St Anton in the Clouds

St Anton is one of my favorite places on the planet, so of course it was one of the stops on our trip. This time it was a bit different than I'd ever seen it. Thanks to the heavy snow last winter and cool spring, there was sill snow on the mountains and most of the huts were closed. So there was no return to Darmstädter Hütte this trip, but we made some new friends and got a taste for the mountain life! 

Our morning in St Anton started at Bäckerei Reuz, the best in town and the perfect place to fuel for a day of walking. The mountains were calling, but we and the rest of the animals were stuck in the lowlands. On one hand, we didn't get to hike on the mountains to the sound of cowbells. On the other, the Haflinger herds were stuck in the valley with us! We detoured through their pasture and went to say "hallo." 

Domestic animals are are the most dangerous thing in the alps (aside from sports and weather). Hikers have even died after being gored by Austrian cows while hiking. I've always found the animals in St Anton to be very gentle, which speaks to the mountain culture's attitude towards livestock. An animal that has been mistreated will not just walk up to noisy strangers with flapping coats, especially when it has its offspring nearby. The Haflingers we visited were downright friendly, and oh-so-cute!

There is a convenient shortcut from the valley to the shoulders of many of the mountains for those who don't wish to take on a 3,000' climb before the hike starts. We took a lift called Gampenbahn, followed by the Kapallbahn, as high as we could go. At first our feet skimmed over herds of goats, cows, and sheep. Then we swept upward through a cloud and the north crest of the valley came into view. The Vallugabahn wasn't open for another week, but the view from even the lower peaks was impressive!

We were a little cold, the clouds were spitting sideways on us, and Kapall Hütte was open... so we stopped inside for some hot cocoa and coffee. There was no place to go from there, since huts in either direction were still closed (and the trails had large patches of snow!), but we took in the view and wandered back down the hill to Restaurant am Himmeleck, the Restaurant on the corner of Heaven. It was probably the most posh place we ate at over the entire trip, and oh, was it worth it! I had my Käseknödel, Tyrolerknödel, and Spinatknödel. After lunch, we stuck around for a little longer... and had our final Austrian Kaiserschmarrn. Once again, the chef somehow caramelized the schmarrn in the pan. Served with just-a-little-tart stewed plum, it was heavenly!

We hiked down from Himmeleck to the valley floor, slip-sliding through wet sheep fields and startling the herds. At one point we detoured to meet some cows, who turned out to be the chillest cows I've ever seen. We're all used to seeing cows sitting on their folded legs like neat little cow hassocks, chewing their cud. These cows were sacked out, flat on their sides, completely unconcerned with what else might be going on. If re-incarnation is what happens when we die, and by some miracle I'm on the short list for an upgrade, I wish to spend my next life as a cow or Haflinger in Tyrol.