Head for the hills

The pics are another view of Maria Trost and a view of the countryside from the terrace in front of the basilica. After a cloudy morning, the day promised to be a fine one. I opted for a long hike, walking up the hill behind us to Maria Trost. There is a short cut through the neighborhood that takes you right to the forest preserve and the wide trail up the hill. It was alive with walkers, bikers and joggers. What a marvel that you can live in a fairly large city and be in a lovely forest in no time. The walk to M.T. takes an hour and ten minutes. I once more visited the basilica and once more admired its magnificence. One thing I missed on my first visit were two side altars that each had glass shrines containing (supposesdly) the skeletons of saints. They must have been midgets because they would not have been more than three feet tall. It is, to my mind, an utterly grotesque practice of the Roman church to venerate the decrepit remains (and obviously spurious ones in this case) of long gone people. That might have been helpful to prop up the faith of the simpletons in the Middle Ages, but in the 21st century it is absurd. I had the naughty idea of opening the glass casket of Saint Bonus and putting sunglasses on his skull -- Ole Boney lookin' mighty fine in his Foster Grants, grinnin' away in his phoney dentures...

There are several trail options from M.T. I took one headed south. It stayed on the mountain ridge, affording views of the beautiful countryside and passing through a few villages. One never tires of the glorious displays of flowers everywhere, in gardens and in window boxes. Much of the trail was in the forest; after yesterday's heavy rain the air was redolent with the scent of the fir trees and earth. There were some pastures and orchards; the apple trees were heavy with fruit. I discovered a roadside growth of blackberries that had just ripened -- that was my refreshment. Here the bikers and joggers were fewer and it was quiet and still. At a place called Altes Fassl (a beer garden, naturally) I had the option of going down the hill to the next village without knowing whether there would be a bus running (it was Sunday), so I decided to retrace my steps and head back the same way to M.T. (if it was so nice the first time, it would be nice the second), where I could catch the tram back to the Heim. In all I walked at least 16 kilometers (12 miles) -- not a bad hike. I was really tired by the end of it and went to the fabulous restaurant Häuserl im Wald with a group of my colleagues for a fine dinner.