London - Royal Albert Hall - Carmina Burana - a view from the Chorus

A seat with the choir - 26th October 2013

In the cheap seats again

Royal Albert Hall in October

TW likes to make sure we have the occasional dose of Culture, bit like the winter flu jab. Where better to go than the iconic Royal Albert Hall. It is only an hour in the car, parking is easy and it is a keenly priced £18 for a comfy seat. Very reasonable when you have a top Orchestra, The Royal Philharmonic, and 500 singers to entertain you for the evening. I felt a bit under-dressed when we arrived as the seats next to us were occupied by elegant Ladies in posh frocks. When TW pointed out they were the choir and were the hired help for the evening I felt a lot more comfortable. Sitting alongside the choir is actually not too bad, have just to remember not to stand up when they do. Hearing them sing is also not a problem.

Take your seats

The programme contained familiar tunes. The warm up was the William Tell Overture. He was a Swiss chap he used to sit an Apple on his son's head and shoot at it with a cross-bow. Not sure that it was responsible parenting. When I hear the music it conjures up a clear image of the son hoofing it through the Alps pursued by a demented bowman. The Conductor definitely got into the spirit of things and was very red-faced by the end of the chase. Next up was a Violin Concerto by Bruch with a tall soloist in need of a hair cut. Beautifully played but could not quite understand why he was given a bunch of flowers at the end? Nobody else got one.
The main event of the evening was Carmina Burana by Carl Orff and this is where the massive choir came into play. One section was the Southend Boys Choir, they were sitting at the front so their teachers could keep an evil eye on them. One of the proud Dad's was sitting next to us. The Essex boys did well, as did our neighbouring ladies. The Tenor behaved bizarrely, they made him stand by the Organ and when he finished he fell over and hid. I thought he sounded OK but he was obviously embarrassed. The Irish Soprano was very good but she did not get any flowers, not sure why? Like to think the long-haired lanky violinist gave her his bunch.
The music is very familiar but the words are a bit obscure. Some lines are Latin, others are German. Not sure why Herr Orff changed language part way through. He probably had a difficult childhood, can imagine what his nickname would be in English! TW printed out the words with a translation into English for me to read as the performance progressed. Have to say I wish she hadn't. It was all a bit racy and probably should be rated as PG and totally unsuitable for the Primary School lads from Southend. A lot of Virgins were 'seized by desire' from my reading of it. I also found it a wee bit disrespectful to Her Majesty. One line read:

Were all the world mine
From the sea to the Rhine
I would starve myself of it
so that the Queen of England
might lie in my Arms

Not sure she would be amused and would probably tell him to 'Buzzer' Orff. What is more worrying is that her own Royal Orchestra was playing it in her own Royal Hall. Put small Apples on their heads I say!

Austria - Autumn on the Schlossalm - end of 'Summer' season in Bad Hofgastein

Wrapping up in October

Life at the top of the Kleine Scharte

With the lifts closing for the short break before the ski season starts in December we made the most of the Schlossalm. The next time we will be at the top we will be lumbered with all the ski paraphernalia and will be nervously, or excitedly, making the first turns. A walk down the mountain today is a stroll through the seasons. From a foot of snow on high to sunny pastures below. And then to the village with people sitting out at coffee shops enjoying the warm sun. Its a hard life in the Mountains in October.

Footsteps in the snow - walking down in the sunshine

Valley Panorama - on the snow line

Sitting comfortably to view the valley

Untere Haitzinglam - closed until next Summer

A circular walk from home to Angertal and back

Which way now?

Crossing a stream in Autumn

Autumn Colours in Bad Hofgastein 

A view to the Hohe Tauern

On the hill - making the most of the green grass and
 sunshine before the hay and the Winter Barn

Austria - Autumn - In and out of the Gastein Valley - on the bike to Schwarzach and back

 Views from the bike in October 2013 

Stunning views on the way to Schwarzach

Schwarzach is out of the Gastein Valley on the Salzach River. It's an easy ride down the valley on the cycle path and then through the tunnels at the end. Once out of the valley its an undulating ride through woods and past farms to the small town of Schwarzach. Luckily it has a few Bakerei so it was no trouble to find coffee and a cake. The route home is a little steeper as Schwarzach sits at around 600m Altitude and Bad Hofgastein at 850m but it is still a pleasant ride with great views. Before the tunnels were built at the mouth of the Gastein Valley, in the early seventies, the road took a perilous route high up on the edge of the river gorge. The road is not passable today because of a massive rock fall but it's possible to take a look at the narrow and steep track.

It's very good for encouraging vertigo and not much else. There is little chapel about half way, I imagine everyone got out to pray on the way round. I was quite happy to return to the Klammtunnel and the sweet smell of carbon monoxide and diesel fumes. The tunnel is about 1600m long and uphill but it has a dedicated  and safe bike lane.

Autumn views on the Farm

My four legged friend and two wheels

View near Schwarzach

Back in the Gastein Valley - the view near Unterberg

The 'bottomless' gorge at the mouth of the Valley

Before the tunnel - The old road - only for the brave

Schwarzach

Back in the Kur Park Bad Hofgastein

Austria - Autumn in the Gastein Valley - A Walk to the Poserhohe and Bad Hofgastein

A walk from Gruner Baum (1000m) to Bad Hofgastein (850m) via Poserhohe (1505m)  - 17th October 2013

A welcome sight, the flag is raised at Poserhohe - our lunch stop

Poserhohe is not a Mountain Restaurant we visit very often but we do enjoy it when we make the effort.
We had decided on one of the less arduous routes so, after a bus ride to Gruner Baum, we walked down towards the Hohenweg and followed the Yellow signpost off and up to the right. The route up is mainly in the forest and seems wild and remote. The walking path is fairly steep and winding and we alternated between this and a rough tractor trail that also zig-zagged up the mountain. Pretty sure I would not want to cycle or drive up, particularly as its currently crossed by fallen trees. It took us about 90 minutes to reach Poserhohe, our lunch stop. It is a lovely old place and it probably has some of the best views in the valley from its outside tables. The views from inside are not bad either.

Panoramic Views on the way up

On the trail to Poserhohe

Not a vast array of dishes on offer but a longer menu than in the Summer Mountain Alms. The traditional Ham and Cheese plates are supplemented by soups and stews. Restocking is tricky as provisions are taken up to this inaccessible spot on a small cable car. My plate of ham with peppers, horseradish and gherkins hit the right spot. The others enjoyed a nice hot soup.

Inside View

Empty seats in the front row outside

On the slide at Poserhohe - for kids of all ages

The head of  the  Gastein Valley with Bad Gastein in the foreground

After a very pleasant break we set off for Bad Hofgastein. We had discovered on a previous visit up here that my expensive laminated map has a big error. On that occasion we headed uphill trying to find a route on the map that did not exist. Nice walk but very frustrating and added at least an hour to our planned three hour walk. This time we made certain and headed North as soon as we left the Poserhohe on a mainly downhill route. Quite a bit of snow lay at intervals so we needed to be sure-footed as we made our way through the forest. However, apart from a couple of gullies it was easy walking. The best bit was flat section where we bounced along on a path covered in pine needles. The route then took us onto a Forest Road that descended, first through the woods and then through Deer Parkland and Farms. We were on the west facing side of the valley so we had the benefit of the late afternoon sun as we ambled along.

Flat forest walk

TW on the walk - her sneeze can fell trees

Snow capped Graukogel on the left and the Sportgastein Mountain on the right

Looking North towards Bad Hofgastein

Magnificent Stag - best stay clear I reckon

Graukogel - not a grey mountain today

Poser cow - a beautiful animal in a lovely land

At Gadauern we joined the quiet undulating back road to Bad Hofgastein.
Gruner Baum to Poserhohe took us about 90 mins. There is a quicker route that goes straight up from Gruner Baum and takes about one hour. The walk from Poserhohe to Bad Hofgastein took a fairly leisurely 3 hours. Ready for a cup of tea!

Austria - Autumn in the Gastein Valley - Early Snow Falls in the Valley

Snowfalls in October 

Bad Hofgastein - the clouds are lifting

About 6 inches of wet snow fell in the valley. The Farmers were probably ready for it but the trees were not. Many have not yet lost their leaves and could not take the weight and a good number succumbed. It put paid to our walks at the top temporarily but there are plenty of low altitude walks to keep us busy.

Autumn Colours

Sheep Freeze

Out and about on a Sunday

Stag do's and dont's

Camera shy cow - Hiding in the woods

Bad Hofgastein - heading down from the Hohenweg

Geraniums - a reminder of Summer