On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
We are in Austria this morning! No hills that are alive with the sound of music, but we have calming nature scenes, and the coolest pig ever. Sorry, Avalune, you no longer have the market cornered on cool pig photos. In case anyone is worried, I am not thinking we’ll go with Pig Week once Paris After Dark is over. ~WaterGirl
edit on Tuesday morning: We are going to pause Paris After Dark for this week because of the convention. We will resume next week with the original schedule for this week.
way2blue
The first photo is for our proprietor, John G Cole. Thought he’d appreciate the crafting of a fence without nails.
I often visit the Tirol region of Austria in May, when wildflowers are blooming. The village of Walchsee is situated in an agricultural valley that’s entirely organic. Mostly small, family-run dairy farms. Pasture fences are simply electrified tape strung between stakes and attached to car batteries (or not, although I’ve resisted the temptation to test this). Thus fences are easily shifted to fresh pasture as needed. The surrounding mountains host numerous, well marked hiking trails, with Alms and Hütte rewarding hikers (and mountain bikers) with beers and stunning views. Being Austria, you see many older people on the trails, and one glance at their boots, know that hiking is a way of life.
NOTHEGG. Woven stake fence built without nails, along path around the lake, Walchsee.
VIEW FROM ABOVE. View of the village nestled in a gap between two ridges, Miesberg and Hausberg (looking southward from Wandberghütte).
ALONG PATH AROUND LAKE. Walking around the small lake, Walchsee, adjacent to the village takes a little over an hour. There are three campgrounds near the lake; one hosts a multi-day music festival in the Spring.
GRAZING DAIRY COWS. Cows enjoying lush pasture along path to Raineralm.
BIOKÄSEREI IM DORF. The local organic dairy overlooking the village pasture sells cheeses, sausage, muesli, jams & such. Miesberg rises behind the dairy.
KONDITEREI IM DORF. Mother & child grazing in the village pasture, with the pastry shop in the background. This pasture hosts festivals as well. Usually a large tent filled with tables, music, much beer, smoking, singing, with most dressed in traditional clothing. Often preceded by a foot race, triathlon or re-enactment of a centuries-old battle
PIG PEN EN ROUTE TO RAINERALM. A group of pigs hanging out along Weißenbach stream in a pen filled with cobbles. (With a request to not lean bicycles on the fence; Bitte keine Fahrräder anlehnen.)
CURIOUS PIG. One of the fellows wondering what’s up…
John Cole
Did I just miss the wildflowers?
mrmoshpotato
That pig looks curious – curiously delicious!
eclare
That is some pig!
mrmoshpotato
OT – one of my neighbors’ weather stations via wunderground says it’s -40F outside.
SFAW
@e.b. clare:
I don’t get it
SFAW
@mrmoshpotato:
See, libtard? I TOLD you “global warming” was a hoax!
ETA: You sure it’s Fahrenheit?
Steeplejack
@mrmoshpotato:
Neighbor where?! This means nothing without context.
Doug
I C what you did there.
Yutsano
Ah Österreich. Maybe when I can finally get to Europe I should just take a whole month off from work to go like everywhere. Bonus if I can get an Irish passport by then too.
SFAW
@Doug:
Likewise.
BruceFromOhio
@SFAW: shout out to Charlotte’s Web. Love the ears!
waynel140
I came for the flowers, and all I got was a lousy pig.
SFAW
@BruceFromOhio:
Read my reply again. All of it.
Then look at the commenter to whom I was replying.
WaterGirl
We are going to pause Paris After Dark for this week because of the convention. We will resume next week with the original schedule for this week.
BigJimSlade
@John Cole: You need some wildflowers, John? Just scroll down my flickr page (I don’t update it much, but it’s got flowers)… https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/
BigJimSlade
@way2blue: lovely pics! that curious pig is practically a short cow!
LongHairedWeirdo
The pictures are lovely.
(Pauses.)
You know, that fence reminds me of the “explosive shuriken” use of popsicle sticks. Fan out three, then weave one over the center, under the two sides, and the other over the two sides, and under the center.
Now, there’s a wrong way to fan them out – but there’s a right way to do it, and once you’ve got five popsicle sticks in your hand, it’s usually pretty obvious. And they can be fun to throw at inanimate objects, because they’ll usually “explode” – the tension they’re all under makes them hit, lose structure, and fly apart.
(Yeah, you can buy craft sticks to do this, but c’mon, it’s summer!)
Seriously: nice pics, I feel a bit badly about feeling the urge to share a childhood toy on top of them :-).
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@SFAW: See Charlotte’s Web.
John Cole
That fence is amazing and I want that pig.
way2blue
@John Cole: Sorry for the slow reply. I just returned from a week at Emigrant Lake in the High Sierras. Culminating yesterday with a 6-hour ride out on horseback. (Ouch.)
Wildflowers next time…