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After our stormy night at the Mittenwalderhütte,
we are happy to be back down in Mittenwald. And we are charmed to see the
mail being delivered by bike. |
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It is a lovely day -- for ducks! (We're not complaining.
After all, we're from Oregon.)
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As long as it's raining, it seems like a fine day to
visit the Leutaschklamm. "Klamm" in German is a gorge. The limestone
of the region makes for spectacular gorges.
We start our visit to the Leutaschklamm by visiting the private walkway
to the largest falls. It costs €1.60, and various incarnations of
the walkway -- some still evident -- have been around for well over a
century.
The advantage of a place where you pay €1.60 for admission is that
alongside the Eingang they will also have a small café. Scott had
a beer, and Ellen a cappucino. |
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It isn't very far to walk back in to where you can
see the big falls. |
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Next we head to the brand new public walkway -- free!
But a good stiff hike up a switchback trail to get up above the falls we
just visited. |
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Not just above, but high, high above the gorge. |
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This walkway had been open only a month when we were there.
Of course we were interested in how it was built. The big pieces, like this
bridge, were dropped in by helicopter. Felbermayr was the company that built
it. Their name was plastered around on banners here and there. |
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The deck of the new walkway is a grate, and you can see
right through to the rushing water below. |
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Everytime we turn a corner there is another spectacular
view. We walk a mile into Austria on this suspended track. |
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Some folks have put even cooler photos than ours on
the web. If you're interested, go to http://www.allgaeu-ausfluege.de/05mittenwald.htm.
Scroll down if you don't read German -- the photos are below the text.
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From the Leutaschklamm we hike back into Mittenwald and
check out the Obermarkt -- the main pedestrian street. Notice the drain
running down the center of the street. Bikes seem to be as common as walkers
in this carfree zone. |
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After a long day of carrying our packs, we are glad to
be welcomed once more by Frau Kriner. We sleep very well. In the morning
we are just packing to go when the good Frau calls to us to come quickly!
The cows! The cows! |
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We had lucked out. This was the morning for moving all
the cows of the village from the high alm to the low alm for the winter.
Hundreds of cows pass through the village. The sound of their cowbells is
amazing. To see and hear a 5-second QuickTime clip of the cows, click
here. |
