Last day for walking in Gaistal, we caught earlier bus which was full of walkers when we were picked up. This time we started walk from Salzbach and went up the path we came down before and I felt much lighter and was able to walk faster with ease. There were quite a few planes spraying and leaving their chemtrails so the sky filled up by noon. The air was cooler today which also is a relief from the heat of previous days. 

We eventually had a longer walk than I anticipated as we went on the low route to Iglesee which was a disappointment as there wasn’t much water left there. We then continued and came back a higher route to return to Tillussalm and had a beer before walking back to the bus stop at Salzbach for the last bus. I bathed my hot and tired feet in the stream whilst watching a tiny brown mouse who froze when it realised someone was there.  We heard from our head waiter that the length of the valley was 18kms so no wonder we were tired and needed a bath to recuperate!

Fracking to go on trial at international human rights tribunal.

Yesterday we walked in the beautiful Karwendal Nature Park on the hottest day of the year I heard. It was not an easy uphill walk in the heat to the Pleisenhutte, which was built at the end of WW2 by a man who had been in active service and just wanted to get  away from the world. The views from up there were incredible! We met a kindred spirit towards the top and spent nearly two hours talking before we needed to get back down to get the train back to Seefeld.  The son of the builder now deceased and his wife run the business which provides lovely food and refreshment and simple accommodation for those who want to do the higher paths the following day. There were quite a few cyclists there also. When we reached the start of the walk and a bar for drinks at 6pm we were so hot and tired we just had time for a beer before continuing to the bahnhof. We got back to the hotel at 7pm and when we arrived for dinner most of the guests were eating outside as it was still very warm and pleasant. 

Today it feels even warmer and we’re having a relaxing day, too hot for much walking so it’s the shade we prefer for now. 

My first time on an e-bike yesterday did not turn out well and was perhaps a bit too adventurous, as we didn’t know the bike route well enough and were not practised with these bikes from the hotel. We had just turned  off the main road from Seefeld to Mittenwald onto an old road and I didn’t like the look of this. I was following my husband and soon the road became a loose gravelled surface as it was going downhill behind a disused fake castle, when I realised that my speed was faster than I wanted and braking caused me to skid and I was thrown sideways, catching my face on the right cheekbone. There was a grass verge which I climbed onto and lay there to recuperate whilst in shock but also calm. I had grazed one knee and both hands as well as around my right eye and the front of my shoulder was sore. We went back to town as soon as I felt able to get back on the bike and went to the pharmacy, who sent us to the doctor next door, a very nice young man with a sense of humour who I took to straight away. So I was cleaned up and bandaged and warned that my eye would bruise and discolour more the next day, though fortunately no broken bones.

We returned to the hotel and gave up on biking and spent the rest of the day relaxing round the pool. I felt quite happy to slow things down and I wasn’t in much pain thankfully. I managed to disguise my eye at dinner that evening.

Today I had to wear my large sunglasses to hide the black eye that had appeared and for the rest of the day. It has been a hot day and we have done a lovely walk up the Gaistal and wasn’t difficult except for coming down the last part of the path which was also gravelly and slippery, needing more care as I wasn’t feeling too confident after my experience yesterday. I’m pleased that everything seems to be healing well and swellings have gone down and putting my feet on the grass for quite a while yesterday may have helped with that as I’d heard that earthing can reduce inflammation. 

I’ve always loved trees and walking through forests. Today our walk took us through the pine forest up to the Moserer Hohe to collect a stamp, on our way to getting a gold badge for walks in the Olympia region. I felt very thankful to the tree roots on the walk down which wind across the path and give good foot holds. I like to touch a tree trunk and feel their life force and connect with the earth that way and give thanks. This led me to appreciate our connection with the trees throughout our history and how we take them for granted perhaps. We do far too much destruction of nature and need to care more for the trees especially the older deciduous ones. 

A selfie on the way up.  

I’ve been coming to the Alps in summer, mainly in Austria for more than 15 years now, with my husband and it’s beautiful! The weather is generally quite hot sometimes with thunderstorms and the walking is varied. We love the hotels here, spas, fresh air and food. So just relaxing round the pool after having a leisurely day walking over the hill to the next village and catching the bus back. The hotel provides a light buffet lunch and then cake after 3pm. We don’t speak German and so far not many English guests. We’ve been here a few times and 

  there are some staff that we know. 

I’ve just finished a 10 week local women’s group hosted by a beautiful and intelligent Asian woman who was funded for her various projects.  It was mainly free-flowing with each of us sharing aspects of our week which often led into deeper discussions. It was very enjoyable learning more about each other and we may be getting involved in future projects!

On Tuesday I said my farewell to an elderly neighbour who had been a good friend especially to my husband who had known them longer. It was a lovely church service attended by the Male Voice choir of which Eric had been a member. A sad occasion to celebrate a family man for which his children and grandchildren did him proud. 

I also visited a 99yr old in hospital and gave company to her son on two visits this week and was glad to see an improvement before I left. 

Now about to board a flight for a holiday. 

Tonight six of us met for a discussion, we wanted the opportunity to speak together outside of our Sunday meetings at a mutually suitable time. We started as a meeting for worship in silence then I introduced the theme as being about Faith and Power and the relationship with the Quaker peace testimony. I had taken the idea from this year’s Swarthmore lecture called Faith, Power and Peace by Diana Francis and the value that Quakers have to offer in today’s geo-political world.  https://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/pages/swarthmore-2015.html

We started slowly and spent the evening sharing interesting thoughts and getting to know each other better. We hadn’t heard the Swarthmore discourse except myself and also not fully, but it was a good place to start. The meeting lasted for about two hours and there was plenty to talk about!

We intend to meet again on Wednesday August 5th at 19.00 and will see what develops.