The writer with some of the cows heading back to their barn for the winter. — Photos: KOO WEE HON
Seefeld is a small Alpine town in Tyrol, Austria, which has a popular ski resort. My wife and I used to visit this place both in the summer and winter when we lived in Austria 36 years ago.
Recently, we revisited Seefeld. It snowed the night we arrived in September; the next morning, we hiked up a trail alongside a ski slope. The higher we went the deeper the snow was but Austrians are very efficient and methodical in keeping their roads and even hiking trails clear of snow.
Snow was piled up high on the sides of the cleared trail, making it tough to go up the mountain.
Along the way, the were plenty of pine trees covered in snow. Sometimes, the snow slides down the branches and you hear a soft “plop” as it lands on the ground.
Small bushes and old tree stumps looked like cute snow domes.
The blue sky and trees reflected on Moserer Lake.
As we got higher, it started to snow again. This was unexpected as it rarely snows this heavily in September in Seefeld. But, we made the most of the situation.
We built a snowman and even had a friendly snowball fight with some of the locals.
After five hours of hiking in the cold, we decided to turn back as the restaurants along the trail were closed.
The skiing season had not officially begun so most shops close early during that time.
While making our way down, we came across some cows which were being rounded up from their summer meadows back to the barn for the winter.
The next day, we hiked around a lake called Wildsee. It is said that Seefeld got its name from this lake.
Wild ducks were gliding in the frigid lake and some squirrels scampered around looking for pine cones to store away for the winter.
Some hardy goats grazing in the meadows were curious about us, often staring at us, though they kept their distance.
On our way, we stumbled upon a fresh egg vending machine with eggs laid by “glucklichen Huhnern” (literally, “happy chickens” in German), or free-range chickens.
The next day was bright and sunny and some friends from Innsbruck joined us for another hike around the three lakes. The first was Moserer Lake, a great place to swim ... in the summer.
From there, we went uphill to the Fridenglocke or Peace Bell. At the platform where this gigantic bell stands, there is a magnificent view of the green valley which stretches for miles.
The wooded trail to Lotten Lake is wild mushroom country.
Old farm tools decorated the wall of this barn.
We met some Italians who were mushroom hunting but there were scant pickings as the season was nearly over.
Fun fact: many foreigners come to Austria to pick wild mushrooms.
Lotten Lake was nearly dry and the restaurant there was closed for the season. This lake fills up in spring with melted snow from the surrounding mountains.
The trail leads higher up, and you’d have to walk among dense woods and places where there is little sunshine during colder seasons. We felt the creeping cold and our shoes and feet were getting damp.
It’s easy to get lost here especially if you don’t pay attention to where you’re going, but luckily, we managed to reach Wildmoss Lake albeit via a long detour.
At Wildmoss Meadow, we stopped by a restaurant, were we had some lovely apple strudel and hot drinks. If you do this hike and are tired from all the hiking, you can opt for the horse sleigh ride back to Seefeld.
The views expressed are entirely the writer’s own.
