Nassfeld

I can proudly say that a few weeks ago, just before moving to Barcelona, I have added another amazing hiking trail to my 'collection' of the awesome trails that I have hiked this summer. But this one is different from others in many ways. Would you like to know which ones exactly? Then please, feel free to keep reading.

Since the weekend was getting closer and closer, and I did not work on that weekend, I have decided to make a quick trip to a place I have not been before, but I really wanted to go there for quite a long time. My parents were there one year before me, and when they were showing me pictures from there, I knew that I will go there someday. The place is called Nassfeld, and you might have heard of this place before. In fact, it is quite famous as one of the best ski slopes not only in Austria, but also in other central European countries.

I have heard that the place is awesome, both in summer and in winter, but I honestly have not expected such a great place i have even googled some pictures to get a brief image of where I am going, but they are not even close to the real place. Reality is much, much better. Of course I took a lot of pictures so you can see how it looks like, and hopefully this entry will make you wish to go there someday. Really, you totally should go there.

The location of Nassfeld and how to get there:

The road to Nassfeld will take you through stunning mountainous scenery, lonely trees, growing in the middle of the mountains, and you might even spot a mountain goat or two. And cows. A lot of cows. Actually, I was very surprised that there were only cows and not a single sheep, goat or horse. At least I did not see them.

In fact, there are two roads that lead to Nassfeld, and what is awesome here, is, that you can take one road to get there, and return back by taking the other road, which is great if you would like to also see the other side of those mountains. But honestly, personally I prefer the mountain road, and this is the one that I took on the way there. I am not saying that the other one is bad, the mountain one is just much much better.

The place is easily accessible from whichever direction you are coming from. Since I am from Slovenia (although I am not spending much time here in the last few years), I will describe the directions from there.

It is simple to get to Nassfeld, and since this is a famous wintersports centre, the way there is very well marked. If you are not convinced yet, let me tell you that I usually get lost pretty easily when driving to an unknown place. But I never had to turn back and ask for directions when driving to Nassfeld.

So, we will start our virtual journey in a city, called Bovec. In my previous entries, I have already mentioned Bovec a couple of times, and I have also included directions about how to get there, so if you do not know how exactly to get to Bovec, you can read them.

By the way, there is the last gas station in Bovec for quite a long time – the next one you will see, is situated in Austria. It indeed is a good idea to fill up your gas tank here in Bovec before starting your journey.

To get to Nassfeld from Bovec, it took me about one hour and fifteen minutes of a relaxing, not too fast driving. Keep in mind that there are a lot of turns on the way there and you cannot really drive fast on the way there. Luckily.

When in Bovec, you have to follow the directions for the village Log pod Mangrtom. It is easy – just keep driving on the main road through Bovec and at the end of this small city (which can rarely be considered a city in my opinion), you will see a roundabout. There, you have to take the third exit. What follows now, is a nice road, passing through the forest and over bridges, below whose you can see the crystal clear river Soča.

In about ten minutes, you will arrive to Log pod Mangrtom, a scenic and small village, which also has a small ski slope, but it is only good for absolute beginners. The fact that you have to push yourself forward sometimes on the way down, should tell you that it is not very steep.

The drive through the village is short, and soon, you will be driving through the forest again. The next village that you will reach, is called Strmec, which would literally be translated as 'steep'. And how correct this name is – this village is situated on a steep hill. I have no idea how they managed to build the houses there! The road through is very narrow and you can only hope you will not encounter a bus or a truck when driving through.

After Strmec, there is only one more village before the italian border, called Predel. Right before it, you can see a very famous Trdnjava Kluže (the Kluže fortress), which dates back to the Napoleon times. After Predel, there is another interesting sight – the statue of a lion with his head resting on several dynamite sticks, which is dedicated to war victims. You might see some people taking pictures on it, but if you ask me, such behaviour is totally disrespectful. After all, there is a fence in front of the statue, so I do not really understand why they are climbing over it.

You do not have to present any identification documents at the Slovenian – Italian border. In fact, there is nobody there to check it, but the building is still there and it seems like an abandoned prison to me. Before Slovenia went into the Schengen area, they used to stamp our passports everytime we wanted to go to Italy, and it was somehow annoying.

After the border, the road will start going downwards, and about halfway down, you will see a beautiful Rabeljsko jezero (the Rabeljsko lake), which freezes  in winter and people are actually ice skating on it, and in summer, it becomes a popular swimming spot, although the water is quite cold, if you ask me. I will describe this lake more in details in one of my next entries, because I think i deserves more attention.

After the lake, you will arrive into the village of Rabelj, which was in the past a mining town. The mine is now closed, but it will be soon opened as a museum (the last information was that the opening should happen in 2017). The houses in this village look very old, and there is also a very futuristic – looking church, whose appearance really does not fit in that village.

After the village of Rabelj, there is another one, called Tarvisio, which is famous for its open - air maket and many designer shops and boutiques.

Soon after Tarvisio, you will reach the highway, and there, you will already see the first signs and advertisements for Nassfeld. What I found interesting is, that they are advertising the ski slope even in summer. Well, seems like they are doing a very good job, considering the amount of people that are visiting Nassfeld every year.

You will enter Austria almost on the highway. After a few miles of driving on the highway, you have to exit it. Do not worry, there is a sign. The border is situated right after the exit. You do not have to present  identification documents at this border, either. In fact, there is not even any building that would indicate the border. The only thing that tells you you have entered in Austria, is the sign.

Before taking the final turn to Nassfeld, you will pass through several smaller villages, which are not interesting enough to mention each one of them.

To get to Nassfeld, you will have to turn right at one point. There are plenty of signs, indicating the right turn, and you will see them several kilometers before the actual turn. And now, the most beautiful part of the road starts.

Most of the road looks like this: on your left side, there is a steep rocky wall, meanwhile, on your right side, there is a big descent. It seems like in a movie. The road is not as narrow as you might expect, which is nice, so you can still see some of the scenery, if you are driving. But be careful, if you would really like to get the most out of the view, it is better stop the car and go out than to risk and look around while driving.

When coming to the end of this rather adventurous part of the journey, you will drive through several tunnels, carved into the rock. It seems awesome, and it somehow reminds me of the Death Road in Bolivia. Well, I have not been there yet, but I have seen some videos from there, and this place is definitely on my wishlist. But it is probably much safer here in Nassfeld.

After those tunnels, the road will not seem that dramatic anymore. Here, the meadows and pastures start, and you will see a lot of cows. And they are not fenced as you might expect (well, at least I did), but they are just walking around freely.

When I was driving there, it happened to me a few times that the cow passed just by the car so I could touch it through the window, and it even happened that a group of them stood in front of the car and did not want to move for a while. I was afraid to honk because I have a new car and I was afraid that they might attack it, but luckily, after a while, they have moved on. Well, at least I had time to admire the scenery, which is nice.

When you arrive to the top, you will be amazed that you are actually 1500 meters above the sea level. Even if you are there in summer, it can be quite chilly, so a warm sweater is a good idea.

There are plenty of spaces to park a car, but first, you have to decide what you want to do. If you came here in winter for skiing, this is another story, because I would like to share with you my summer experience there.

I would like to give you an advice here – before getting out of the car, just drive around a bit so you can get the impression of how massive this place actually is. There are plenty of spots to turn the car, so do not worry. Absolutely every part of the (paved) road is perfectly accessible by car.

It is said that, even during winter, the mountain road to Nassfeld is one of the most maintained ones in the area. You might think that this should be obligatory for all roads, but believe me, it is quite hard to get to some of the more distant ski slopes in winter, because the roads are in a terrible condition. The skiing centre Nassfeld is quite famous and people from all around love to go there, so I somehow understand the need of keeping the road in a driveable condition. But I also believe that this can be quite hard, considering the amount of snow this place receives every winter.

What to see and do there?

People go to Nassfeld throughout the year to relax and have a nice vacation almost in the middle of nowhere. But do not be fooled by what I said, even if Nassfeld is situated 'away from civilization', there is still plenty of things to do there, and all that with a very close connection to nature. So let me tell you something about things that you can do while in Nassfeld:

First of all, there is a whole collection of both, short and long hiking trails in Nassfeld. At the beginning of Nassfeld, there is a big sign that shows names of all the trails there, tells you an approximate time that the trail takes, and points you in the right direction. I was impressed by the number of the trails – I have counted over fourty of them, and they range from short, fifteen – minutes long strolls, to the ones that take seven hours and are very difficult.

When visiting Nassfeld, I have not hiked for long, but I have tried several shorter hikes and checked out some breathtaking viewpoints that they offer.

When I have arrived to Nassfeld, I have left my car on the parking space in front one of the hotels. It is awesome that you can do so even if you are not a guest of the hotels there. The hotel complexes are somehow concetrated on the main street, and there, you can also find various sport shops that sell or rent skiing equipment, and some of them were even open at the end of September, literally still in summer.

I did not go inside any of them, but I am guessing that the stuff they are selling, must be pretty expensive for two reasons. First, this is a well known ski resort and therefore, they can afford to set the prices high. And second, Austria is quite an expensive country.

So, after I got out of the car and took a quick look along the main street there, I decided to take the road that seemingly lead to a nice viewpoint. To get up there, it took me about fourty minutes, taking pictures and admiring great views on the way are included in that time. On the way up, I have passed a small, wooden church, which I visited on my way back, and therefore I will quickly describe it later.

When I arrived to the end of the road, I have realized that this place is actually on of these mountains where the cows reside during summer. The pastures are actually situated on the ski slopes.

There were a lot of cows, a barn and a bar right next to it, with a very spacious and sunny terrace. Imagine skiing there in winter, and when you are tired, you are resting in front of this bar, capturing the view and getting some tan on your face. When I am writing this, I have made a following decision: I will go skiing to Nassfeld this winter, and I will report how it was.

Also, there is a small lake at the top. I saw a few of them from up there and when diving to Nassfeld. They did not seem like a work of nature to me, so I asked one of the staff members in the bar up there, and he told me  that those lakes are indeed human – made and they are used in winter for making the artifical snow. By the way, that waiter spoke perfect English, which you rarely see (well, hear) in Austria, speaking from my own experience.

I have seen two persons swimming in that lake up there, and I decided to try the water temperature. As expcted, it was ice cold. And there were a lot of small frogs inside. I would never dare to swim in there.

When I was looking around, I have noticed a sort of a building on the top of the mountain above the pastures where I was standing at the time. So I went back in the bar, quite embarassed to ask the same waiter again, and he told me that this is one of those panoramic spinning restaurantswith giant windows. It must be awesome to see the view changing all the time when eating a nice meal at the top of the mountain, or even just sipping a glass of wine.

When I looked at the time, I was surprised how fast it passed. I have figured out that I have spent the whole hour up there! And there was so much left to see, so I hurried back down. I almost forgot to stop at the wooden church.

The church is small, and it is more the size of a chapel than of a real church. It is dedicated to fallen soldiers, and there is also a small monument, dedicated to them, on the back side of the church. When looking around the church, I have notticed its nice glass windows, which are a real work of art.

It is possible to go inside the church, and there are a few small benches. I wonder if a ceremony really takes place there sometimes. It would be so interesting to attend it. At the door, just before you enter, there is a sign, warning you that it is not allowed to light candles inside. Obviously, because the church is wooden and a fire would destroy it within seconds.

From the back side of the church, you can see another lake just below it, and another interesting thing – an Italian – Austrian border. Yes, you read that right. There is a tiny rock, shaped into a cube, that you can easily miss, and standing on one side of it, you are in Italia, standing on the other side, you are in Austria. Also, you can literally be in both countries at the same time. How cool is that?

When I have reached the parking space again, I went to the car to grab a sandwich and took a walk to the opposite side of the hotels. I was so surprised how many people were there, considering that it is summer. But I understand them, this place is great for hiking and relaxing. Most of the hotels have outdoor swimming pools, and a lot of people were using them.

Also, I have noticed a very interesting thing in front of the hotels. It was like I am watching a movie, because this thing is not very common neither in Slovenia, nor in other places I have travelled to. So, I was lucky to see some new guests arrive, and there was a doorman, who took their car to the garage, and another one, who took their luggage. Well, the hotel had five stars, so this situation totally made sense.

At the very end of the hotels, there is a small roundabout, which is only used to turn your car when leaving, and after that, it is only possible to walk. So I took a look what treasure is hidden there, and I was pleasantly surprised. There was a small adventure sports center, dedicated to those who would like to spice up their vacation with some adrenaline.

So, I saw those steel rails for summer sledding, and the track seemed awesome and thrilling, so I was playing with an idea to try it. But then I thought that it must be just for the hotel guests. Another thing that caught my attention, was the zipline, called 'the flying fox', but it seemed nowhere near thrilling. But it is also true that I am a fan of extreme sports, and this might not be very special to me, but for someone who did not try anything that extreme before, this might be the best experience of their lives.

There is a small hut at the end of those two attractions, where I went to get some information. First thing that I got to know, and made me super happy, is that even non – guests can try those attractions. So I have immediately purchased the ticket for summer sledding, without even asking for a price. And when I saw how much it costs, I was surprised. Very surprised. But in a positive way.

Considering the fact that the track is super long and you are in Austria, the five Euros that I paid, really seem like more than a good deal. Then I have asked the price for the zip line, and it costs fifty Euros. Probably not worth the money, but on the other hand, the view when ziplining there must be really cool. Well, maybe I will try it next time I am going to Nassfeld.

To get to the top of summer sledding track, you hav to use the six – seat chairlift, and the transport with it is already included in the price. Awesome views of the valley and the surrounding mountains are included, too. I almost wanted the six – seat chairlift to go slower to admire the views, but then I remembered where I am going, and I was excited to be at the top soon.

When I arrived, a staff member checked my ticket, told me all about the track and also made sure I understood all the safety instructions. He really made it sound very dangerous, but I am still alive and I cannot wait to do this again!

When sitting into the sledge, my first thought was how small they are. Then, the staff member told me again how to speed up or brake. It is very simple- if you push the stick forward, it will go faster, and if you pull it to yourself, the sledge will slow down.

And then the ride started. I was quite disappointed that I did not bring my GoPro camera with me, so I could record the ride. It was so awesome, and even more thrilling than I imagined. At some moments, it made me feel like I am on a cool rollercoaster with no loops.

Of course, there are sections where you have to brake, or else you could fall out of the sledge, and there are signs that remind you about it, but most of the way down, I was able to enjoy the full speed. At the end of the track, I was smiling widely like an idiot, and I really wanted to go again, but I decided to move an and see something else in Nassfeld, too.

Now, I have decided to walk towards the direction of the way back. I have walked about half an hour and passed two more lakes on the way, before I found a really nice spot, overlooking the valley. Since there were no benches, I just sat down in the grass. When eating my sandwich, a cow approached me and I got so scared that it wants my sandwich, but after a while, the cow luckily went away.

When I ate, I walked for another fifteen minutes, but then I have decided to get back to the car and drive somewhere else. And on the way there, I was thinking about where should I go.

I have decided to drive along the other way that leads to Nassfeld. The views on this side are not as nice, because you mostly drive through the forest and do not eally get to see anything. But on the other hand, this is better, because you can focus on driving.

I have stopped on a small parking spot what seemed about half way down. There was another lake and a small picnic area, but no other cars. I decided to take a closer look at the lake, and it looked just like the Crystal Lake from the movie Friday the 13th. I almost expected to see Jason with his machette somewhere around. Then I saw a sign and I figured out why there were no people. At east I guess so.

The first part of the sign was very innocent. It said that, despite this is an artifical lake, there are fishes living inside, and it is forbidden to catch them. Then, I saw a picture with a bear and a warning below. It was only written in German language, but I understood enough – quite a few bears have been spotted in the area, so it is not advissable to wander into those forests. Well, pretty effective warning, if you ask me. I immediately rushed back to the car and decided to drive a little bit more before turning back.

If I knew that there are bears in this area before, I probably would have not hiked anything at all. But I should have expected that, since there are a lot of forests in the area. Well, luckily I did not see any bears, but it does not mean they are not there.

I have soon arrived to a small village at the bottom of the hill, and there were a few houses, a hotel and that was about it. I also saw a sign that was indicating this is the end of the Millenium ski slope.

Since there was nothing out there that would interest me, I did not even go out of the car, and I have decided to return home. It was a long day, I have seen plenty of things, and now I really wanted to go home and rest a little. So I went back up to Nassfeld, took a quick look at the view again and then left.

Eating and drinking

I was surprised how little opions there were for eating and drinking. Or maybe I just did not see them, but I doubt that. Well, if you are a hotel guest, you can obviously eat and drink there. I actually wanted to go into one of the hotels and ask if it is possible to eat something, but I did not think I was dressed properly to enter a five  star hotel. Well, I probably really wasn't, since I was in a tracksuit and hiking boots.

Besides hotels, there is a bar and a panoramic restaurant, which I have both briefly mentioned before, and that was all I saw. After that, I can just say that bringing something to eat with you is more than a great idea, and I am glad that I decided to bring a sandwich with me.

Tourism in summer

As I have mentioned above, I was surprised how many people are spending their summer vacation in a place that can actually be considered as far away from civilisation. I am guessing that these are mostly people from bigger cities, who are trying to take a break from a stressful city life. Well, I must say that I understand them. I have spent ten months in Lisbon as an Erasmus student, and when I arrived back to my hometown with about three hundred inhabitants, I felt like I am in heaven, away from all noise and stress. But I also have to mention that I got bored after a few days there and wanted to go back to Lisbon.

I have seen a lot of hikers and mountain bikers when I was there. Also, the six – seat chairlift is constantly running so if you do not feel like walking all the way up to the top, you can take one of those and get to enjoy the view from the top faster. But you have to pay for the ride up, unless you decide to do the summer sledding.

Tourism in winter

In winter, this place becomes a famous place for skiing and other wintersports. It is amazing, and also hard to believe, how big this place actually is. You can probably barely try out all the ski slopes in one day, but it is said to be possible! I am disappointed that I have not been there yet, but I hope this is going to change during this winter.

I know a few people who actually went to Nassfeld in winter on vacation, but not skiing. They said that they just wanted to feel this winter spirit. Interesting concept, but I must say that I do not quite get this idea – why would just look at people skiing? It is like looking at your favourite food when you are hungry, knowing that you are not supposed to touch it.

A few warnings and advices:

• First of all, the cows. They are not dangerous animals by itself, but they may become if you tease them. But in general, they will let you touch them, but do not do this if you are afraid to be licked by one. It happened to me and my hand was all sticky. Also, you should be especially careful when driving – as I have mentioned before, there is a lot of them on the road, so do not drive too fast.
• At some parts on the ski slope (well, where the ski slope is situated in winter), the cows are behind electric fences. Believe me, you do not want to touch that. You are not in the Jackass movie. And, when hiking through certain parts, you have to open the fence and then close it when you pass through. Please, do not forget to close it, because the animals might escape.
• As I have already mentioned above, this place is situated one kilometer and a half above the sea level. So it might be thirty degrees in Bovec, but the temperature will definitely not be higher that twenty degrees on the top of Nassfeld. Having a windstopper or a sweater with you is a good idea, because at some parts at the top, it is very windy.
• The road to Nassfeld is beautiful also for bikers. Be careful either if you are a biker yourself, or if you are driving a car. As a biker, you have to be careful in the turns, because some of them are really dangerous. And as a car driver, be cautious of the bikers. If both parts are careful, accidents are less likely to happen.
• The scenery both in the Nassfeld itself and on the way there is definitely one of the best mountain sceneries I have ever seen. And even if I was driving, I wanted to look around at the view all the time. Oh, it would be nice if I could afford one of those no – driver cars for this road! But since I cannot, I did the following: when the road was going in a straight line(there are quite a few sections on the way to the top when this happens), I stopped the car, got out and took a look at the view. Since the road was straight where I stopped, other drivers were able to see me and avoid collission.

A really short conclusion:

I was surprised how many things can you actually do in Nassfeld throughout all year. Before I went there, I have imagined it as a small village and a few ski slopes around it. But as you can see, this place can keep you busy several days, especially if you love hiking and awesome nature.