Alpine Pilgrimage

At 6:30am last Thursday, June 2nd, I boarded a tram with a group of twenty students from the local Catholic youth ministry in Linz.  We were headed for the city train station, where would travel with a regional train headed for the towns of Selzthal, and then eventually Trieben, a small town in northern Styria.  From there, our group left the station, crossed the small main street, and then began our hike into the Trieben river valley.

This was not just a hike, but more meaningful to our spirituality and faith.  It was a pilgrimage, with prayer, liturgy and hymns, as well as a common goal - The Benedictan abbey in Seckau.  Just like a hike, we were dressed for the journey - toting heavy gear and wearing sturdy boots featuring thick tread to support our step.  We went by line or by pairs, some talking while others remained silent.  Unlike a hike, we were all pilgrams, set out on a path to uncover and deal with obstacles along the way.  Faith was central, and I witnessed this on numerous occasions, including when we first left the station.

Leaving the station, we went into the town's small provincial church for a prayer circle.  We listened to a popular biblical verse, "The Parable of the Talents" (Matthew 25:14-28).  The verse places a methaphor forward that shows us to respect the abilities and talents we were born with, and to use all the talents we have been blessed with - not only the ones we're especially good at.


We left the church and headed into the Trieben valley ("Hinteres Triebenthal" in German), which parallels uncomfortably close to a county motorway.  The mountain side, which had been originally dynamited to give way to the road, contained an assortment of marble and rock that my Geology professor at Wooster would've been elated!  Among these were sandstones, granite, red and white marble, more granite, and quartz.


After two hours, we entered a clearing which opened to another valley.  The road changed to asphalt and led us straight to the doorsteps of our inn, Gasthof Braun, set on a farm and surrounded by very green, pine tree mountains.  The group unpacked, and then split into two halves, with the first heading for a swimming hole down the road.  Those left over, me included, stayed behind at the inn, settled in our rooms to freshen up, and then set out to explore on our own.  I ventured with two great people, Francesco and Maria, up an inlet surrounded by cascading hillsides.  Our loop was short, at just an hour, but it offered us a great look out point for pictures.  Once we came back down, and after the rest of the group returned from their dip in a frigid lake, we enjoyed a hefty, Styrian dinner that featured a regional specialty: mixed salad with pumpkin seed oil.

Our real hike began the next day.  We awoke at seven o'clock, dressed and breakfasted.  Each of us were determined by our goal - to not just ascend a 2000m-high mountain, but also to complete the vital mountain pass, which would send us into the next valley.  We began ascending the mountain, facing steep grades and paths so flooded we mistook them for creeks (photos).  Weather conditions changed sporadically, changing between mist and rain; but after just a few hours, we caught sight of the summit.  Continuing further, passed rock piles and snow mounds, we reached the peak and took in the view.  Into the distance, we could see mountain chains etched out across the horizon.

Gaal Mountain: From the summit, 2000m.

We rested and then slowly descended one-hundred meters to reach a wide plateau which housed an alpine lake known as the Krugsee.  Some of the backpackers stripped and bathed in the frigid waters, while I stayed ashore, captivated by the towering mountains that surrounded our tranquil lake (take a look).

Once refreshed and well-nourished, we began descending - only to be met with an unexpected thunderstorm, and still at 2000m!  We hurriedly reached level ground once more and sought shelter from the downpour which followed.  Calm once more, we found an asphalt county road and stayed on it until we reached our lodge for that evening.

Just a little steep.

At the lodge, we were warmly greeted.  This was no typical hiker's lodge, at least for this American.  Unique would better describe my reaction to a two-story house, completely built of wood, with interior AND exterior walls covered, from floor to ceiling, in only the folksiest of folk art, nic-nacs, wood carvings, and, of course, antlers - a herd's worth of them!  Had Buffalo Bill waltzed in the door, he would have made it home.  Needless to say we were well taken care of there - the family who ran the lodge, the Mühlthaler family, was as much attending to their guests as they were to their interior design.

Crows from a rooster woke me at 5am the next morning.  We hung around the lodge until later that morning, in order to spiritually prepare ourselves for the day - we would reach the abbey that afternoon.

More on that day and the abbey to come...