Thursday August 11th Radner an der Stube to Eisenerz

It's a happy coincidence that all the really tough walks for Christine have been followed by something less demanding and that's exactly what happened today. After yesterday's nerve shattering epic a nice 20 kilometre walk up a easy track over a ridge (about a 700 metre climb) and then down the other side, through a valley to Eisenerz was just what was needed.

Got all my clothes washed in the gasthof last night and either it was free or they forgot to charge me and walking up the hill this morning I was struck with remorse because I had forgotten to say thank you. It was a basic but fun place and very cheap. We had the top of the range "Gordon Bleu" main course - essentially a wiener schnitzel folded in half with ham and cheese in the middle - twowould probably give you an instant heart attack.

Lagauer above Radmer

The weather was perfect and walking up through the trees we had great views back to the village and the Lagauer mountain the descent from which caused us so much grief yesterday.

The weather bought out lots of walkers and we passed the time with three local men. The news about the riots in London had left them with the impression that the whole city had burnt down and that we might be refugees on the run. We tried to confirm that impression and Christine said that all she had left was in her backpack.

Once over the ridge and just around the corner we got full view of Hochkogel and Kaiserschild, two 2100 metres summits set off to perfection by the sun and the blue sky. They were positioned at the top of a quiet valley at the end of which which was a Gasthof serving cake and strudel, perfect for an early lunch.

In the valley heading down to Ramsau

Another 90 minutes or so took us to the outskirts of Eisenerz a town with a long history of iron ore extraction and whose skyline is dominated by a huge but now disused quarry. The town feels just a bit run down. We are staying in a huge Gasthof but have the feeling that we might be the only people here.

The quarry at Eisenerz

Weather forecast for the next two days at least is good and then it might deteriorate again. The schedule puts us up in the mountains again with three nights in huttes over a weekend. Suspect we will be desperate for some privacy and home comforts after that.