Hiking in the Alps

The entire experience in the Alps, especially the hiking portion, was without a doubt one of the best elements of the entire trip. The opportunity to hike some of the prettiest terrain in the world was definitely a significant factor in my choosing to study abroad in Vienna. As an Eagle Scout, I’m very familiar with hiking and backpacking, but never had the opportunity to experience the world-renowned trails of the Alps and perhaps more interestingly, the accompanying Austrian hiking culture. I’ve witnessed first hand in Vienna that everyday walking is done at an extremely fast pace by the locals (an element of Austrian culture that Professor Stuart has fully embraced!) and I can now understand it as an element of Austrian culture. It’s clear that walking is a mode of transportation here, especially in the downtown area that we are most commonly in. This makes the general walking pace much faster than the leisurely stroll that is typical of our group as we simultaneously try to figure out where we are going and also sight-see. I think the overall fast walking pace is also an exposition of the high physical fitness of the Viennese. Not only do I routinely see the Viennese walking and running around the streets for exercise, but the speed they use for exercise clearly transfers over to their everyday walking speed. This left me wondering how the hiking style of the Austrians would manifest in the Alps.

I was amazed at how many people travel to the Raxalpe resort during the summer for access to the trails. It’s clearly a ski resort that gets limited business in the summer outside of hikers stopping on the way up and down the gondola so we essentially had the resort to ourselves. The Austrians are extremely hardcore about their hiking as even the people that were only going for the day were complete with full hiking attire and hiking poles. The terrain was rough on our way to the first Heuriger. We had the opportunity to see first hand that while Austrians keep a very brisk walking pace in Vienna, we actually share a very similar hiking style. Both Harrison and I are Eagle Scouts and have extensive hiking experience and we found that while hiking alongside Austrians that we not only hike at a similar pace, but also enjoy hiking in similar ways. We both keep a good pace, but enjoy the scenery at the same time. I feel like it says a lot about how while we are products of very different cultures and societies we can still enjoy hiking and the scenery. It speaks to the fact that hiking isn’t specifically associated with our cultures and is actually a universal activity. While we have significant cultural differences in almost every other part of life from both culture and society, it’s amazing how hiking and enjoying nature is something that appears to be shared worldwide.

The food in the Alps at both the hotel and Heuriger was delicious and interesting all at the same time. I’m glad we were almost forced to try more traditional Austrian food during our stay in the Alps. It’s very easy in Vienna to start eating a lot of the same kinds of food for both ease and cost efficiency, however with only one place to eat at the hotel, this was simply not an option. It’s clear that this hotel tries to serve somewhat traditional Austrian food. The first night I had a sausage dish and then the second night a pork and sourkraut plate. While these might not exactly be the national dishes of Austria, our group really got the feeling that they were trying to create a true Austrian experience in the Alps. This seems to carry over from America culture. Often times, hotels, at least in my experience, try to create a full experience of the specific culture and society in which the hotel is located. They try to cater to the general perceived desire of most people when traveling to want to experience something new and different, just as our group. On the whole I would say our experience in the Alps was an incredible learning experience for not only the immersion into the Austrian hiking culture, but also for the ability to embrace the hospitality style of a ski resort and the food of authentic mountain Heurigers.