Month: July 2014

It marked the end of a great journey.

We gathered one last time on a sandy bank of the Soča River – the turquoise water rushed loudy by on its way down to the sea carrying its message of “wildness” and freedom.  The rivers we followed filled us with similar yearnings.  As we stood in our last group circle and passed the small stone sculpture we received at the Iselfest (nearly two weeks ago), each member of the Riverwalk team had a chance to speak out about his/her experience. It was clear that it had touched us in so many different and profound ways and a clear thankfulness for our time together was heard. The words, “family,” “adventure,” “thankful,” and “deep connections” kept echoing in the group’s words.

We poured the water from the Isel and the Soča spring together while thinking of how the journey had changed us. Then, one by one, we walked to the river, each with a small handful of water, and while letting it fall back into the river, made a silent commitment to the rivers and nature.

Eva then led us through an activity called, “Strongback” where we wrote short messages on the backs (on paper) of the group – messages that could be read on the journey home.

While the Riverwalk I project ends here, our journeys continue and we clearly hear the call of the river and are ambassadors for these rivers now. When asked if we would be willing and ready to stand up for the rivers in the future, a definite, “We’re in!” rose out.

Thanks to all who walked, thanks to all who followed and supported us!  Thanks to the rivers and amazing areas where we connected to. A-ho!

While writing this, we’re gathered around a campfire – our last one of our trip! Looking into the dancing flames, making music and singing!

Watching the flames, our whole journey flashes through our minds again. The first day when we met in East Tyrol, we were just 20 “strangers” – individual participants and now, over the last 2 weeks, we have developed into a circle of friends, who care for each other and learn from each other. We’re bound through memories now; that nobody can take away from us. So many beautiful days we’ve spent together.

Today, for example, was a very enjoyable one. We started off with an abundant breakfast, as always, and then we devoted ourselves to the preparation work for an art project and presentation of our adventure in downtown Bovec. Press would come, the mayor would welcome us, and we would be part of a larger “Save the Soca” art exhibition of photos from the river.

We worked like crazy to put a good “performance” together. We practiced the music, swung our pencils into action, and shot new and selected the “best of” photos for a slideshow. Check out some of the works that came out of our hard work – click here! With our packs slung on our backs, we set off to Bovec. We were received with a warm-hearted welcome and some traditional music on the accordian. Then, we were officially welcomed by the mayor of Bovec, followed by Irena (Save the  Soca) who explained the importance of protecting the Soca for now and future generations and the photographer explained how she selected her photos.

Then it was our turn, to give something back and try to let others experience our project and the magical rivers with which we connected. We combined music, pictures, poems and speeches and made a little performance out of it. The crowd applauded at our performance and peppered us with questions afterwards. Good food was our reward: at first at a local food buffet (cheeses, breads, etc.) and then some delicious pizza. Thank you, Christoph for treating us to a great meal! It was another great day and finishing it with the campfire now feels so right.

As they say, 0ne journey has ended and a new one is just about to begin. We are all sitting here with mixed feelings, I imagine. Wanting to hold on to the good times and yet ready to get back to a real bed 🙂 .

It was a fantastic and one-of-a-kind experience, thanks for making it all happen Riverwalkers!  Thanks to our sponsors, funders, and supporters who’ve made it all possible. Let us know what you think!  Please leave us a comment.

With getting up at 05:00 o clock, leaving at 06:30, being on the way for 12 hours, included 1100 high meters uphill, we gave all we could today to reach the Soča finally.

We are getting to know the Triglav National Park, the landscape is exciting and impressive all the time. The mountains are giants, the water flows free and the vegetation seems to be really diverse and the smell in the air reminds us of fairy tales.

Together we did a great job climbing the highest mountain of our journey; we found a really good group pace and reached the top before 12:00 o clock! We also experienced finally how efficient we can be in the morning if we all help together and it made us really proud. We are in the “flow” now…

In the afternoon we visited the spring of the Soča. It’s a seriously impressive place. The Soča flows right out of a mountain cave, you can see a deep blue hole, looking totally surreal. The water is ice cold and as clean so that you can hardy see any movement. We filled some of the water in a bottle, to do a little water ceremony when we arrive in Bovec, as we are still carrying water from the Isel with us. While just feeling the place of the spring, I got the feeling that that’s a really sacred place. I felt really disturbed by all the people around there. I wonder if we humans lost the connection to listen to the wisdom of nature and react to it, and I wonder how we can find this connection again…

Today, nature was really with us, we had really comfortable, cool weather for our hike up, and the thunderstorm in the afternoon waited for us to be back from the spring to start… Still we got really wet, but the water for the rivers needs to come from somewhere, right?

Now we are drying at a wonderful campfire, and then will try to get a great sleep to reload our energy to explore the Soča tomorrow!

What a Day!

The plan for today was to cross the Wurzenpass – Korensko sedlo, and of course, the border between Austria and Slovenia. To do that we agreed on an early rise. We woke up at 6 o´clock, packed our backpacks, ate the breakfast and then started walking.

We also welcomed a new face into our group- Aljaz and had to let one of ours go free- goodbye Anette, all the best!!

Right from the start we were divided in two groups. Some of us wanted to get some oil, which, according to the housewife of the farm where we were staying, can heal practically everything! We met a really nice woman who showed us her shop and then drove us some way up the pass, so we actually had a chance of catching the others. Well, sadly, that didn´t happen until the top!

After absorbing the spectacular view on the top, in Kreiberg, we continued towards the border. We enjoyed eating lunch on Slovenian grounds and then had fun with a pop quiz based on facts about Kranjska gora and its´people.

During the descent we met a whole zoo!! A horse, some cows and an ostrich. There were also lots of spiders!

When we arrived to the camp we decided to go for a swim in lake Jasna. The water was very clear and beautiful but also very cold. After that we treated ourselves to some well deserved ice-cream –YUM!!

Has it really been ten days?? Time really flies when you Riverwalk! The end of the Austrian part of the journey is coming to an end.

Guess what came after cleaning up the campfire and the backyard of the farm house in Krass where a lovely family let us stay?

More biking. A lot of biking. And have we mentioned biking? Nearly 40 km of sunny flat terrain, with a view of austrian landscape.

Though it was not in the original plan, our photographer sacrificed his face to selflessly raise awareness about the importance of wearing a helmet when biking.

After lunch and a quick jump in the Gail River, we got a tiny bit lost and nearly ended up on the motorway! Oops … in the forest we connected to Alpe Adria trail and the longest ten kilometres later we reached a friendly farm/guesthouse in Neuhaus (Gasthaus Oitzl). After heaving the bikes on the back of the trailer and settling down, we met the newest member of the Riverwalk team – Daniel, from Lower Austria, will join us for the reamaining days of the project…the Slovenian part.

While we tried to stay focused on planning the route and the morning routine, cuddly kittens, piglets, a bunny rabbit and not to mention the lambs kept distracting us! But we did it.The plan for the next day is made: rise at 6:00, leave at 8:30!

Some ice cream and a hot potato soup later we are getting ready to curl up inside our sleeping bags with the sound of a guitar playing in the background. Goodnight!

“No! No! No! Let’s not leave this paradise!”

That’s what most of us thought this morning – or at least the group writing this blog did! After a full day of relaxation and enjoyment it was hard to leave the blue beauty, better known as “Weißensee.” But it was not up to us, we had to move…so we headed off toward Kraß (near Hermagor).

“It will only take us about two hours” the guiding team announced. That caused some chuckling in the group, as we all know, that we never arrive on time. Read on to find out whether we managed to stick to our timetable! We left at 11:30 and started up a steep, windy road which left us with sweat pearls dripping down our foreheads. Then came the, oh so anticipated, downhill ride and let us tell you, it was well worth the hard work. Feeling the fresh air on our faces, cooling our sweat, enjoying the mountain views and letting all of our joy out with a loud “wohoooh” – the ride nourished our souls.

Leaving the main road, we took a bike trail and upon reaching the next village, we came across a little fountain and filled up our bottles to stay hydrated. Then suddenly “splaaash” a waterfight began. Let us say nobody stayed dry!

Continuing our ride, we took an “off the beaten track” forest road, but we must have somewhere taken a wrong turn. Going uphill again we were quite upset when we noticed, that we ended up on a dead end road. We couldn’t stand the thought that all of our hard effort would be for nothing. So we opted for a small footpath; however, we didn’t know then what kind of adventure we embarked upon. Not just one fallen tree blocked our way, but several lay directly across the trail. One bike after another was heaved over or pushed under these trees. But as you know, “no sweet, without sweat.” We were rewarded by a beautiful waterfall and decided it was a perfect place for a lunch break.

Eventually, we managed to reach our final destination for the day, a farmer’s house in Kraß. As soon as we saw the house Dani said “I could really imagine to live in such a house sometime.” After our “tour de detour” we all had a little rest in the grass. After that we split up and some went to Hermagor to indulge in some frozen deliciousness, while others went to a lake nearby and a few chose to stay and help with dinner. Mirjam, for example, who stayed said, “I just want to stay here – it`s so beautiful” When Lisa was asking what we’re having for dinner, Maegan jokingly said “On va manger crotte de mouches.” Google translator is your friend! Actually we’re having a barbecue and all of us are looking forward to it. After that we’ll have a campfire, grill marshmallows, sing campfire songs and might as well dance around the fire.

We almost spared telling you the good news. We worked on a press release that will hopefully be published in many newspapers tomorrow. To support our message we produced an awesome video about the Riverwalk project. Mirjam put many hours of work into it. So make sure you check it out!

We started our journey a week ago in the heart of the National Park Hohe Tauern.  From there we walked to the Umbal waterfall, passing by the location where a hydropower plant is planned, and right now being negotiated about. There is the opportunity to protect this amazing river by declaring it a Natura2000 area, however, there is pressure to exclude parts of the river – exactly where the dam would be built.

In response to this ridiculous proposal, the Riverwalk team has created a video response which we hope you will watch!

Riverwalkers speak out for the Isel! from Nathan Spees on Vimeo.

Note: we are currently walking, paddling, and riding and therefore, have minimal equipment and time, therefore, we have uploaded a lower resolution version.  As soon as we have a higher quality version, you will find the link here!

– Thank you for protecting wild, wonderful rivers and supporting us!