Yesterday I ventured out for some more hiking, this time en route to Dobratsch, the highest peak visible from central Villach. That’s misleading – I didn’t make it all the way up, but did a solid 4 hours of steep-slope wandering, probably making it to about 1,000 meters. For comparison, the Alpine slopes we hiked in Tarvisio were about 2,500 meters. Dozens of trails snake through these mountains, and I did a lot of contemplation at each intersection to figure out how to proceed! Pretty much every trail is marked with the Austrian flag.
I’ve been pretty lucky so far with no pervasive buggies, but there were definitely some persistent mosquitoes on this rainy Sunday morning/afternoon. Did you know they can bite you through yoga pants? The rain was lukewarm and calming, and I was mostly protected by canopy. Tall pine trees were all about, making for soft ground and lovely scents.