Blogging
From Abroad

So yesterday I ventured to the highest mountain in Niederösterreichs (the state of Lower Austria). It is called Schneeberg, meaning “snow mountain” and is the source of the wonderfully delicious drinking water we have here in Vienna (since 1873!). It is also the highest eastern-most Alp, as well as the closest “real” mountain to Vienna. So, naturally, it was high on my list to conquer as soon as conditions allow (-;

The train ride from Vienna took about an hour and half and let me off in the valley of the foothills of Schneeberg, here she is- in all her glory:

I chose not to follow to popular hiking trails to the mountain and just followed the valley directly as possible to the mountain. I passed through meadows wet with dew and bursting with flowers, rushing streams and fresh, green grass. Did I mention alpine valleys are wonderful?! Some friends I met along the way:

Schneeberg was definitely a climb I underestimated! I did a lot of online researching/ translating to get beta on this mountain, so I was pretty well prepared. Since I went by myself, I tried to go light and fast, returning to Vienna by 6pm. Well, I surpassed my own expectations, made it to the peak in 3 hours instead of 3.5 hours (although I was turbo walking) and an elevation gain of 1400 meters. I really like hiking by myself, I think I might actually prefer it over hiking with others! I can go at my own pace, stop to make Kodaks when I want and just generally run my own show (-:

There was quite a lot of snow at the summit by the way, enough for about a half dozen skiers (I was secretly jealous I wished I brought some tele gear(-; )! Here is me at the summit:

A photo looking down into the valley and at the meadows where my previous photos were taken. It is a nice feeling knowing only hours earlier you were so far away (-:

Coming down I took a really way by following the Salamander cog train. Since I was feeling good, and I was alone, I ran a good part of the way down. Jumping from rock to rock and jogging the rest, I covered about 12km in 2 hours, with a stop for a pastry at a hut on the way down (-:

Hope you enjoyed my travelogue for Schneeberg, perhaps I can inspire others to climb it!