In the Austrian Alps

Please excuse my absence these last few days, beer readers, your humble `Beerspondent` has been high in the Austrian Alps on the alpine trails, participating in what is part of every Austrian`s life - mountain hiking. I would like to thank my hosts in Innsbruck, Claudia and Marc, not only for their generous hospitality, but for inviting me on this amazing experience. Joined by friends from Amsterdam, Ulli and Eddi, the five of us jumped on a local train for a 35 minute ride to the border town of Scharnitz (964 m), near Germany. This is where the Alpenpark Karwendel begins. Our destination on Day One was a guest house some 20 kilometers into the park, via a gently rising trail, perched high on a rocky outcropping. There are many trails in this park, some to perilous peaks for hikers, some around stunning valley vistas for mountain bikers, always past free flowing clear mountain springs and up incredible rocky landscapes. Situated throughout this large national park are `hütten´ and `almen´, traditional huts and farmhouses, once used for shelter and farmer´s summer residences, now places of refreshment and overnight stays for the backpacking crowds. The Karwendelhaus is located at 1771 meters above sea level, and provides a cozy resting place for day trips or overnight stays. The cuisine is traditional Austrian fare and the beer is refreshing. After our 5 hour hike, the last 2 kilometers being quite steep, it was an absolute pleasure to sit down to a tall glass of Franziskaner Weissbier on tap (see Beer of the Day, Sept. 17). It was the best beer ever! That day... They also have a very tasty Gösser Dunkel on tap, a dark, reddish brown beer with a big, malty nose and a smooth mouthfeel, a well balanced palate, somewhat nutty with hints of roasted malt and a dry, chocolately finish. I don`t know about the others, but after a few of these beers, I slept like the dead!
The next day saw us scrambling through a variety of every changing and challenging landscapes - down into lush, green valleys, up winding mountain goat paths, over enormous scree fields, through hillsides thick with Larchen trees, past working farmer´s alms (now closed for the winter) and over vast alpine meadows where mountain goats graze. The rugged majesty of this beautiful landscape was not lost even in the ever shifting cloud and fog that seemed to shadow our journey. We lunched at our midway point, the quaint mountaintop Falkenhütte (1848 m), where we enjoyed a traditional knödel soup and a delicious, tall cold glass of Kaiser Märzen, fresh on tap. Made by Hofbräu Kaltenhausen, a subsidiary of Bräu Union, this standard märzen has some hop aroma, a sweetish palate, with subtle notes of butter and a drying hoppiness in the finish. It is pale gold in colour, with a light, quickly dissolving head. The best beer ever! Well, at that moment anyway... We then traversed across another rock strewn valley and started our descent into Eng (1227 m), a touristy, yet traditional Tyrolian village featuring their own cow herd, a cheese maker and a couple of 4 star hotels. Our stop for the night was actually still up hill another hour at the small, but unique Binsalm at 1502 meters. What greeted us there was a packed house of German hikers, complete with accordian player and full sing-a-long tables. The food was great, especially the house spatz´ln made with the local Eng cheese. Also good was the Holzkirchner Oberbräu Weisse Dunkel (see Beer of the Day, Sept. 18). This was an even longer day for our intrepid beerspondent, so after sampling the Weisse Helles and the Pils from the same German brewery, it was time for bed.
Awake the next morning after an ice cold shower and with aching muscles, we marched almost straight up a trail that looked like the craggy slopes of Mordor, shrouded in fog, slippery wet from the night´s rain and no wider than a goats two hooves. This was the hardest and scariest hour of climbing we did all weekend. But just as faith and confidence were about to fail, we reached the peak and broke out into a sun-drenched alpine meadow at the Gramai Sattel (1903 m)- "Shangra-la!" I cried, and it was all down hill from there. We descended through lush landscape and cascading waterfalls into Gramai (1263 m), our final destination, where hikers and bus-transported day-trippers packed the terraces drinking Zipfer (see Beer of the Day, Sept. 19) and munching on local sausage, cheese and bread. It was only an hour back to Innsbruck by car, but after 15 hours of hiking, 3635 meters up and down and 50 kilometers as the crow flies, it was a journey I´ll remember for a long time to come.