Maissau Run, Castles, Woods, Rain ... and cheese in Mostviertel

Finishing my role as technical official for the Maissau Sprint Duathlon and still having enough time I changed my clothes, I started the run GPS clock, took the camera and began my usual ritual of discoverying a new area on my journeys' book.

 The first thing I wanted to reach it was, of course, the old castle (1122) which imposes over the area gushing out of the woods!

Fom the center of the Maissau I just followed the road uphill on the right side and I already entered a new Universe.

From here you have no other alternative than turning right and the paved alley takes you into the forest.

A little bit frozen after standing so many hours in the transition area I now was happy to walk, run and discover a new corner of the world.

No wind, sun come out, peaceful and green ..... green all around!

As all over the places in Austria you find the right information on the right spots. Not always and not always the information you would like to get, but ..... this is a map of a "learning route" (German: Lehrpfad/Lehrstrecke) through the forest. At certain points you reach you will find a piece of education doesn't matter how old are you. I love the system. It has an undeniable pshichological and educational impact at a general scale for the entire population starting with small children!!

This picture above could be anywhere in the world, it has nothing special on it. But everytime I will read my blog and I will look to the picture I will exactly know the moment and the feeling and the occasion I was here on my own feet :-)

 Here are information about The Forest. You learn from here that 46% of Austria is woods and that Maissau is covered by forest in a percentage of 28. 

The following elements after ”Wald” are: 

Farm houses (Bauern) in Austria per total and 72% in Maissau from the total population of the place. 

Forest enterprises (Forstbetriebe)

State/public woods (Bundesforste), 

then you learn about trees:

Spruce (Tanne, Fichte) 66% / 18%

Pine-trees, Larch (Kiefer, Lärche)

Beech (Buche) and Oacks (Eichen).

Behind the bank another "Teacher" :-)

speaking about the natural dangers for the forests:

Dryness

Noxious insects

Wind

Harmful fungi

Frost/Hoarfrost/Snow 

Parasites

Deer browsing

Peel.

Running deep in the forest the only thing I could think about it, except the wonderful feeling of being there, was about not fearing about wild animals. And these is not a "happy" statement ..... but about this subject I intend to write more when I describe my adventure on climbing The Oetscher ten days ago or so.

The Teacher above speaks about a very delicate subject and although I do not agree with it (I consider the human being is the only animal destroying the Nature, I consider The Nature can exist without us, but we absolutely cannot survive about a healthy nature!), I just post the information:

"Hunt goals/responsabilities:

 Preservation of biological balance

 Preventing overcrowding 

 Control of the damages due to some wild animals

 Protection agains epidemic diseases

 Maintainance of biodiversity"

If you ask me, I would not allow this approach in this manner, being actually an encouragement of the hunting act and the animals have no chance in front of guns!

Bikers are allowed to follow the road left and are not allowed to go on the road right side. That road is for pedestrians only.

In Austria mountain biking is a very fragile and hot disscussion subject, the law is very restrictive and every summer there are huge demonstrations of the mountain bikers requesting more space and freedom to bike throgh the wild nature.

After about four kilometers I left the forest behind me entering of a sort of El Camino in the way I imagine it is.

Going back on the same route was not an alternative for me, of course! So .... life goes on, so my path goes on .... no idea to where, but I will find a different trail to reach the starting point. We always reach our starting points in life ..... always .... it's all about time and timing!

And ..... I left the alternative of going straight, turning on left ... let's see where I come :-) 

And I entered ..... a World of Moments ...............

I stoped here (picture below) for few minutes undecided what to do: running further or going left and finding a way to reach the starting point? Meanwile it was already about 4 p.m., so not much time left for adventures. I had no water, no money, no ID card, no anything ..... as almost everytime in all years of adventures.

These are often short journeys where we are forced to decide, to find solutions, to see once again how well or bad we know ourselves.

These are often those kind of short journeys where we learn a further piece of ourselves.

Moments of taking time to stop and to see despite any risks of delays ....

because Time is what we are doing from it .....

We have the wrong impression Time leads us. Yes, it does because we let Him doing it.

Herbspiral ..... Herbs are very valuable in Austria.

This country is an interesting mixture of ancient, old, modern and technical future.

You need years to understand not only the general rules, but the general "hidden rules" and the "Unsaid" especially. It takes time and energy.

I couldn't avoid the main road back to Maissau, so about two kilometers I just had to run along it.

It was colder and rain seemed to come soon.

All over historical information.

Spring colors .... if the walls could tell stories ...

I miss a lot of things in my life just now .....

Or I am just getting older and more emotional .....

I miss my writing ...... my appettit and time for writing ....

I miss things which I cannot define for strangers ....

I feel hurt. Too ofen. And I cannot say it.

I have the feeling I loose my life.

I terrible miss my cat and our evenings and mornings and journeys and talks ...

Afternoon run ..... everybody is running :-)

I left Maissau without visiting the Amethyst Universe .... so I have to travel back here. Or maybe not. The world is large ...

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1140628349

I stopped in Mühlbach - picture below

Another castle with a beautiful garden

A sort of Botanical Garden, another piece of education

The former baroque palace gardens and the English landscape park in Mühlbach was revitalized in 2003 and made publicly available for a total surface of 15ha.

Conceived as a strict baroque garden, shows us a plan of 1801 symmetrically arranged paths, low hedges and rebates, as well as three pools (front of the Orangerie, in the middle and at the end of the garden), which were connected by a pipe system.

Two rows of chestnut trees - the right and left in the rear half of the garden - offered leisure activities such as bowling alley and the stil existing stone table was a place to relax.

From those times come the big trees such as Maple, Ginkgo, copper beech, tulip tree etc. as well as the huge plane trees, oaks and white poplars, the pond with the imposing cypress and as early as 1720 applied Dirndlweg - an approximately 60m long portico Dirndl bushes.

The park was organized in a romantic English style: caves on Bach, a summer cottage on the channel field, a bath house with dock at the pond and looped paths in the Vogelsberg offered the walkers always a welcome change.

The horses are protected with cotton dresses against the insects. These two horses were about 30 m in background. They saw me and came very quickly for a chat .....

If you ask me .... horses should have controlled the world, not the humanoids!
I left this castle too. Two hours of driving expected me.

And the cold rash rain began soon as I already was along the marvellous Wachau Valley ....

I had no idea that two days later I will be here again by bike!

Narrow streets are cutting the valley like a long snake crawling through colorful solid houses ..... if the walls could tell us stories ....

The Wachau is an Austrian valley with a picturesque landscape formed by the Danube river. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations of Lower Austria, located midway between the towns of Melk and Krems that also attracts "connoisseurs and epicureans" for its high-quality wines.

It is 40 kilometres (25 mi) in length and was already settled in prehistoric times. A well-known place and tourist attraction is Dürnstein, where King Richard the Lion-Heart of England was held captive by Duke Leopold V. 

The architectural elegance of its ancient monasteries (Melk Abbey and Göttweig Abbey), castles and ruins combined with the urban architecture of its towns and villages, and the cultivation of vines as an important agricultural produce are the dominant features of the valley.

The Wachau was inscribed as "Wachau Cultural Landscape" in the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites in recognition of its architectural and agricultural history, in December 2000.

I drove enjoying the two hours of fascinating landscape, even so by strong rain.

I ended the evening in a very spontaneous way. As I reached home, the entire family was ready to go out for dinner. I let the car keys in the lobby and I enjoyed them for the next hours.

A local soft sheep cheese, a very new taste direction for me, with extra garlic and bit of butter. All home made.

Hanging clothes here when you enter the local. Very simple and efficient and rustic design.

Somewhere in the black darkness of a cold evening of April, raining, up on the hill, far away from the crowded world ..... few people enjoy the local gastronomy in a rustical friendly and warm atmosphere.