Golf in the Algarve

Not quite Rory McIlroy

I took up golf when I retired at the end of 2019, a promise I'd made myself years before when playing cricket regularly made playing another sport alongside a growing family and work untenable. 

In the three years since I retired, I've played regularly, joined a club and as well as having fun enjoying the personal challenge of improving my game (I'm currently playing off 20.9 for those who know about those things). The group I play with at the Vale Resort travel to Portugal each year for a few days of golf in the warm weather, and this year I was lucky enough to be able to tag along.

We flew out to Faro on a Thursday, with four rounds booked Friday-Monday, and a return on Tuesday.

The weather forecast was a bit iffy - we'd hoped for wall to wall sunshine, but on arrival in Faro it was hosing down, and did so for the rest of the day. The forecast over the weekend for the golf was improving but with a chance of rain on at least the Friday and Saturday.

We stayed at the Pestana Dom Joao II hotel on the outskirts of the small town of Alvor, near Portimao a pleasant enough hotel, right on the beach front.  

The rear of the hotel, backing on to a long and lovely beach

Our first round was at Pestana Alto, a woodland course just a few minutes from the hotel. I managed a respectable, if not spectacular round, the highlight of which was winning "nearest the pin" on the designated par 3 which won me a princely sum of €1 from each of our group (so €7 in all!!!).

The 1st hole at Alto

The second day saw us play at the more upmarket Palmares resort about a 30 minute drive. This is a links type course. The forecast was for the worst day of the weekend, but in the end it was decent enough save for a massive squall whilst we were playing the very long 15th which soaked us all to the skin, but by the time we'd finished the round we were virtually dry. This is a very long course (it's actually three 9 hole courses of which you play two on any given round) and with extra added distance between tees, and as I'd chosen to walk I ended walking 10 miles in the round! An extra bonus was a joint nearest the pin, so I racked up another €3.50! 

Gorgeous views across to Portimao from Palmares

Day three saw us at the picturesque inland course of Pestana Silves, and I had my best round of the weekend. Despite an unexpected and not forecast downpour whilst waiting for the first tee at the ungodly hour of 7.45am, it was a great course to play.

An elevated tee at the long par 5 4th at Silves

The final round saw us at the Pestana Vale da Pinta. Another inland countryside course, but very hilly. Again I had a decent round and was pleased with my efforts, including yet another nearest the pin!

The undulating fairways at Vale da Pinta
with our 2nd group coming up to the green

All in all we all had a great time. The company was good, the golf mostly decent (I averaged 30 Stableford points a round over the four rounds, twice scoring over 30) and plenty of food and beers were to be had. Alvor is a lovely location, though still busy late in October.

A great experience, and will look forward to playing out there again.

Twitter: @Statto1927 

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/people/simon_hiscocks/ 

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Seidlwinkl and Rauris: Austria Part 6

On our penultimate day, we took a walk up the Seidlwinkl valley, about further up the valley from Rauris.

The Seidlwinkl is alleged to be one of the prettiest valleys in Austria, and accessible only during the non snowy season. Once the white stuff falls, that's it, you can't get up there. We drove to the car park and a couple of the party waited for a regular mini bus that goes up the stony tracks to the three alms that are in the valley, and we'd meet them at the first one. The initial climb is fairly steep and gives you a good work out, but after a kilometre or two the valley flattens and widens, sided by steep mountains.

A waterfall in the Seidlwinkl

There are numerous waterfalls cascading down the valley sides, into the icy clear river that tumbles its way down the valley. Soon after the track flattens and the valley widens you are greeted by the sight of the Gollenhenalm, the first alm in the valley. Here we met up with those who caught the mini bus, and has a nice coffee/hot chocolate. It's a small alm, that also serves cake and food. These are generally family owned/leased, and run in the summer months, but of course as this valley closes in the winter, the family move out for the duration. 

Gollehenalm - the first alm in the valley

After being suitably refreshed we continued down the track towards our next destination, the Palfneralm. In the meadows alongside the river, cowbells clanged as the herd munched their lush green grass. Soon, they'd also be moved out of the valley for the winter.

It was a sturdier bridge than it looks!

After about 30 minutes walking along a mostly flattish track, we arrived at the Palfneralm. This is the second of three (or maybe four) that run into the valley, but this was as far as we were going today.

Palfneralm 

 

By now it was time for a snack, and we variously ordered goulash/noodle soup, bread meat and cheese, apple strudel and of course a refreshing drink of choice - usually the local Steigl beer for the boys, or Radler (like a lager shandy using cloudy lemonade), or Almdudler, a sparkly type herbal drink.

The food was wonderful, home made and delicious. Following the meal, the alms hostess plied us with a complimentary schnapps made from infused cranberries - really nice - so much so, a couple of bottles were purchased for later consumption!

After we were sated, it was a gentle walk back down the valley to pick up the cars.

The Seidlwinkl valley near Palfneralm

The Seidlwinkl

And then, before you could say what a week that's been, it was our last day. We reprised our first day trip up the Hochenbalm in Rauris, but exactly a week after our first trip up, all the snow had gone - at least up to 1,700m were we got to.

What a difference a week makes.
Exactly 7 days apart - top our first day, bottom 7 days later

The lack of snow, at least meant we were able to sit outside at the alm and enjoy our refreshments - in fact, it was pretty warm!

Luckily not deep (here at least)

There might have been no snow, but there was also less cloud, so the views whereas always, fabulous. as we walked down from the top cable car station to the middle station, catching glimpses of Rauris four to five hundred metres below. There was even the opportunity for a rest now and again!

A quick lie down to catch breath

Walking down to mid station

We have walked all the way down from this spot before, but it's a long old walk, and frankly we were glad to jump into the cable cars at mid station and see Rauris getting closer

Almost at mid station

So that, pretty much was that. We had a fabulous time. Drank far too much, ate probably too much, but walked plenty to combat both the former sins. The fresh mountain air did us all good, and the company was fabulous. 

This was my second time here, and we'll definitely be back - I've only come in summer/early autumn, so I'd love to come in the winter when it's proper snowy (although Anne I think is less keen).

It's a beautiful part of the world, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.

You'll be pleased to know, dear reader, that our trip back was wholly uneventful. Our flight times on our home journey meant we had a six hour stop wait over at Frankfurt, so no danger of missing our connecting flight, and plenty of time for getting sustenance. I must remember next time though, that if we go via Frankfurt again we need at least 2 hours between connecting flights. 50 minutes just won't cut it!

Thanks for following these posts. For now, auf weidersehen!

Twitter: @Statto1927 

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/people/simon_hiscocks/ 

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Going up. Dienten and Steinbochalm: Austria Part 5

Most of our walking in Austria thus far had been either on level ground or downhill, with occasional exceptions, given the age and fitness of most of or crew, that was no bad thing. Today, our destination was Dienten, a small skiing village in the Hochkönig range about half an hour from Rauris, and ultimately the Steinbockalm at 1,634m. My wife's brother in law, who's had their apartment in Rauris for about 12 years, assured us that whilst this walk was "up", it wasn't that long (about two and a half miles) and wasn't that steep, and the path was good. A couple of the party who struggle a little with extortion decided to catch the cable car up, and meet us at the top.

We drove through the pretty village of Dienten, onto the parking place to begin our walk. Starting through the fir trees, we began to climb steadily from our starting point at 1,290m. The views across to the Hochkönig were fabulous and we stopped (frequently) to admire the sights and catch our breath. 

An alpine church near Dienten

Where we started

The view on the way up

I can't lie, it was an exerting walk. Despite the relative shortness of the walk, and a good, if stony track of just under two and a half miles, we climbed 344 metres, or just over 1,100 feet. There were very few flat sections and some reasonably steep bits, and we were very glad to reach the top. However, as usual, the views were worth it!

Where we finished!

Cable car pylon

Wedding ready

At the top, there's a small chapel next to the alm. and preparations were underway for a wedding  - we saw some guests arriving via cable car, whilst others took the easier way and had come up the same track we'd walked, but in a taxi. Should have flagged one down.

A well deserved refreshment break

As mountain top alms go, this one was a bit posher than most we'd visited, but was nonetheless pristine, with excellent options. Of course no walk with this crowd is completed without a refreshment break, and so we imbibed of various soups and alcoholic and no-alcoholic beverages before contemplating the walk back down.

At the Steinbockalm

Austrian mountain tracks are generally very well signposted

One thing that was very apparent during our various walks was the excellent signage. Most paths were superbly way marked, and signed would regularly indicate how far (in time) it was to the next hut or alm. No count this is even more useful in the winter when the tracks are less obvious and there's snow on the ground, but it good to see, with little chance of getting really lost.

The walk down was much easier than coming up - in fact even those that went up in the cable car walked down, and the sunny day and glorious views made for a pleasant descent.

It was MUCH easier coming down.

Twitter: @Statto1927 

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The Großglockner High Alpine Road: Austria Part 4

Almost the highest point of the High Alpine Road

Today was one of the (many) highlights of the week for me, as we took the trip up the Goßglockner High Alpine Road. Rather than me trying to explain, it, this is taken from their website.

The mountain pass road with a total of 48 km and 36 turns leads deep into the centre of Austria’s largest national park with an area of 1,800 km² that extends across the provinces of Salzburg, Tyrol and Carinthia. The highest point of the mountain road is the Edelweissspitze located at just above 2,500 m. Several 3,000 m peaks open up to the wandering gaze, but the largest of them all is the Grossglockner. The striking mountain towers above the entire region at 3,798 m, and is at the same time the highest summit of the Alpine Republic.

At this point, and especially in relation to todays trip, I have to thank my brother in law Paul and his brother Mark, who drove us to all our destinations this week, as in addition to Paul picking us up and dropping us off at Salzburg for our outward and return journeys home. We're very grateful to them.

For a couple of days prior the website had been advising no cyclists or motorbikes, with cars and motorhomes requiring snow chains, but today it looked like 4 greens, as the snow continued to melt.

The entrance to the valley where the high alpine road begins

Turning into a valley just before Zell am See, the road meanders through the valley floor before starting to climb steeply. After a mile or two of climbing, we hit the first proper "bend" marked appropriately with a blue sign saying "Kehre 1". Only 35 to go. The views were truly staggering as we climbed higher through the hairpins. There was plenty of traffic, so the going was slow (also because of the massively steep drops off the side of the road), although we did get overtaken at one point by a twat in a Ferrari who was clearly hell bent in showing off. There were plenty of opportunities for stopping an admiring the glorious views.

At a couple of points there are tunnels in the mountains

Considering the altitude of the road, the environment it sits in and the amount of traffic it gets, the road was seriously well maintained and smooth. Where meltwater was running off across the road, there was a slight concern that it might have frozen into a thin sheet of ice, but luckily that wasn't the case.

Seriously gorgeous views!

The Gang

High up amongst the peaks

Finally, we reached the end of the road at a huge set of buildings, housing a massive car park, shops, restuarants and a visitor centre. It was very busy, but likely not as bad as it gets mid summer. We treated ourselves to the no obligatory coffee and a huge meringue/strudel type pudding, before having a wander. The view is dominated opposite by Großglockner, the 3,978m peak, the highest in Austria and the adjacent Pasterze glacier.

Grossglockner (the pointy peak centre) 3,978m
at the Pasterze glacier

However, what we all wanted to see, my wife in particular was a marmot, a large species of ground squirrel that lives high in the alps. And we weren't disappointed! A couple were roaming about just below the parking area, no doubt feeding of scraps that tourists might "accidentally" drop. But up behind the buildings as the terrain became more remote, we saw a couple sunning themselves on rocks. Difficult to capture on photos as I didn't have a long lens for my camera, but I'm pretty pleased with this one.

Its a Marmot!

The drive down was just as spectacular and we stopped off in another alm/restaurant, the Fuschertorl (well it would be rude not to), for another coffee. All the alms we experienced are rather unique, and this one was curious for its range of (in some cases rather badly) stuffed animals, including a rabbit or hare that had added bandages and was walking on it's hind legs with a crutch, some taxidermy chickens in a wooden cage plus the inevitable marmot!

I was rather sad to be leaving the highest mountains behind, but thankful that the weather had allowed us up there, and was suitably good that we were able to experience the fantastic views.

Just a note - You can't just drive in here - there's a cost (€38 for the car) unless you have a special pass for the area (a Sommercard), and there is a toll complex at the entrance to the valley proper.

All Austria photos available from Flickr (see link below)

Twitter: @Statto1927 

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/people/simon_hiscocks/ 

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Zell am See and weird statues: Austria Part 3

After a couple of (fairly) energetic days - all of our party are over 60, and some 70, we opted for a quieter day. A quick 5 minute walk to the shops in Rauris for provisions, before a shortish drive out of the Rauris valley, and along the Salzach valley to the picturesque lakeside town of Zell am Zee which is also close to the small but well known ski resort of Kaprun. Here we parked up and had a gentle stroll around the lake to the town, where inevitably we stopped for coffee and cake. After shopping for some souvenirs it was back to the apartment for a quiet day.

Rauris - our apartment was on the far right of the photo

The main Street in Rauris

Rauris Town Hall, dating back a couple of centuries at least

Straw figures in Rauris - a common sight 
in villages and towns in the region

A building in Zell am See town centre

The lake at Zell am See. The town on the right

The next day we were back on the march. Driving a little further than Zell am See, we arrived at a small town (barely bigger than a village) called Hollersbach. Here we boarded the Panoramabahn cable care for the ride that takes you up 1,892m in about 12 minutes to a snip under 2,000m From here the views are truly panoramic, with 2,000m to 3,000m peaks in pretty much every direction from south towards Großglockner, the highest mountain in Austria at 3,978 (shrouded in clouds) to Kitzbuhel to the north.

The Panoramabhan cable car - Ronseal really

Views at 1,900m

Still some snow

As we were about 200m higher than we'd been so far, the snow was still in evidence, but it was also clear that it was starting the thaw, but there was enough around to be slightly excited about as we look around at the chocolate box views. A few of the more hardy (ok, fitter) of us walked further and higher from the top cable car station to the actual Panoramaalm right at the top. I find it incredulous that on top of these mountains there are fully functioning restaurants. The logistics and infrastructure to put these (many) alms in place and keep them running is fantastic. This one, popular with the "beautiful people" also sold 3 litre bottles of champagne and wine topping out at over €700 if you were so inclined. I stuck to beer.

Views from the cable car

We were heading to the building centre of pic
(for refreshments obviously)

After walking back down to the top station, we re-boarded the cable car for the trip back down the mountain, and then the drive back to Rauris. En route we passed through a small town called Mittersill, where this rather bizarre statue/fountain  was on a roundabout. I'm not sure exactly what it's meant to be representing, but it looks like a woman looking down at a man having a wee. Answers on a postcard please...

An "unusual" statue in Mittersill

All Austria photos available from Flickr (see link below)

Twitter: @Statto1927 

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/people/simon_hiscocks/ 

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Snowy September: Austria Part 2

At 1,753m above Rauris

16 days before the above photo was taken, we were enjoying a family holiday in Corfu in 30º+ heat. Marginally over two weeks later, and at 1,753 metres in Austria, it's snowing and we're standing in four to five inches of the white stuff. It was slightly surreal, first to wake up to see snow on the mountain tops in Rauris, and then to riding up in the cable car with snow falling all around and the sound of alpine cow bels clanging - it felt like Christmas in September. That much snow at this time of year was unusual, but you can see how much there was from the photos.

The alm at the top of the Hochalmbahn in Rauris.
Sadly closed - but the middle station was open!

From here we walked down to just over 1,400m to the mid station and the adjacent alm where we imbibed with warm drinks and goulash soup before catching the cable car back down to Rauris. The snow disappeared at around 1,400m, but the views, despite the cloud conditions were fabulous.

Walking down from 1,700m-1,400m

Rauris is a small village in the Eastern Alps about an hour south of Salzburg. It's a skiing village, although not a big resort, but pretty in a typical Austrian way, with wooden houses and grassy alpine fields. The photo below shows the view from our apartment balcony, looking up the valley towards the Kolm-Saigurn national park, with the pyramidal (at least from this angle) Ritterkopf mountain - the one with the lenticular loud above it, towering at just over 3,000m.

The view from our apartment 

The next day saw us driving along the valley into the Kolm-Saigurn National Park for a walk up rather than down. We climbed up to around 1,700m from around 1,400m, quite steeply along a well marked trail before coming to a wide flat valley. From here the path eased gently downwards towards an alm, the Ammererhof where of course sustenance was enjoyed.  The Ammererhof, at 1,600m itself, faces the Hoher Sonnblick, a 3,006m peak with a weather station atop, although it was carpeted in cloud this day.

On the way to Kolm-Saigurn

At our highest point of the day

After being sated with goulash soup, cheese and meats, cake and of course something to drink, we wound our way gently down the stony road back to our cars. The views again, fantastic as we walked alongside the river gushing with snow melt, surrounded by tall snow capped mountains.

The gentler walk back down

Next instalment: Rauris and Zell am See

All photos from the trip are available on my Flickr page - link below

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