Читать книгу Walking in Austria. 101 routes - day walks, multi-day treks and classic hut-to-hut tours онлайн

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I was young then, leading walking groups in Austria’s mountains, and loving every moment, every trail, every summit, valley, lake and meadow starred with flowers. Loving the pure alpine air, the cleanliness of the villages, the punctuality of bus and train, the certainty of a waymarked path, the smiles of each hut warden amused by my poor attempts to speak German. Loving life.

Forty years on I no longer race to beat the sunrise. Instead, I linger, sprawl on an alm pasture and dream. A klettersteig can still set my pulse racing, and trails continue to seduce me into wonderland, but now I take my time to get there. I’ll sit for ages and listen to the birds, a stream, or the brush-strokes of the wind against a rock. But the sight of chamois or marmot thrills me even more than it did four decades ago, while a pass is as good as a summit, a mattress in a hut as welcome as any hotel bed, a night under a blanket of stars as enriching as ever.

Austria’s Alps still draw me back, and repay every visit a thousandfold.