Alm matters

 

This is my lovely nephew, Anton, who came with mum and I to find out a bit about his roots. His father, my brother, died in a tragic accident just before Anton was born, and when mum asked him to come along and meet the Austrian relatives, he said an enthusiastic yes!!

He definitely has mountain blood running in his veins because he's spent most of this week, traipsing along mountain paths and only coming home to download his photos, tell us about his adventures and eat!

 

 

Mind you, he also eats while wandering around and this meal was one he had at an Alm Hut - a large glass of buttermilk, rye bread, two slabs of cheese and a gherkin.

There are little huts all over the mountains. In the mountainous parts of Austria, farming families own various parts of the valley - a house and barn on a bit of ground in the village, a parcel of forest somewhere up on the mountain and an alm, right up above the tree line. The alm is only used in the summer months, usually by one of the women in the family. The cows are taken from the barn where they've been all winter and herded up to the alm, where the 'shepherdess' milks them and makes cheeses for the household. Once a week or so, someone comes to bring supplies up to the alm and take the cheese back down to the farm.

Of course, I'm sure that things have changed in the way the Alm's are used and from what I gather, a lot of them are just used as getaways or as useful places to sell a farm snack to people wandering around the mountains. It's such a shame that the old ways are fast disappearing in this brave new world!

Although I am pleased to see how many people still get around in Austrian national costumes. Especially on the weekends or if there is a festival somwhere, you will see young and old steppingg out in a dirndl or lederhosen. And alot of folk going up to do some hiking in the mountains wear traditional garb too.......

Are you wondering why the farmers land is owned in several different locations? In the steep valleys theres not much room to have all your hectares in one lump and no point having all meadow and no firewood, so it's been sorted out so that all the farmers get a bit of each. I suppose everyone was a farmer and living off the land once, although some would have been more prosperous than others.

All of these gorgeous photos were taken by Anton on his travels around the heights. I haven't yet had a chance to get up and do some wandering but hope to remedy that when we go to Karnten, which is where my dad is from and where I feel most at home. Mum and I have been on three different cable car/gondola rides in the past two days, which is a bit extreme, I know, but she likes to go up and down alot!!!!

Luckily Anton has a bit of flower appreciation going on, and is happy to take pics of them all...... as well as any fat cows he sees......

.......isn't she gorgeous? They are all over the mountain and you can hear their big bells tinkling as you sail over them in the cable car. Which makes me realise that there are obviously many farmers still keeping cows on the alm over the summer. Excellent!

I hope you've enjoyed the flora - I'm having difficulties with this silly Blogsy app that I bought to enable me to blog from the ipad. It's not easy uploading pics and as for cropping, forget it! They will just be as they are! I will try not to let it deter me from posting!!! ;o)