Blog Posts in Category: Landscape

Kranzhorn Sunset

Alastair BegleyAustria, Bavaria, Landscape, Walking Short Link

After doing a sunset hike up the Rotwand a few days earlier, we decided to do another sunset hike after work. As it was a post work hike, with an early autumn sunset, it had to be both close to Munich and a short walk. This meant that the Kranzhorn seemed like the obvious choice, as it was an easy drive on the Motorway towards Kufstein, before parking at a high Wanderparkplatz which meant that we only had 425m of ascent and 2.7km to walk to get to the summit. After a quick ascent we were at the summit in 50 mins, which gave us plenty of time to admire the view before the sunset and to eat our sandwiches. I couldn’t find any compositions which had any foreground interest, so it was a simple composition just consisting of the view towards the setting sun. There were some high clouds which remained after sunset which gave a beautiful afterglow. The we descended while it was still just about light to the Kranzhorn Schutzhütte, and from here we descended the longer way down the easy track, which was definitely faster in. Read the full article…

Rotwand Sunset

Alastair BegleyBavaria, Landscape, Walking Short Link

Not wanting to get up early to head to the mountains after Oktoberfest the evening before, we decided to head out for a sunset hike up the Rotwand. As we set off from the car park the weather was looking pretty ominous and we were certainly not optimistic for the sunset conditions. As we made our ascent the conditions started to improve and we enjoyed wonderful views with the landscape intermixed between sun and shade which created a lovely contrast. As we made good time on the walk we decided to head to the Rotwandhaus for a pre-sunset dinner, which was certainly better than the sandwiches that we had packed. As sunset approached we headed up to the Rotwand from the Rotwandhaus, and by this point most of the clouds had vanished which meant that we had excellent views in every direction. The highlights were the view towards the Großglockner, in the soft golden hour light with the rising moon above it and the view directly towards the setting sun over the Bavarian Alps. As there were no clouds left after sunset to catch the afterglow, we headed off early. Read the full article…

Soča River

Alastair BegleyLandscape, Slovenia, Walking Short Link

On the penultimate day of our holiday we decided to do a valley walk down the beautiful Soča river, renowned for its gorges and the colour of the water, it really is that colour! Our plan was go straight to the campsite for the evening and then catch a bus up the valley so that we could easily finish our walk at the campsite with zero faff. We were able to check in early at the campsite, and after a quick turnaround we quickly did the 20min walk to the bus stop. Unfortunately the bus never turned up, or at least it was over 40 mins late, however thankfully we were able to hitch a lift up the valley directly to our ideal start place. The spot where we joined the Soča river was immediately beautiful and the first photos of the day were taken, before we headed up into the Korita Mlinarice, a gorge which is just off the main river and is well known for its waterfalls. The walk was mostly very close to the river, which gave plenty of photo opportunities, some of which resulted in me. Read the full article…

Ljubljana Day Trip

Alastair BegleyLandscape, Slovenia Short Link

On our way back to the mountains from the coast we stopped off in Ljubljana for the day. It was a really beautiful city with a variety of architecture, great views over the city from the castle, lots of regional shops, an outstanding market and full of friendly people. During the day we did a city tour and then explored the city, before enjoying dinner at a restaurant which showcased local food whilst remaining very good value, before heading back to the van. On the way back to the van we walked along the river to capture the city at night, which in my opinion is one of the best ways to capture the atmosphere of a city, especially when there is a river as the city lights and reflections bring the city to life.

Izola sunsets

Alastair BegleyLandscape, Slovenia Short Link

Due to a poor weather forecast in the mountains we headed down to Izola on the Slovenian coastline. Living in Munich the mountains are very close, but the sea is a long way away, which meant that it was great to be able to drive from the mountains to the cost in only 90mins. On the way out to dinner I was able to capture the sunset as we walked past the harbour, before a lovely dinner with a tasting menu consisting of local seafood and Slovenian wine.

Triglav Seven Lakes Valley

Alastair BegleyLandscape, Slovenia, Walking Short Link

The Triglav seven lakes valley is very well known valley and is renowned as being an excellent but long approach to climb Triglav via a route with no technical difficulty. We however decided to head into the valley and explore some of the lakes as a day walk. Despite the walk being a “valley walk”, it was by no means an insignificant day out as we covered 18km with 1000m of ascent. The walk was very enjoyable, but we did spend a lot of the day in the forrest and it would perhaps have been better to have started earlier so we could have made our way further up the valley to the next lake, or even to have made a circuit. The walk initially took us up in the forrest to Koča na Planini pri Jezeru, where there are a number of old huts, along with a modern hut, in which it is possible to stay. After enjoying the views, it was straight back into the forrest again until we emerged at the remote settlement at Planini Dedno Polje. Due to the time we didn’t hang around here, or. Read the full article…

Martuljek Waterfalls (Martuljški slapovi)

Alastair BegleyLandscape, Slovenia Short Link

On our rest day we decided to head to the Martuljek waterfalls as they had been recommended by a friend, and we had been reliably informed that the hut above the first section of waterfalls was well worth a visit. The walk up the first section certainly did not disappoint, as it was immediately interesting with lots of smaller waterfalls in a beautiful gorge as we approached the main waterfall of the lower section. This main waterfall was absolutely stunning, and with the position of the sun and the water spray created some beautiful lightning conditions. Unfortunately the path up to the second waterfall was shut, which was a shame as this waterfall is apparently even bigger, but it did give us an excuse to have more of a rest day than we had initially planned. We made our way to the Brunarica pri Ingotu hut for lunch, which is situated on a beautiful meadow just outside of the forrest. Here we enjoyed some typical slovenian mountain food, before heading back down into the valley.

Krumltal/Tal der Geier

Alastair BegleyAustria, Landscape, Walking Short Link

With afternoon thunderstorms forecast and after two days of walking with more than 1300m of ascent, we decided that a rest day was in order. We decided to do a short walk up the Krumltal to the Bräualm for lunch. The valley is best known for the birds of prey, where it is common to see Griffon Vultures, Bearded Vulture and Golden Eagles. What we didn’t realise is that it was also a really beautiful valley which was full of enormous waterfalls. On our walk into the hut we enjoyed admiring the landscape and the waterfalls, and saw what we believe to be a number of Griffon Vultures. We soon arrived at the beautifully situated farm where the Bräualm was situated, where we enjoyed a lunch of their homemade bread and cheese, with meat from their animals. All of this while overlooking the valley where we were watching Bearded Vultures flying, thankfully someone at the hut let us use their binoculars to fully appreciate the birds. On the way out we saw a number of Marmots which I was particularly pleased about, and then just as we were about to. Read the full article…