is mainly folksy with one or two Strauss standards. The difficult part to sit through is the long verbal preamble before each song given by one of the members. Also, before the concert started, we had a lengthy introduction of all the local worthies in the audience, people like the Burgemeister. So it's a big relief when the band finally strikes up. Its probably a clever ploy, nobody cares about a few duff notes after all the waffle.

A Gold miners lunch!

Traditional lunch-time fare here is Tyroler Grostl. It consists of chopped up ham, meat and potatoes with herbs all topped off with a fried egg – lovely.

Back in time, in the 15^th and 16^th century this was a big gold mining area. One of the local attractions is the Heilstollen which is a disused mine. I was told that it was dug in the early 40's when the 3rd Reich wanted some silver. The miners digging it felt as fit as fleas, they found good health but no precious metal. The high humidity and radon gas in the tunnels are alleged to be great for giving relief from respiratory complaints, arthritis and rheumatism. Apparently you go into the tunnels on a old mining railway. Its a really big operation and includes a medical centre. You have to have a medical before they will let you down there though. Some of the older people swear by Radon treatments, including our next but one neighbour who is in her eighties and still plays golf. I suppose when you get to her age its too late to bother about any possibly nasty side effects.

Bad Hofgastein – a Polar Expedition

A few of our ski lifts run in summer to get walkers and families to
the top of the mountain without too much effort. Once at the top, over 2000m, walks radiate in all directions and have varying degrees of difficulty, marked blue, red and black. Some of todays punters were quite happy sauntering around or having snowball fights or sitting on the sunny terrace with a beer and a strudel. Anyway, we set off on a walk down to the middle station. Its a bit late in the season so some of the mountain huts (Alms) are closed so we could not plan a route with nice lunch spot. Many of the farms in the valley take their cows up the hill to the summer pastures and a nice sideline is to open the Alm to serve beer and simple food like bread and cheese or ham. The weather has been bitterly cold the last few days so if the cows have any sense they have all scuttled down the mountain with their herders to a nice cosy barn!
The Hofgasteiner Haus was open but we decided to save that for another day. The Haus is a good ski coffee stop and will accommodate about 60 people overnight. It gets fully booked in winter and is good value at around 35 Euros half-board! Luggage is delivered on a piste basher as it stands alone at 1900m overlooking the valley. You get to see the sunrise in the morning, the stars at night and, of course, you beat the lift queues. Its more hostel than hotel and not for the chalet fraternity but we like it.
Today was cold but without a cloud in the sky and not a breath of wind. The snow was dry and crisp and every footfall brought that nice squanching sound that we rarely get with our UK slush.

With snow about a foot deep it could have been hard work but the snow was so light and powdery it was surprisingly easy walking. It took about 3 hrs, including our half hour lunch stop sitting on a rock eating marmalade sandwiches. Our rock was at the junction of one of the busiest winter ski runs but today not a soul could be seen and hardly a sound could be heard.
By 3pm we were back in the town, a youth football match was being fought out on the football pitch and people were sitting on park benches enjoying the autumn sunshine. No doubt the golf up the road was in full swing.

At home our balcony was still in the sun so sat and had a nice cold beer and watched the sun behind the mountain - cheers! A one-off ride on the lifts can be quite pricey but a 5 day pass costs about 10 euros a day which is fair value on a day like today. It opened up a winter wonderland of virgin snow and peace and tranquility. A Polar expedition just a 30 minute ride away.

Home and Away

Marlow on Thames

Making use of the latest Zizzi voucher for a farewell meal.

Bad Hofgstein Oct 2009

Wherever I hang my hat - 0n the balcony. I think winters come early to the Alps, warming up midweek though.

Bad Gastein - a little spa time

Our little place is in Bad Hofgastein, but just to the south, a One Euro bus ride away, is the older town of Bad Gastein.

St Nicholas Church

It is right at the head of the valley and, like the waterfall that runs through it, Bad Gastein cascades down the mountain. Today, as well as being an historic spa resort its also very popular with us skiers. In former times the old Hapsburg Emperors like Franz Josef used to take the waters here along with Kaiser Wilhelm and Bismark. Some of the town looks very faded and jaded but there are plans to re-develop the central area. The main Stubnerkogel ski lift which I use quite often has been renewed this year and the town is quite lively and very popular with young Scandinavians.
I didn't like Bad Gastein much at first but it is growing on me.
There's quite a bit of history, this church of St Nicholas is 14th century, the murals on the wall have faded quite a bit since they were painted in 1517!
Some of the streets were designed for mountain goats but todays walk, along the Kaiser Wilhelm Promenade took us around the mountain to a side valley called the Kotschachtal. This area has become a favoured destination. Where this valley starts there a very swanky Hotel complex called the Gruner Baum, we don't go there! Just before it there's a nice pub/restaurant 'Sonnschein' run by an Austrian and his Danish wife, we do go here. The speciality is a fish dish, bit of a Danish thing.
Once into the valley its a 1 hour 15 min walk alongside the stream to a restaurant at Prossau. For me, its a great bike ride first thing in the morning, for others its a fairly gentle uphill walk walk with a coffee or beer and a strudel waiting at the end.

Kotschachtal

In the winter the wife (TW) comes to the Kotschachtal on the bus for the beautiful cross-country skiing area.
As yet, we haven't even scratched the surface when it comes to summer walks in the area.

The scenery takes your breath away sometimes!

One of the questions people asked when we bought our place was 'won't you get fed up with going back to the same old place'. To be honest it was concern but in reality we like the place more each time, and because we come back we find new things to see, and do, every time.

The hills are alive – in Southampton

A long-standing commitment meant a Saturday night visit to the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton.
The show was about a novice nun who goes to work in the house of a retired Navy man with seven kids. You can guess what happens next, the kids are jumping in and out of bed with her, they do things with goats, the father goes off and the children go wild and are dressed up in curtain material.
Should have been in the News of the World, or a case for Social Services, but you guessed it, the Sound of Music on stage!

It was quite good actually, should have been Connie Fisher in the Maria role. She won the TV programme to find a Maria for the West End show. At the interval Jacqui asked the lady next to me ‘who is playing Maria’ as it obviously was a stand-in? (we were too tight to buy a programme). “It’s not Connie and I’m cross, in fact I’m very cross, I’m going to tell them I’m cross. I only came to see Connie!” - whoops.
I thought it was hilarious, if it was White Hart Lane and Harry making an unpopular substitution I can imagine the reaction “what you bringing that ******* lump of lard on for etc. You don’t know what you’re doing”
Maybe next match I’ll take a leaf out of her book - I’ll say I’m cross, I’m very cross, I only came to see Defoe? - or perhaps not!
Sound of Music film was not popular in Austria when it came out as it did not show Austrians in a very good light. Too many open wounds I suppose. Today it’s a major tourist attraction in Salzburg with Sound of Music tours taking punters to all the venues. You can dress up as a Nun and go running across a mountain pasture. Have not done it myself, don’t want to get into the habit!

Apparently on a visit by the Austrian President to Ronald Reagan’s White House they arranged to play Edelweiss thinking it was the Austrian National Anthem. Unfortunately they didn’t realise it was a Rogers & Hammerstein tune from an unpopular musical and Edelweiss is the national flower of Switzerland. It must have truly been a night to remember.

10 Reasons to visit Padstow Area

Constantine Bay

10 Good Reasons to visit Padstow and surroundings

1. Mobile phones don’t work – people don’t walk around with a phone at their ear with their sights on some distant person and place
2. Stunning scenery with lovely coves and harbours
3. Beautiful sandy beaches, we were near Constantine Bay.
4. High quality self-catering accommodation
5. Great cliff-top walks
6. It feels like abroad but with lovely British Beer
7. The Camel Trail – anyone can rent a bike for the day
8. Linda the Lobster
9. You might meet Doc Martin?
10. Traditional and unspoilt – don’t go as far south as Newquay

10 Reasons not to visit

1. Mobile phones don’t work – can be inconvenient, but who cares.
2. Expensive restaurants
3. Cornish drivers and its a long drive
4. ..... I’m struggling, there aren’t 10 reasons not to visit!

Port Isaac - Spot the Doc's House?

October in Padstow and Port Isaac

Ferry Nice!

Cheated today, took the Ferry over from Padstow to Rock. £6 return with the Bike. Its a short ride across the estuary and the ferry is like a landing craft. Rock is pretty posh. Lots of nice houses and appartments. Had a coffee in the Blue Tomatoe, nice cafe.

Polzeath

Followed the road around the coast via Polzeath to Port Isaac. Another beautiful October day. Port Isaac is a lovely wee port. TW and TMIL came too but in the car via Wadebridge. The mobility wagon struggled a bit on the hills but worth the effort. A painful leg meant hiring a wagon in Truro. It worked well though and enabled her to go to a lot of places that would otherwise have been impossible.

The logistics were a bit tricky.

There are lots of tourists but it really is unspoilt and they don't really capitalise on their Doc. Martin fame too much. Helluva hill on the way out!

Spot the Doc's House

Cycling in Cornwall - Biking the Camel Trail

The train standing at Platfrom 1 is the 12 o’clock to Wadebridge, Rifle Range Platfrom, Groglen Halt, Nanstallon Halt, Boscarne Junction, Dunmere Halt and Bodmin.

It used to be a railway branch line linking Padstow to Bodmin. Now it is cycling trail. It's also been extended to Wenford Bridge, along an old quarry tramway, to about 18 miles. Apart from the section through the town of Wadebridge, its all off-road. From Padstow it follows the Camel River estuary, after Wadebridge it goes through Beech woods then past babbling brooks, a Vineyard and of course disused platforms.
So my first Monday morning meant a lie in till 8.45, a hearty breakfast then a cycle into Padstow to join the Camel Trail. So over 40 miles but it's pretty flat.

Cornish Pasty

Lunch was a typical Tin Mine Workers special - pasty and beer!
As I had not been doing in any real work I ate the crust! Our Tin Worker ancestors had dirty paws and used the crust to hold the pasty rather than poison themselves with Arsenic. There are surprisingly few watering holes en route but riding the camel is worth a day of anyone's retirement.

Padstow – Larry the Lobster and friends

On the Quay at Padstow there’s the National Lobster Hatchery.
It’s a nice idea to give nature a helping hand and increase lobster numbers.
If a fisherman pots a female lobster with eggs they take it along to the hatchery where they take the eggs and nurture them up to a size where they can be released. Each little lobster lives in its own yoghurt pot until its put into the sea. They have to have their own pot otherwise they eat each other. Anyway, guarantees a decent livelihood for local fishermen and sustains the lobster population. Cost three pounds to visit the centre buts it’s a good claws. Pity we can’t do the same for cod and herring. The pic above is of Dai the Claw, he's about 50 and blue?

The 'Gap Year' starts here

October 2nd 2009 is a big day for the Head of HEI LIFE

Its the start of new adventure, lots to see and do and lots of places to go.

I would like to thank everyone for their good wishes and the presents.

In particular Mandy for the cake and Angela for the card, - its not really 3 point lane anymore though is it?

The hat will be going travelling, next stop Cornwall.