Wednesday 11 September 2019: Mautern - Präbichl (alt 1270 m) - Eisenerz (alt 720 m): 45 km, first fog, then beautiful weather 21ºC

Drive to the parking of Restaurant Präblicher Hof to hike to the Eisenerzer Reichenstein. Julia got it up to Rösselhals (480 m ascent, 6,8 km) and Volker to the Reichensteinhütte (alt 2128 m, ascent 940 m, 4,5 hours, 11 km). Drive to Eisenerz where we stayed overnight at the aire at the municipal swimming pool (not so good, small and next to the road, free of charge, 1 €/8 hours electricity, no useful sewage). Volker went for a walk in the old town, tempted me on a sports shop with discounted summer stuff -where we also bought a lot of stuff on the next morning! Julia stayed home because she was not well. N47º32'36" E14º53'18"

Thursday 12 September 2019: Eisenerz - Leopoldsteinersee - Palfauer Wasserlochklamm/Landl - Weichselboden (alt 660 m): 70 km, overcast 20ºC

First we did a sightseeing tour, so Julia could see the nice old mining town, and, of course, we went to the sports shop and found fantastic outdoor gear! Drive to Leopoldsteinersee where we parked at the Leopoldsteinersee Stüberl Ostufer(1€/3 hours, 2€ for 10 hours). This is a beautiful mountain lake in Styria, and the lake is named after the nearby Leopoldstein Castle. The lake is many fed by underground springs. A 3 km walking trail circles the lake which we did this morning, with a short stop at the snack on the other end of the lake. There is also a shuttle boat that takes you back for the parking. We walked back along the northern trail which goes on the shore but through the forest. Drive to Wasserlochklamm (Waterhole Gorge). Breezy suspension bridge (65 m long and 21 m high) over the river Salza, numerous wooden staircases and bridges, and 5 waterfalls. Drive through the beautiful Salza valley, which is more like a huge gorge. Overnight at Weichselboden N47º40'12" N15º10'18"

Friday 13 September 2019: Weichselboden -  Niederalpl Pass - Preiner Gscheid Pass (alt 1065 m): 88 km, sunny and cloudy 19ºC

We started the day with a walk along the Weichselboden dirt road to the Barbara Chapel and further towards Höll. Back the same way (5 km, 1 hour). Drive to Niederalpl Pass where we went up to the Weißalm at 1500 m alt. We had a drink (Volker had an Almdudler: raspberry syrup with red wine and soda water, with Julias soda:3,50 €) and walked back to the pass (4,8 km, 200 m ascent, 1h50 with the pause). Drive to Kapellen where we stopped at the aire where we spent a night last year (12 € with electricity and water, but not a good sewage system). So we decided to drive further to the Preiner Gscheid where we settled for the afternoon and overnight. Unfortunately  our Edelweißhütte -where we sat at the oven last year- is closed today. N47º40'34" E15º43'26"

Saturday 14 September 2019: Preiner Gscheid Pass - Sooß (Lower Austria) (alt 267 m): 80 km - fog at the pass and beautiful weather in Sooß 20ºC

Volker hit the trail to the Predigtstuhl (at 1902 m) on the Rax (4,5 hours, 8,5 km, 850 m ascent). Back home we went to the Edelweißhütte for lunch (20 €). Drive to Sooß where we parked at the Weinbergstraße on a good parking lot with view to the country side. Walking down the main road in Sooß to go to one of the many Heurigen we discovered that there is a special event on the vineyards: "Genussmeile in ther Thermenregion Wienerwald", the longest bar in the world (approx 8 km long) along the 1st Vienna water line hiking path between Mödling and Bad Vöslau. More than 80 stalls offer all kind of food, delicious local wines, champagnes etc. (no entry fee) We did from A1 to A10 this afternoon!  N47º59º2" E16º12'26"