A day in the mountains

Last Monday, I spent the day in the mountains, a day trip I've been wanting to do in a long time. It was the perfect day, and with temperatures reaching up to a humid 30 degrees Celsius down here, it was definitely more agreeable up there. I took the train at 7am, and after changing trains twice and then on to the postbus for the last bit, I finally arrived at my destination. It felt so good to get off the bus, in that fresh air, with uninterrupted views, surrounded by beautiful nature. I love the mountains. I always feel at peace up there.

At an altitude of 2,007 metres, Dürrboden lies at the end of the Dischmatal. Above the tree line, the alp is treeless, the grass covered with rocks and heather, and at this time of the year, also with an abundance of wild alpine flowers that is just simply amazing.

From Dürrboden, you can continue and hike up and over the Scaletta pass at 2,606 metres, and on to the Engadin on tours of several hours. I only walked a few hundred metres futher up, spending about an hour happy about just being there.

I prefer to take the 13km walk down through the valley back to Davos. The path is easy to walk, and the landscape always slightly changing. Surrounded by mountains, gorgeous views, deep blue sky, fluffy clouds, the lush greens of the meadows, the colours of the wild flowers. Hardly any people, just the occasional alp farm. And of course cows.

I had also taken my sketchbook and watercolours and found great spot with a bench overlooking the valley. It was rather windy up there, though, I had to put the water on the ground, which wasn't very convenient, and the paint kept drying out. But at least I captured the feel of that day. The intense colours, the deep blue sky, the lush greens.

The Dischmabach, a small river, flows down the valley, carrying with it the fresh, cold water from the snow of the mountains. I love these alpine rivers. The colour of the water! I wish I could have put my feet into the water.

Toward the end of the valley, the landscape becomes gentler and richer. No more rock covered meadows, but instead rich farmland and trees. And more people. But still that abundance of wild flowers.

From the end of the valley to the train station was another good 45 minutes, and when I finally arrived, I could hardly walk anymore. The whole walk had taken me almost 5 hours, with time for taking photos and my quick sketch, and by the time I got on the train, I felt sore and aching from head to toes, and every little patch of skin that I missed with my sun cream was burnt, and the rest was also glowing in a bright lobster red. I was exhausted but happy. What else can you be, after spending the day in such a place!

I did some more drawing and sketching, but it is one of those weeks, when everything just turns out wrong. I'm okay with it, even a rubbish drawing is better than no drawing, but they're just not shareworthy. But I hope that the photographs make up for it. And I'm sorry for posting so many of them, and the small sizes, but I didn't have much time for editing, and I just couldn't make up my mind about which ones to choose. And I took over 200 pictures, so this is still just a small selection... :). (I think when you click on them, you can see them larger).

Holiday Photo Sunday: A trip to the mountains

If you are spending your summer holiday here, I think it is best spent up in the mountains as much as possible. With every meter you get higher up, the slightly cooler the air gets, and up there, you can finally breath some fresh air and move without immediately sweating like mad. We only made it up a mountain once during our holiday, and it wasn't the highest, but it was a great day out. It was a bit overcast, and for about half an hour, I even had to put on a light cardigan.

My Mum had been wanting to come up here to Sattel-Hochstuckli for ages, to walk across the "Skywalk" and she was very happy to finally make it here. We went across the suspension bridge first thing, and it wasn't too bad. The fact that we werer the only ones on the bridge probably helped. I was still glad when I reached the other end.

There are lots of different trails up there, and we followed one of them, going upwards and, with the clouds clearing a bit, being rewarded with beautiful views.

One of the things I particularly love about being in the mountains is the looking down. It gives you a different perspective to see the world, which is always a good thing. And seeing those massive mountains, their calmness, serenity and groundedness (if there is such a word), it's just balm for my soul. And the forests. I love, love, love forests. And lakes.

The trail we followed turned out to be a circular route, and so we found ourselves back again at the suspension bridge.

I would have thought that the second time would be much easier, but I actually found it rather scarier than the first time. Maybe because there were more people on the bridge, which meant you had to let go of one of the handrails to let them pass.

After a refreshing drink at the restaurant, N and I decided to go for another little walk, following a different trail (well away from the bridge).

We met some very friendly goats on the way and spent quite a while chatting to them, and taking numerous photos.

I'm glad I didn't see this view of the bridge when we first arrived. I'm sure I'd never had crossed it, let alone twice, if I had!

One last glance back before we took the cable car back down. And, as every time when leaving the moutnains, I think that I should do that much more often, spending a day in the mountains.

Lines in the snow

Theme for Focus52, Week four (January 22 to 28): Leading Lines

A day in the mountains ~ in search of the berries

My mum knows a few excellent spots for blueberry picking up in the mountains around Klosters, and on Saturday morning, we went up there looking for those juicy berries - my absolute favourites ever since I was a child.

We went up to Monbiel, parked the car, took a look back down the valley, and then walked off, following the path, gently upwards, leading us eventually to the woods.

I kept looking back, taking pictures. Mainly because the sun was right in front of me, and very bright up there, but also because the view really is nice, and I just loved those big clouds hovering over the peaks.

Following the path along green alpine meadows full of wild flowers in all shapes and colours. And a few fences for Fence Friday, which I managed to completely forget (I was much too exhausted last Friday to do anything at all once I was back home in the evening. More about that coming later on, making a big chronological mess, but who cares anyway :) ).

And always looking back, taking in the ever changing views. Wouldn't it be nice to live up here, in one of those cottages? Or at least spend a week, or even just a few daysm up here? Just imagine the silence in the evening!

Did we find the blueberries in the hidden clearing full of blueberry bushes in the woods, and return home ladden with those freshly picked wild mountain delicacies, turning them into delicious pies, mixing them with creamy yoghurt, or just eating them straight out of the dish? Well, we'll see...

P.S. Although it's already feeling quite like autumn up there, it's not yet quite that yellowy looking, but still very green all around, both the and  trees. The autumn touch mainly comes from the marvelous texture by Shadowhouse Creations I've used here. I just love that texture!