Stories from Bad Kleinkirchheim

Author: Ed Wohlfahrt

“Whoever goes, will take a trip inside himself”, so they say. That’s what I re-experienced just a few days ago, walking from the Grundalm to the Nockalm-road, over the Wolitzenalm-homestead towards Pfann-Nock. It was in the early hours and so I was all alone on the mountain when the rays of the rising sun comfortably touched my back. A bit later, it was the same sun that caused the first beads of perspiration to pop out on my forehead, becoming more and more the closer I got to the peak of Pfann-Nock.

All the things I saw during my short hike, it’s only a 1hour 40minutes walk from the Wolitzenalm-homestead to the peak, were exceedingly precious to me. I mean all those casual things on the roadside; the ones you see if you take the time. Want an example? How about a small frog completing his morning swim in the Pfansee-lake at around 2000m above sea-level? I watched him and was amazed at how swiftly he maneuvered through the cool water.

Or the flaming red cranberries, growing brazenly on the wayside - as if they were shouting “pick me, I’m perfect for a meal of wild game”

But the absolute best part that day was the groundhog’s den, or the spot it was on, to be exact. There are quite a few dens from these sweet animals along the trail to Pfann-Nock. But one groundhog was so brash, that he just had to build his den directly on the marked trail (unfortunately I don’t have a picture). It made me laugh. It was like he was saying, “Right of way for groundhogs!”. It was not until I was down the hill that the first hikers came my way - a fact that increased my good feelings once more. But the beauty of the day was not the peak, it was the way up!

Image and text courtesy of Ed Wohlfahrt for the editorial team of the website www.badkleinkirchheim.at