The Plan.
On the second-to-last day of the year, we Hundereise team members want to go on a New Year's Eve hike together. We head to the Piestingtal, because we want to visit Susi (Martina's mare, who is over 30 years old) and then go for a hike in the nearby village of Gutenstein.
We have no idea yet that it will turn into a wonderful winter hike with lots of snow — rain is actually in the forecast.
Plans and the Fickle Weather.
On the way to Susi, we quickly notice that the white winter landscape has already settled in here. Back home it's quite the opposite, and the weatherman even forecast torrential rain, so I decided to wear my rain boots today.
The wintry road conditions off the main road quickly prompt us to change our plans. Without snow chains, there's no way we can make it up the mountain to the horses. The visit to the horsies is postponed, and we drive straight on to Gutenstein, where we've found a gentle hike.
Gutenstein and the Mariahilfberg.
A well-cleared, roughly 3 km serpentine road leads us from the charming village centre of Gutenstein upwards to the left towards Mariahilfberg.
At the top, a spacious car park awaits us — along with the sheer joy of our 4 dogs as they properly discover the snow.
Luckily, Martina has thick winter boots in the car to fend off frostbite and wet feet. My rain boots, 2 pairs of socks and a good sole also help me wade through the snow unscathed. So it's earmuffs and hat on — dogs out & off we go!!
The Nature Trail.
The paths are well marked, and we set off from the pilgrimage church towards Wildwiese and Längapiesting. Tracks from other hikers lead us down into the Längapiesting valley for a while, but then we decide to trudge back and explore the nature trail towards Magdalenengrotte. After all, we want to do the circular route!
Murphy, Che and Atlas are quite boisterous and excited at first — the temperatures are brisk, the snow lets all kinds of interesting scents through, and the views stretch far into the distance.
Only Tiago prefers to stay close to Martina as always. He simply can't bear to let her out of his sight.
The rather narrow forest path leads picturesquely to Magdalenengrotte and then, widening gradually, onwards towards Wildlacke (yes, apparently deer and stags wallow there in summer to cool off).
On the wide path there is the most wonderfully deep snow, and Murphy has one of his silly, giddy moments — it is simply delightful to watch him play with the white flakes.
The nature trail surely holds far more knowledge than we took in. This time we were mainly just revelling in the snow and the calm, peaceful winter landscape, because we simply hadn't expected such a winter wonderland.
The Stations of the Cross.
We two-legged ones are now well and truly warmed up, and the four-legged ones have shed their initial excitement and are calmly exploring their surroundings.
That's when we spot the info hut opposite Gasthaus Moser.
Martina proposes a deal: all 6 of us will head up the Stations of the Cross towards the Schneeberg viewpoint, and afterwards we'll have earned a bite to eat at the inn. Ok, DEAL!
Past the pilgrimage church, a straightforward, flat path takes us along all 14 stations to the Holy Sepulchre and the view towards Schneeberg.
On the way back we turn left and head up towards Siebenväterkapelle, where we make the most of the sunshine for our NEW YEAR 6-WAY SELFIE — but then decide to save the rest of the loop around Residenzberg for another time.
A Well-Earned Stop.
At Gasthaus Moser we receive a warm welcome and are served quickly and cheerfully. Che and Murphy fit easily under the table, which is exactly where they head. Tiago and Atlas are probably a bit too large for that — they're allowed to lie in the hallway, as it's not too busy. Everyone present is amazed at how well-behaved all 4 four-legged companions are. *ProudWeAre*
Final Thoughts.
In summary: on our day trip, we felt as though we were experiencing a proper winter holiday. The paths are beautiful, relatively easy, and perfectly manageable even with several dogs.
THANK YOU & HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Finally, the entire Hundereise team would like to thank you for always coming back to follow our adventures. We started this blog in mid-2017 and we love every moment of it.
In 2018 we have some fantastic new projects, ideas and surprises in store.
In January we're kicking things off with a great giveaway and a small business launch!
So stay tuned ♥
Paw touch from Atlas, Tiago, Che & Murphy
Happy New Year from Martina & Babsi
