Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 11.
2/8 Day 11: Hiked from Zistelalm (985m) to Ebenau (623m).
Accommodation
(1) 1 night in Ebenau Pension und Bäckerei - EUR80 per person including breakfast (shared room for 3 persons)
Food
(1) Ebenau Pension und Bäckerei - Coffee and slice of apricot pastry EUR7
(2) Tea break from Bageriet Ebenau - Blueberry pastry EUR4,50, banana chips and dark chocolate EUR6
(3) Dinner at Der Dorfwirt - Apple juice 500ml EUR5,80, Almschnitzel (mustard onions, roasted bacon, pepperoni, gherkins, cheddar, parsley) with potatoes and salad EUR20,90
The Story
02082024 : Breakfast at Hotel Zistelalm and it was just the three of us in the dining room! A lovely spread of food was served for us. We did not expect such nice arrangement when it was just the three of us.
We checked out and started our hike at 9am towards Ebenau. We hoped to reach Ebenau before 12pm as we would like to collect our room keys directly from the owner. The owner runs a bakery too and they close at 12pm. Ebenau is a town located at a lower altitude. The first part of the hike was along the main road which took us 35 minutes. Thankfully, it was relatively early in the morning and there were not many vehicles.
After 35 minutes, we turned into a path that led us to a forest. Now, this is more like a hike. There are well-marked signs in the forest.
We reached a cow enclosure and that took us 15 minute to distract the cows that were blocking the gate. We have to close the gate after us so that the cows cannot escape. We are not supposed to startle the cows so a travel companion distracted the cows to the other side with some plants. It was so funny!
After crossing the cow enclosure, we saw a town in front of us. It is Ebenau town! The whole hike took us 2 hours. Yay. We were able to reach our accommodation before 12pm, the time when the bakery closes. The accommodation that we chose runs a bakery too.
We booked this accommodation by calling them up. The owners do not respond to emails so we called them. The owner noted our reservation and we were worried that we did not receive any email. I guess the accommodation does this the old-fashioned way. Of course, by calling up, we misunderstood the price of the room. The owner speaks German better than English. We thought the room costs us EUR80 but no, it costs us EUR80 per person! Oh wow. I was so shocked the next day when we paid for the room.
After checking in, we went to the bakery. I got myself a apricot pasty and coffee before the bakery closed for the day. It was so yummy!
We decided to explore the area. The travel companions wanted to look for a lake. I had no better suggestions. So, I followed them. We walked for one hour along the motorway and then, it rained. And I don't like to be outdoors when it rains. But they enjoy the rain. Ugh. We took shelter under a bus stop until it subsided. We hurried back and it rained again. Thankfully, I had my poncho. So, I was dry and warm underneath. On the way back, I took a picture with a phone booth! There are functioning phone booths in the countryside. Gosh!! And with a yellow directory book too. Oh my goodness. I was so amazed.
Back in Ebenau, we stopped by at a local bakery to buy a pastry. This bakery shop opens at 1pm. We suspected that this bakery has an arrangement with the bakery in our accommodation. The bakery in our accommodation closes at 12.30pm. What a great win-win situation! So, a customer came out from the bakery and showed us her pastries and in her German, said something about the pastries. I assumed she said that they were good. So, we went in and all the pastries look so good! The bakery is very small so we bought the pastry back to the accommodation to enjoy.
We decided to have a late lunch and early dinner at a Schnitzelparadis. This place serves schnitzel only and giant portions too! I did not understand the logic behind the big portions because only a handful of customers could finish and the rest of them took the leftovers home. The waitress or waiter goes around with an aluminium foil and tears a piece to the customers. I asked the waiter the reason on serving big portions when it is obvious that customers are not able to finish it. He said that 80% could finish it and there are workers who do physical works.
The first bite in the warm schnitzel was delicious and crunchy. But after a while, the meat cooled down and I was trying to finish up my meal. I thought I could finish it. I packed away a small piece of the meat and my potatoes. I had them back in our room about two hours later.
After this schnitzel, I was not keen on eating schnitzels anymore. It is not because that this schnitzel was really good. Instead, this schnitzel was too much that it made me satiated.
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