Sunny days in Carinthia

Nassfeld

We returned to Carinthia, as the weather forecast promised sun in the south and we were not disappointed! Snow and sunny weather made it fun to go skiing and do some hiking. Our first destination was again the Nassfeld. From there we continued to Bad Kleinkirchheim, were we went on a hike and explored an area which is called Heidi Alm, after the famous animated television series. (If you don’t know it, don’t worry ;-))

At the Nassfeld it is not allowed to park during the night, which I think is mainly to make sure they can clear the parking if it is snowing. This time we drove to the parking in the mountains, just 100 metres from the Italian border checkpoint. We spent the night there without a problem. The next day the sky was cloudless and we were eager to get on the lift. As it was very cold we returned home for a brake and something warm to drink, as all restaurants are of course currently closed.

Parking in the mountains
Wulfenia is a special plant which can be found in this area
Icy fog started to rise after sunset

The next day we stopped at Bad Kleinkirchheim, which is a well known skiing area but also has a thermal spring and a couple of spa hotels. We went for a walk on the sunny side of the valley and through the village. Normally this area would be bustling with all kind of tourists, during the lockdown it was strangely empty. Tragic what happens to our economy at the moment.

Hiking the “Sonnenweg”
This church is built above the thermal spring which has a healing quality

From Bad Kleinkirchheim it was not far to the Falkert mountain lake at 1870 metres. We were surprised to find a little skiing area there and decided to do some more skiing. It was very cold, for sure -10 degrees but as long the sun was shining it felt ok. As soon as the sun disappeared behind the mountains we gave up and went inside.

This is Heidi – in case you don’t know her
Skiing at the Heidi Alm
On the way back down into the valley

We spent the night at the Heidi Alm, where the temperature dropped to about -16 degrees during the night. In the morning, we noticed that we were very low on gas. With this kind of outside temperature, we got a little worried and decided to drive to the next petrol station with propane gas. Luckily there was one not too far away at the highway A10.

Happy to fill up the propane gas tank
Clearing the roof made easy at the petrol station

The weather forecast predicts more cold days and nights but less sun, lets see what we will do next. We would like to try a different skiing area, maybe the Gerlitzen. More on our next post!

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