Hello From Austria: A Hike Through The Raabklamm And A Visit To Graz (I)
Inspired from my cave adventure yesterday, I met my friends Andrea and Herbert early this morning to go on a hike through the Raabklamm (Raab River Gorge), which is surrounded by limestone mountains that hold more than 700 caves, including the famous Katerloch and the Grasshhle, two publicly accessible caves and major tourist attractions in the Weiz area.
Again, we drove through the rolling hills of Gttelsberg, Haselbach, Leska and Drntal to park our car near an entrance point of the Raab Gorge. Andrea had given me a couple of Nordic Walking poles which I was about to try out for the first time. Nordic Walking, also referred to as pole walking or fitness walking is a sport that consists of walking with modified ski poles. Originally popular in Finland and Scandinavia, Nordic Walking has become extremely popular throughout Europe, although it hasnt quite caught on yet in North America.
I was initially a little skeptical about the concept, but once I tried the walking poles, I realized that walking uphill and downhill both became a lot easier since the poles provide additional support...