From Aurach we started our ascent to Oberaurach passing Haller Alm where we had previously enjoyed coffee. The route at this point was all well tarmaced road and once again the ascent zig-zagged to Tonstock where it then became a single track footpath, passing various Alms until we could see Bichlalm chair lift and Alm.
We came out at a lovely Chapel which looked newly built.
We headed from there over to Bichlalm and started our ascent. We had originally intended to do Brunnerkogel (at 1749m) as, for me, it looked a bit less rocky and difficult on the map. However, with Brunnerkogel on one side and Stuckkogel (1888m) on the other, we decided on the latter as it appeared to be a good grassy path all the way up.
The views from here were panoramic and far reaching and we could see many paths leading to and from the mountains around us. We stopped at the top for a while marvelling at the views and the mountain ranges in the distance which appeared very similar to the Wilder Kaiser.
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| At the top of Stuckkogel |
Then, to the descent… down the grassy slopes and there were the cows on the footpath. We had been warned by a couple over breakfast that the cows here weren’t very friendly so we were on our guard and right enough one started running straight for me! Blair threw his arms in the air and the cow made a detour past me and carried on running down to its mates on the footpath.
Not wanting to put ourselves at any risk we crossed the electric fence to avoid the cows and then re-crossed the fence a bit further down where it was safer. After a short distance we made it to the Kneipp Pool - a pool of water for you to walk through which apparently has healing properties. I dipped my feet in and Blair walked through it from one end to the other. It was icy cold but soothing and I couldn’t stay in long enough to walk across. There was a also a basin with the same water and we both bathed our hands and arms in it for a while. Our skin tingled from the feel of the water for some time.
We left Bichlalm for our descent to Rosie’s (an Alm which we recommended to us). Rosie’s was a welcome sight and we were looking forward to our Kaiserschmarrn and beer! Kaiserschmarrn is a sweet shredded pancake and is a national dish here (and in Bavaria). We ordered a portion each and it was delicious and the beer was very refreshing.
Suitably reinvigorated we continued our descent to Kitzbuhel which was a mixture of pasture, footpath and tarmac road. Not sure I need dinner now….. But I will!
