Apr 22, 2008, 14:05 GMT
Muhlbach, South Tyrol, Italy - Farmers in South Tyrol have been living in a quiet world of their own customs and traditions for centuries, decamping to the fragrant alpine meadows with their families in early summer in good time to bring in the hay.
The Puster Valley region is dotted with quaint farmsteads and rustic chalets and the high pastures make this an ideal region for a hiking holiday far from the madding crowd. A good starting point is Muehlbach, an ancient market town which lies at the entrance to the valley.
Numerous routes and climbing paths lead from here up to the rambling mountain pastures, where the wooden huts withstand all weathers and time, under the spell of the glaciers of the Zillertaler Alps
In the area around Gitschberg Jochtal for instance, the locals are as idiosyncratic as their surroundings. The pride of local farmers in this magnificent landscape is proverbial and young South Tyroleans seem to thrive on a harsh childhood and a lofty background - the more extreme the better.
A few seek their fortune abroad, returning home with modern ideas, yet most never leave in the first place. They prefer to remain in this isolated idyll where life among the grass and livestock has an almost spiritual quality.
Maria Unterkircher's hands show clearly that she is no stranger to hard work. Together with her husband Peter, she farms the 'Walderhof' in the Pfunder Valley. Maria has raised five children here 1,370 metres above sea level.
The fragrance of herbal tea fills her rustic kitchen and mingles with the heady aromas of homemade bacon and fresh bread, dried sausages and goat's milk. The recipes have been handed down from one generation to another.
Everything served here has been made on the premises. Maria and Peter Unterkircher are not great talkers but they like to tell visitors about how the 'Walder' became their home after they took charge of it from their parents.
There are 12 cows, three goats, a dog and numerous chickens. The first holidaymakers arrived in 1977 and the two of them now supplement their income by renting out two chalets and a bedroom in the farmhouse to guests.
Some of the farmsteads in South Tyrol are located as high as 1,600 metres or just below the treeline while some of the meadows tended lie at 2,000 metres.
The Rodenecker and Luesner alpine meadow region stretches for 21 kilometres, making it the largest interconnected area of its type with countless hiking routes linking woodland with lush meadows. Astjoch peak lies close by and to the north lies the Hochfeiler, which at 3,500 metres is the tallest of the Zillertal Alps.
All around the cows graze peacefully in the sun and the air is filled with herbal aromas. On clear days the outline of the Peitlerkofel (2,900 m.), one of the most distinctive mountains of the range, can be seen clearly from the route to the Starkenfeldhuette.
Christian Tschurtschenthaler, 27, is the contented landlord of this hostelry. A man who claims that he already has all that he needs to be happy.
'Luxury is the death of all civilisation', he remarks. The trained engineer is familiar with city life but says he will always be drawn back to his hut at 1,936 metres, even if life here might seem more picturesque than it actually is.
In the summer season there are plenty of hungry hikers to be attended to every day and the cows have to be milked too. Christian will have no truck with 'turbocows' which deliver anything up to 50 litres of milk a day and he is content with a yield per animal of between 10 and 15 litres.
'Milk is the vital ingredient for our cheese', says the landlord and he needs around 10 litres for a kilo of cheese.
Tschurtschenthaler has a delicate palate and he says a cheese tastes differently, depending on whether it was made from summer or autumn milk. The flavour of fresh young grass and herbs contrast with that of dry meadows scorched in the summer sun. Another alpine hut gives visitors a completely different impression.
The night here is pitch black and there is not a glare of light to be seen. Only the sound of trickling water can be heard in the distance. At the break of day, the meadows are carpeted in thick fog. At the head of the Altfass Valley nearly 1,900 metres up the hillside droplets of dew cascade from the wooden beams of the Wieserhuette.
This is the ideal place to stay for people who like to set off early in the morning for the Seefeldspitz peak which lies at 2,700 metres.
The afternoons are reserved for those who prefer to stroll through the valley. Landlord Simon Fischnaller knows a thing about cheese too. The 22-year-old stays here from June to October and tends 350 hectares of land.
Along with the 20 cows, Simon watches over more than 200 sheep and goats. This is a hut at world's end, surrounded by jagged slopes which block the panoramic views.
In the winter it is avalanche country too - a marked contrast to the busy atmosphere at Fane Alm meadow in neighbouring Valser valley, where the clapboard huts are probably among the best known in all South Tyrol.
Come October, when the livestock has grazed the slopes bare, it is time for the alpine dwellers to return to civilisation. Simon drives the animals back down into the valley. With their garlands of flowers they make a pretty sight for the thousands of tourists who flock here. Not to be outdone though, the landlord dons his best Lederhosen (leather trousers) to ensure he looks the part too.
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