Today was Sunday which means shops were closed. As we have also come to learn, we are staying here at Ramsau Am Dachstein during “dead season” which means everything is closed. The gondola up to the mountain is closed. The restaurants and cafes are closed. Many of the hotels are closed. We weren’t entirely expecting this. We knew it was quiet season but didn’t realise everything was “Geschlossen”.
As previously mentioned we were lucky to have stocked up on a few things at the supermarket. As tomorrow (Monday) is a public holiday the supermarkets won’t open again until Tuesday.
Breakfast in our chalet, because there was nowhere else to have it!
We had been lead to believe by Google that the weather for our entire stay here was going to be raining and miserable and cold. So imagine our surprise when we looked outside and actually saw sunshine! Shock! horror! disbelief!
We decided to go for a hike or two. Unsure of which one to go on, we decided to go an check out a walk at the nearby Ritterberg mountain and see if it was any good. There are a lot of walks around here – it’s hard to choose.
When we got there we couldn’t help but imagine what it’d be like when the cafes etc were all open. Still, we don’t need things to be open to go hiking.
We decided to give the walk a go. The full hike was like 12km – so we figured we’d just do part of it. We started walking uphill and immediately came across some snow.
Lots of uphill walking here. We kept going and admired the views as we went, and dreamt of one day going skiing and snowboarding again.
We started to see more snow. We weren’t quite sure if we were going in the wrong direction as the sign posts were a little confusing. At some point we decided to continue on with this walk and make a day of it.
Started getting some really nice views and more and more snow.
We kept getting higher and higher and just when we thought there was no more uphill walking to be done, we would encounter another hill. Eventually the whole path was covered in snow and I was beginning to wish I’d worn my hiking boots and thicker socks.
After a couple of hours walking we decided to stop for lunch. Luckily we had cleverly packed some rolls to eat. if only we had a coffee too.
More snow and more views. We were quite high up the mountain by this stage.
And finally we realised we had reached the summit! Woo hoo!
Sorry for all the photos but how can I choose between all these? Just amazing views from the top.
It’s all downhill from here! Plenty more snow to trudge through though.
We eventually made it to the top of the ski lift area.
We still had a bit of a walk to get down the rest of the mountain, and we had to criss cross through a steep snowy path to get back on to the downhill trail.
After about 3 hours and 12km’s we made it down the mountain! What a great hike. By this stage we were desperate for a coffee and supplies were running low back at our chalet. Luckily we found one place open in the town and promptly got ourselves a couple of well earned coffees.
We went and chilled at our chalet for a bit. We had quite tired feet and legs but it was such a nice day so what to do but go for another walk?
No more mountain climbing though, just a lovely track by a stream with mountain views.
As we finished our walk and went back to the car, we noticed this little hut in the car park. Curious to know what it was, we opened the door and looked inside. We were surprised to find it was a mini supermarket with fresh local produce. There was a vending machine containing sausages and cheeses and more. And jars of muesli, cookies, chocolates- all of which were paid for on the honour system. A small box was set up where you pay after you write in the notebook what you bought. So good. We didn’t have much cash on us, so we bought some muesli and decided to return tomorrow for our dinner supplies.
Beers on the balcony in the fading sunlight. The weather was so beautiful today and the alps just looked so awesome with the blue sky.
Dinner – sardines and cold meats because that is all we had in the fridge. Not complaining at all – it was delicious.
The alps as the sun was setting also looked spectacular.
A whole thing of candy 