Osttirol Revisited - Part I

Back in July we decided that we needed a break; our May vacation plans had fallen flat and we'd been working solidly since our ski trip to Norway in February. After debating where to go, we finally decided that we'd return to Lienz in East Tyrol on the Austrian/Italian border. We'd camped there for 10 days in 2017 and felt that it warranted a second visit, particularly as the area is a very strong contender for us to settle down in in the future. Stuck between the main alpine chain and the Dolomites, this little corner of Austria is charming, a little off the beaten track and very competitively priced.

Old Lienz, the heart of East Tyrol or Osttirol || Olympus 12 mm, f/8, 1/100 s, ISO 200

The campsite was adamant that it wasn't necessary (or even possible) to make a reservation, but we were optimistic that there would be enough space for our six-person tent on the meadow next to the Tristacher See. We needn't have worried; when we arrived on the Thursday afternoon there couldn't have been more than about 20 tents and vans scattered at responsible distances over the large field. Although the campsite restaurant and bar were closed, there were plenty of places open in Lienz itself and the forecast was looking great for at least the next week.

The Region of East Tyrol

The week started off a little overcast as we revisited the hills above Sillian in the Pustertal. What did blow us away was the abundance of wild flowers, especially the alpine roses (actually a misnomer; they're azaleas). Being a little higher than the mountains than are our normal stomping ground in the northern Alps, everything was significantly further behind. They say that the temperature decreases by one degree Celsius per 100 m ascent and the extra 500+ m of elevation on the hills meant that everything was significantly behind Bavaria.

Alpine Roses above Sillian || Olympus 12 mm, f/8, 1/100 s, ISO 200

As well as revisiting some old haunts we used the week to look at some further corners of this remote region that we hadn't seen before, such as the Gailtal, which is pretty, but we were able to rule it off the list of places that we might consider for retirement - despite being very modestly priced, the corridor between Sillian and Kötschach-Mauthen is just too remote.

In the hills above Obertilliach || Olympus 15 mm, f/11, 1/100 s, ISO 200

At the Golzentipp || Olympus 7.5 mm,  f/16, 1/1250 s, ISO 200

The campsite is a couple of hundred meters above Lienz at a sheltered lake called the Tristacher See, great for a swim at the end of a hot day's hiking and free to campsite users. The walk round the lake only takes about 30 min. At the far end is a swanky hotel that didn't look like we would fit in, especially not in our outdoor camping gear.

Evening Mood at the Tristacher Lake || Olympus 20 mm, f/5.6, 1/8 s, ISO 200

The Defereggental is similarly stunning, but a tad too far from the madding crowd as well as being exceedingly steep sided - you'd hardly see the sun in the winter in this deeply cleft east-west running valley. One of the unique features of the area is that in many places, where there's no cable car it's possible to drive really high into the mountains before starting to hike. The Defereggental is one of those places and we were able to drive up to 2,000 m along a very rough logging track before abandoning the car at a small car park before heading into the mountains.

The Majestic Defereggental || Olympus 24 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 s, ISO 200

Our hike up the strangely-named Speikboden was rewarded with a view of the Groß Venediger, one of Austria's most prominent peaks, together with a field of the eponymous violet flowers and a couple of marmots scuttling across a late snow field. One delight on the way down was a patch of wayside wild lupins at a bend in the road. This was an opportunity to put my new manual 7.5 mm 7Artisans fish-eye lens to the test. Originally bought so that I could cram more sky into my astrophotography, I've taken to using it instead for floral shots like this. You can get within a few centimeters of the flowers, allowing them to take a significant part of the picture, whilst retaining depth of field to the background setting.

Speikboden and the Großer Venediger || Olympus 7.5 mm,  f/16, 1/640 s, ISO 200

Wayside Lupins || Olympus 29 mm, f/4, 1/1250 s, ISO 200

Just outside Lienz is a gorge - the Galitzenklamm - with a number of fixed climbing routes (via ferrata or Klettersteig). After tackling one of the easier routes, the kids decided they wanted to take a crack at "Adrenalin", one of the more challenging routes. Too challenging it turned out, and so Joshua did a solo  on the route next to the water, taking time to pose for a short long-exposure shot.

The Galitzenklamm Klettersteig || Olympus 28 mm, f/13, 1 s, ISO 64

Water in the Gorge || Olympus 86 mm, f/9, 1/5 s, ISO 64

The nice thing about the gorge is that you can spend the morning there and still take in the alpine zoo at Assling, a lovely little village in the Hochpustertal and one that's definitely on our radar for later. On top of the chamoix, ibex and marmots, there's a wonderful lynx enclosure that lets you look in from above without fences as well as some delightful snowy owls.

I was sleeping!  || Olympus 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/100 s, ISO 64

Note to self: When switching from long-exposure shots in the gorge to long focal length shots of animals, it can be helpful to set the ISO back to 200, duh!

Snowy Owl || Olympus 100 mm, f/4, 1/125 s, ISO 200

Still to come: sundowner at the picturesque Dolomitenhütte, a sunny day in Matrei and a close encounter with a kestrel.