Umhausen / Ötztal
A weekend in Tirol, Chapter 1
Umhausen, 26 September 2009
I won a rafting tour on the Inn in a quiz in January. In August I realized, that it was only valid until 15 October, and started looking for transport and accomodation. I found an affordable flight to Munich just two weeks before my Chamber of Commerce exams and as I already had taken vacation for this period I simply booked it. It would not do me any harm, to unearth my nose from the pages about national economy and instead let it breath some clear alpine air for a few days.
The rafting tour should start in Haiming, a little Village about an hour west of Innsbruck. It was lying near the entry of the Ötztal (Ötz valley). After a having chatted with the tour company and them stating, that it was a great area for hiking and decent inexpensive accomodation could be found in nearly every village as it was off-season, I searched the Internet and tracked down a doubleroom, breakfast included for 15 € in a farmhouse in Umhausen. There was a bus stop just a few metres south from the house and the bus was going regularly every hour or so even on Sundays from the train Station in Ötztal Bahnhof through the whole valley up to Timmersjoch at the Italian border. There were a couple of good critics from guests, so I didn't hesitate, took the phone and booked a room. The only thing left now was to find a train connection from Munich to Ötzal Bahnhof. That was the hardest part. The train ride proved to be more expensive than the flight. However somewhere during my search of the time-tables I got the blessed thought that I needn't necessarily book the ticket at Deutsche Bahn (German railway) and looked on the website of the ÖBB (Austrian railway). And lo, they had a special price on the faster connection. The ticket was mine within minutes and my anticipation rose. During the following weeks I searched the internet for hiking information, populated the bookstores for travel literature and maps. With every line I read, with every look onto the map my excitement rose.
Finally on Saturday, 26 September I took my backpack and went to the airport. It was the weekend of the election for the German Bundestag (parliament) and chancellor. A day before I had read that there had been terror warnings by Alcaida for the days after the election and I truly wondered, if I should stay at home. After a discussion with my sister however I decided to go nonetheless. The airport in Hamburg was very busy, the queues at the safety control extremely long but otherwise all was calm. In Munich however policeman with machine guns populated the airport. You were not allowed to drop off your luggage at the stations. So I had to take it with me during the 1-hour-stopover, when I strolled through the sunny streets.
The Octoberfest had just started. Many women were walking the streets in dirndl and the men, especially the younger ones, were running around in leather trouthers and red-and-white or blue-and-white checkered shirts. Despite the strong presence of police force at certain places the whole city seemed to breath a relaxed mood. I walked through a couple of side streets around Ostbahnhof (east station) and had the feeling of being in a lovely minor town and not in one of Germany's major cities. I bought a roll with fried Leberkäs (a typical southern German sort of pork meet) for the train ride and continued my journey to Austria.
In Rosenheim the customs officers entered the train and though they gave the passports of the German and Austrian looking people just a flitting glance, they took their time with four southern European looking man in the seats behind me. They made phone calls to double check their passport and the whole business took about 10 minutes. Though keeping a polite voice, the whole affair bore nuance of prejudice. Maybe it was just oversensitiveness due to the current warnings, but Bavaria is generally on the hard line concerning migration politics.
Two stations later at Wörgl I had to change trains. The waiting for the belated train to Innsbruck and further to Ötztal Bahnhof was eased by the warm sun and the impressive mountain scenery around the station. A good reason to sit down and have a picknick.
About 5 pm I finally arrived at my destination in Umhausen. As I had announced that I would probably come with the bus at 7:30 pm thinking I might take a stroll at the village of Ötz first, my landlady was not at home. My backpack was filled with light luggage for the weekend and not overly heavy. With about two hours left until sunset I went sight-seeing for the highest waterfall of Tirol was within easy walking distance from the village. The trail bordered the Horlach creek that was fed by the fall and after an hours hike upphill I reached this impressive spot of nature.
On the second platform I could glimpse the majority of the Stuibenfalls though still not the complete cascades (see map of the falls below). A bench invited me to sit down and eat a sandwich while enjoying the sight and sound of the cascading water.
The falls have a drop hight of 150 metres and an average of 610 litres per second are rushing down the rocks. It can increase up to 2000 litres/second at highwater mark.
Suddenly I spotted movements directly above the falls. There was a fixed rope route crossing the water in swindling hight. A fellow was making gymnastic exercises on the rope whereas his girlfriend was waiting safely on the platform below.
The trail went on to 3 additional platforms and a bridge on the top of the falls, but the sun was already setting and dusk set in more quickly in autumn I decided to return to the village instead of going on.
On my way down I passed the Ötzi Village Stoneage Park. Though closed you could still have a look on some of the exhibits of the openair area.
Ötzi is the name given to a man found in 1991 in a glacier in the mountains above the village Obergurgl. He was dated back to 4000 years B.C. The find was a big sensation, which populated the press with lot of speculations about the cause of his death, even murder was not excluded. Within no time the Ötztal got world famous.
I returned into the village of Umhausen by the road. My landlady had returned by then and was showing me into a large though simply furnished double room, which was totally ok for me for a weekend stay. I unpacked, took a shower after a warm and sweaty day and after having been rid of the travel dust I went out in search of some food. I ended up in a pup infront of a large, jummy piece of apple strudel topped with warm vanilla sauce.
During my meal I had a delightful exchange about the hiking possibilities with the man at the next table. He was pouring over his map planning the route for the next day.
Next morning I went up early to catch the bus and go on the rafting tour. As the photos of the rafting trip were taken by the photographer of the tour company I cannot publish them here.
But I can tell you the trip was quite fun. Though the Inn is not the Zambesi it is stil a joy to paddle the rapids on a warm autumn day. This tour especially good for beginners. Advanced rafters might prefer to take the stony trip on the "Ötztaler Ache".
COMMENTS
Moabjeeper said at 9:39 vorm. on Jan 31, 2010:
You have such magnificent trips. Great shots, all of them.
Moabjeeper said at 9:42 vorm. on Jan 31, 2010:
You should all to Waterfalls group.
Chaitiamma said at 9:42 vorm. on Jan 31, 2010:
I enjoy reading your writings as well as viewing all the photos. The waterfall scene is superb and those of the Tyrol houses are so beautiful !!! Super Great Tabblo !!!
Moabjeeper said at 9:43 vorm. on Jan 31, 2010:
Magnificent photos, all of them. I await part 2.
Merja-zerga said at 11:18 vorm. on Jan 31, 2010:
C'est un véritable plaisir de faire ce voyage à travers vos yeux, les paysages et les cascades sont un émerveillement, chaque image, chaque lieu est magique!
Merci Anke.
ThierryKarine
Lageho said at 11:21 vorm. on Jan 31, 2010:
Mycket vackra bilder. Ser ut att ha varit en givande weekend.
Swedfinn said at 12:18 nachm. on Jan 31, 2010:
Underbar trip in natursköna österrike! Ni var bokstavligen lyckligt lottad!
Moorlerche said at 2:31 nachm. on Jan 31, 2010:
Thanks a lot, Bob! I haven't thought of it but added waterfalls to my group. Thanks David et merci beaucoup Thierry et Karine. Tack så mycket Lars och Jorma. Det är faktiskt sant. Det var riktig lyckligt lottad eftersom det var dålig väder i Hamburg den helgen. Naturen är underbar här och på måndagen gjorde jag en av dem finaste vandringar jag har gjort tills nu.
Neusinha.Gedoz said at 4:34 nachm. on Jan 31, 2010:
Anke, suas fotos diurnas ou noturnas tem a mesma qualidade. É bom demais passear pelos seus tabblos. Obrigado pelas informações importantes. Um excelente tabblo. Mais uma vez parabéns.
Neusinha.Gedoz said at 4:35 nachm. on Jan 31, 2010:
OPPS ... Anke, your photos daytime or nighttime is the same quality. It's too good for his walk tabblos. Thanks for the information. An excellent tabblo. Again congratulations.
OscarDaniel said at 7:32 nachm. on Jan 31, 2010:
Very beautiful place, your pictures are amazing!
Chilla said at 2:25 vorm. on Feb 1, 2010:
Anke, it is always a real treat when you post a Tabblo and take us along with you on your travels! This looks like a wonderful place to stay!
FoguinhoFoto said at 10:13 vorm. on Feb 1, 2010:
Wonderful
Moorlerche said at 5:10 nachm. on Feb 1, 2010:
Neusinha, muchas gracias for giving me a lesson in Portuguese :-) One day I might be able to understand more than fotos, qualidade, bom, excelente and obrigado. I have very much appreciated, that you took the time to translate it. Thanks very much for your dear words.
Oscar, Celia and Foginho, I thank you very much too. Hope you will also enjoy the further continuation of the trip.
The parish church in Umhausen is the oldest of the Ötztal. It dates back to 1220.
Waiting for the bus at dawn.
Pension Christina Scheiber, the guesthouse I stayed in at Umhausen
The house next to the bus stop
Station in Wörgl / Austria
View from the train between Innsbruck and Haiming
Gasthof Krone - Krone Inn in Umhausen
The pink line is the trail I took first on the upper line and return trip on the Waalweg past the Ötzi stoneage park.
Rapids in the Horlach Creek
First view of the Stuibenfall. The wooden structure is the first scenic viewpoint.
A beautiful fall, but it did not appear overly large to me from this point of view.
View from the first scenic platform
While climbing up to the second scenic viewpoint I had a wonderful vista over Umhausen.
