Inge Bischof kept her word. “The most beautiful room” in the house had been promised by the hotel landlady from “Formarin” the day before. After a night in which the distant jingle of cowbells sent me into dreamland, the first thing I see in the morning, still from my bed, is him: massive and powerful he stands there, pushing all other elevations into the background. The word top dog inevitably comes to mind. What the Matterhorn is for Zermatt, the Traunstein for the Salzkammergut, the 2557 meter high Omeshorn is for Lech. The people of Lech simply call the striking giant “local mountain”. The morning sun makes the greenery, which stretches far up, shine even more, as if it should be staged in a special way. In any case, it almost overshadows the small town at its feet, even though it has a big name:
Lech. This is where local winter sports were practically invented, and the first ski club was founded 120 years ago. Today, up to 850,000 overnight stays are recorded in the winter season, not only does it have one of the ten steepest groomed slopes in the world, but it is also part of the largest ski area in Austria (Ski Arlberg) with a total of 97 lifts and cable cars, 350 kilometers of groomed slopes and 200 kilometers designated tour descents. But Lech isn’t just about winter. The summery view alone from the hotel balcony in Oberlech, coupled with the fresh morning air here at 1600 meters above sea level, makes you hungry – hungry for exercise. However, the mountain boots stay in the box, but we still go up the mountain – for yoga.
The whole program
The yogis standing on a wooden platform turn their backs on the mountain station of the nearby Petersboden cable car. For good reason. Greenery and mountains in all other directions. Just looking at it is relaxing, while your lungs are filled with mountain air and your muscles are stretched. Yoga is one of many activities offered to “Lech Card” holders (more below). It includes entry to the forest swimming pool and the daily fee for the driving range, putting green and pitching area at the golf practice facility. You can also take part in a guided e-bike tour, set out on a sunrise hike together or stop for a mountain breakfast at the Kaltenberghütte.
The stomach makes itself felt after the one and a half hour yoga session. The feet automatically steer through the still damp grass towards something to eat. It only takes a few steps to get to the “der Wolf” hut. You don’t expect anything animalistic, rather you come here to eat – and to enjoy the view. Once again.
First, however, the eye lingers on the unusual: no checkered curtains or tablecloths, neither flourishes nor paintings, instead an architecture that borders on sparse in its simplicity. Everything is made of wood, untreated spruce, only the furniture is made of larch. Whether on the wind-protected terrace or inside, you look at nature as if through a (wooden) frame. Christian Wolf wanted to interpret the hut theme differently and yet be authentic. “The architecture up here was always linear. The more barren the area, the simpler it was,” says the hut keeper.
The architecture and the mountain panorama are rounded off with culinary delights with tried and tested dishes from the Alps such as cheese dumplings with mountain cheese from the Klostertal and trendy dishes such as burgers and curry. I feel like a hearty mountain breakfast, I enjoy ham, bacon and cheese from the Ländle as well as bread from the Lecher loaf and Arlberg sticks. Summer or winter – what is nicer in Lech is the final question to the innkeeper. Despite the magnificent summer mountain panorama, his answer was diplomatic. “When everything sinks into white in winter, then that’s something,” assures Christian Wolf.
The cold season is mentally as far away as Linz is at home. The plaster holes are just around the corner. At first glance, the rock faults protruding from the ground are reminiscent of the rock chimneys in Cappadocia. In fact, they are sinkholes, more than 1000 in number, the largest more than 30 meters deep and almost 100 meters in diameter. An educational trail leads through this geological feature, where 20 species of orchids bloom between July and August.
Heaven and earth as an art installation
A high whistle rings out through the area. It’s a marmot’s warning call. The mountain dwellers have set up their caves in the soft gypsum rock. The footpaths also criss-cross the nature reserve at an altitude of 2000 meters like a labyrinth. The mountains help with orientation. Approaching the Omeshorn, you move towards Oberlech. I’m heading for the Great Widderstein in the north, far from ever reaching it. But the mountain is not the goal either.
In 2014, the American artist James Turrell created a walk-in light room here in the high alpine region. It is one of more than 75 Skyspace artworks, but the only one with an opening dome. One sits in an elliptical room and gazes at the sky while the opening at the end of a 15 meter long entrance tunnel is filled in by the summit of the Biberkopf.
In the kingdom of the rings
The next day is so far. The mountain boots are laced. Themed hikes, summit tours, long-distance hiking trails – walking enthusiasts are spoiled for choice in Lech and don’t even need a car. The mountain railways take you up, the blue Lech buses bring you back home or there – for example to the Formarinsee. The high mountain lake at almost 1800 meters above sea level, in which you can also fish, is formed year after year from the meltwater. A wide hiking trail almost surrounds it and leads up to the Freiburger Hütte. In the opposite direction, on the other hand, the 125-kilometer “Lechweg” begins. The first stage (Formarinsee–Lech) first leads along the Formarinbach and then the Lech. If you don’t want to walk the entire 14 kilometers to Lech, you can get on at one of the Lechbus stops and drive back.
The 1,000 skiers who take part in the “White Ring” every year are sportingly more ambitious. The race, in which five downhill runs (and five lifts), an intensive climb and a demanding ski route have to be mastered, covering 22 kilometers and 5500 meters in altitude, has cult status in the Arlberg region. The summer counterpart is called “Green Ring”. In addition to a trail race in mid-August, the mountain landscape can also be hiked in the footsteps of the legendary ski tour – comfortably in three stages or in just one:
The Rüfikopfbahn takes me to 2,300 meters, where a panorama restaurant advertises its morning pint with live music, fondue evenings and the summit breakfast. The mountain hikers who have climbed out of the gondola quickly disappear, be it on the Geoweg, one of the surrounding peaks or down to Zürs. Soon only the ringing of cowbells and the whistling of marmots accompany me there. The wide path allows to enjoy the landscape. Once again it seems as if Lech has rolled out the green carpet. You can linger at the small Monzabonsee or on the Monzabon Alpe and grab a book and read in the hut library. Zürs, on the other hand, presents itself as charmless, desolate and as if deserted – at least at this time of the year.
At least the bus back to Lech is on time. After all, I don’t want to keep Arlberg’s first and only brewer waiting. The fact that the meeting takes place in a 4-star hotel is not the only surprise. Clemens Walch is a hotelier, but actually a trained baker. He also distills four types of gin and dries his bacon at 2,000 meters above sea level in alpine huts over a one meter high bed of hay. When the bakery moved from the basement of the “Gotthard” hotel to the outskirts of Lech four years ago, the 60-year-old didn’t have to ask himself for long what to do with the 1,000 square meters that had become free. Since then, the brew for an unfiltered “Arlbeer”, a “Helles” (lager), a pale ale and a wheat beer has been boiling in the copper kettles. Based on Lech’s local mountain, Clemens Walch has named his beer “Omes”, of which he fills and labels 800 bottles a year himself.
winter or summer? Finally, the question for him, which season is nicer in Lech. “Winter is for earning money, summer is for the heart,” says Walch and puts his left hand on his chest.
Anything else …
- The Lech Card can be obtained from one night. The prices, which are graded according to the period of validity (1-2 days 28 euros; 3-4 days 44 euros…) include transport with the Lechbus and mountain railways as well as all activities such as guided hikes, e-bike tours or admissions. mylechcard.at, lechzuers.com
- Spend the night: The hotel “Formarin” in Oberlech is a real recommendation. In the family-run 3-star S-house you can enjoy a breakfast buffet that leaves nothing to be desired, a wonderful sun terrace with a view of Lech and a warm host. Double room with half board in the low season from 120 euros/person. (formarin.com)
- Culinary: In Lech-Zürs you will find the world’s highest density of award-winning restaurants in relation to the number of inhabitants.
One of the best is the wine restaurant “s’Achtele” in the Lech district of Zug. When the weather is nice, be sure to eat on the terrace and enjoy the magnificent view. (staefeli.at)
Source: Nachrichten
