Blueberry Hills - a walk in Gastein to the Jungeralm

Where the Heidelbeeren grow

Walking down from the top of the Stubnerkogel today the cloud fell from the sky. Fortunately an Alm loomed up in the mist. I walked once around the Jungeralm, the dog barked and the door opened, was I coming in?  Ja, - Gruss Gott!

The Summer Jungeralm

I entered; inside was full, hot and steamy. There was one big table, four wet children sat with their mums waiting for a hot drink. They looked and spoke like locals. An old chap proffered a schnapps and I ordered a beer. The dog sniffed around. I nursed my beer and listened in to the conversation. Or perhaps listened out would be more accurate as I understood very little.

Sometime later, and much dryer, I asked the old boy, is it getting better? ‘geht es besser’ ( in my dodgy German). 'Nein, es geht schlecter’ was the reply which did not sound good at all.

Well, I suppose I could have had another beer, or perhaps phoned home and said the weather was too bad to continue? 'I am stuck in a hut but am OK with ample supplies of beer and schnapps'.... hmm. maybe not.

I walked on in the rain......

It’s the Heidelbeeren (Blueberry) picking season in Gastein. When you go walking in the mountains there is an added threat to look out for. An Austrian tumbling down the mountain followed swiftly by a bucket of blueberrys!

Salzburger Almenweg sign

It costs 1.99 Euros in our supermarket for a small pack of the little blue fruits. If you climb up the mountain you can pick a bucket-full for nothing. I am trying to keep this fact hidden from TW as she will probably send me up the mountain with the kitchen bucket.

Of course, I will argue that I will have to do my picking on a precipitous, dangerous slope and my ankles will almost certainly be bloodied and scratched like the pickers we see on the bus. Oh, and my back will be definitely be aching as the Heidelbeer plant is a dwarf shrub. And, I will certainly eat more than I put in the bucket and come home with blue stained chops and a tummy ache. Hmm, better hope she does not find out.
I took the forest road from the Alm and then joined a section of the Salzburger Almenweg, a route that crosses the province offering food and night stops on the way, and headed down to Angertal where we go cross-country skiing in winter. 

Heading down to Angertal

Thoroughly enjoyed the walk down despite the rain and arrived at the Angertal bus stop at 4pm.  Of course, the buses go at 2pm, 3pm and 5pm  and not at 4pm. Never mind, time for a coffee at the Lackenbauer Gasthof about 500m up the road. A very nice warm place and right opposite a bus stop.
(Left my sticks so had to cycle up the next day to retrieve them).

So my route today included a ride up on the Stubnerkogel Bahn Gondola from Bad Gastein to the top of the mountain. Then the fairly rapid walk down from the top to Angertal took 2.5 hours, including the beer (and schnapps) stop.