Tuesday, 15th of October, 2019.
I ask to use the bathroom at the only coffee shop open and it is the first time I see the owner, this middle age lady. She says yes but she is far away of being friendly. When one of the customers, not me, the customer, ask for the toilet (probably she asked about the women toilet since she could not see the sign in the door), the owner came and pointed to the sign and then pointed to me, who was just outside of the bathroom, looking for a clean t-shirt in my backpack. How rude?
I eat my breakfast at this main square, under the sun, because the wind is quite crazy now. Apparently there are a few rude people leaving in this town because when I walk into the tourist office, and quite not know if it is open or closed because then sun it is facing the building, I ask this guy, apparently waiting inside, if it is closed and his answer is: “It looks like.” What? What in hell is wrong with you? Go fuck yourself you bloody idiot! It is not my fault if your are having a fucking bad day or if you hate your life and stuff like that. How can you be so rude? Anyway, of course I could not give him a great answer back because I am emotional incapable of being rude to anyone. In my mind I think those people are too piss with the tourists. As they could live without them…
But Loki is Go(o)d and the lady from the post office, Andrea, is a doll! A really sweet and lovely person! First, she is very kind in explain to me the possibilities of exploring the town. Second, when I ask if I can leave my backpack she says yes! I almost could not believe. And third, if it needs one, she is very friendly the whole time, not behaving as she has to do that to help or something like that. I even come back two minutes after I left because I forgot the battery from the camera and there she was, still smiling when she open the door for me again. I just had to come back around five o’clock because it is when they close. Since it is around 2 p.m., and she said it takes maybe two hours the whole walking, I think I am fine.
I should be able to see the famous view of the railway (reason for which the town became so famous), the first one to become a UNESCO Patrimony, and after that the old town, before I come back direct to here. It is actually quite a good plan. Plus with the map, where the trail it looks quite simple and easy, you think that everything is going to be all right. Now, let me tell what happened to me while I might be able to help you to not get lost in Blair which as I did. Almost literally.
I already start the walking a little bit lost, which I should have had seen as a sign that things would not go very well.
I start to follow the map and the first 10 minutes are fine. Beautiful way into the woods, a nice old house… and then an ugly new one just beside. And then the nightmare starts. Once you get at the point where you first see the train station you start to find a hundred extra trails, apart of the one which are showed in the map, so how the hell should you know which one is the right one? In the map it shows that you should take the one to the left side, and the map shows you just one trail to the left side, but them once you are at the point to turn, there are three ways going to the left side. Which the fucking one you should take? That already makes me lose some precious minutes.
Later on, is like this all the time: which way should I take now? The lady at the Post Office told me I should follow this yellow sign on the trails, but they do not put the fucking signs everywhere! How difficult is that? To make a proper trail with signs in each part that can be a little tricky? I then arrive in a tunnel, which I have to cross under the railway. I get all happy then because I finally find something that is actually on the map, so I cross the tunnel and carry on. All of sudden, the trail disappears into a house. What? So I take a better, closer look in the map and I see that there is actually another tunnel, a second one, which is actually the one I should cross. Fuck! So now I can tell you, if you are following the map, it is not the first tunnel you will see, an old one which looks very nice actually. No. Keep walking forward, you will see first a blocked tunnel and then, a bit in front, you will see actually a new tunnel, one that they or rebuilt or just built recently with the increasing number of tourists. That is the one you have to cross.
From the other side, you can see one of the railway bridges, a big construction, which is just after the tunnel. Carry on! Be aware that you will keep finding different trails crossing your way all the time, here and there, but just try to keep going straight. You are going to pass some houses and then you will see the big hotel, which you will pass under. At the end of the hotel, you will see a kind of parking lot, which is actually part of the trail, so you have to cross it, and follow the directions from the other side. You are now very close to the tower. OK, now, when you get in the tower it is when everything goes crazy.
There is a sign saying that the most important view point, the famous one from the pictures, it is 15 minutes walking. There is another sign (which is fucked up with a handmade sign on it) a few minutes after that, showing you to come back in the same direction you just came, but from another side, something like going around the tower. Now it seems obvious for me but at that moment I did not realize that. So you can imagine my surprise when just a few minutes after, I end up in the tower back again. What? Blair Witch this fuck? Once I did the way again, I realize that I was actually back to the Hotel Parking Lot. Which actually would help me in the future. Anyway, so when you get out of the tower and find the next sign, do not make a turn to your left (as the sign suggest), carry on into your right side, ahead, but going to the right side. You will find yourself at the viewpoint quite soon.
When I got in there, I meet this guy with his dog. At first he seemed very nice. I spend sometime at the view and took some pictures. I wish I could spend at least one hour there, just appreciating. But suddenly I realize, actually I asked the dog guy, about the time and I get shocked when he tells me it is ten past four. What a fuck? I quickly ask him if he know which way is shorter: coming back from where I came or taking the old town way, which by the way I really wanted to see. It is OK that he does not know but when I ask him something else he kind of take his body out saying that he has to go… Hey, man! I am not asking you for a lift in your fucking car or anything, I am just asking for some information. Asshole!
So I have a quite smart thought and decide to come back through where I came. First, since I already know the way, I can do it quickly, plus I can take some short cuts now (like cutting through the parking lot of the hotel to get to the trail faster), while if I go by the old town way, I might get lost again and get even later back to the Post Office.
I am going so fast because I just keep imagining how awful my night would be if I cannot take my stuff back. But when I finally manage to get back, before five o’clock, the nice lady is still in there and I manage to take everything back. Uhul! Almost dying of exhaustion… but uhul!
The only problem now is that I really would like to see the old town. It is so close… And I have no idea about how it will be the weather and my mood next morning (because both can be quite unpredictable). And I am thinking that I still have time, some good minutes before sunset. So I first think about dropping the backpack somewhere in town. Anywhere, since the town is almost empty. And it is Austria! But the same feeling of losing everything I have it comes, as usual, and I give up of that idea. I think about asking to the lady from the coffee shop. I do not know why in Loki’s heaven I had that idea. And even worse: I go over there to ask! First, it seems it is closed; but then this man comes out and open the door. I ask him if he know what time the place closes, because if she closes in the next hour, I could go. But he does not know and asks her. Why? Why? She, in all her arrogance and rudeness, instead of answering me in a nice and kind way, no, she walks out of the shop and point to a sign at the door, which shows something that looks like “working hours”. But for me it could be just some numbers of other kind of information since the fucking things are written are in German! And so what, you bitch? Even if it was written in English, why you have to be such a bitch and act like that instead of simply answer my fucking question? Go to hell, you fucking and rude asshole! It really pisses me off when someone is a gigantic piss of shit just for pleasure, free of charges.
With that behavior, it is obvious that I will not ask her anything else, so I give up of going to the old town. Neither tomorrow morning, because I want to make sure I will get in my Workaway Host next day. And after all, it is just another old town anyway…
I look for a place to camp then. The whole town is surrounded by open fields and forests, so it is not a difficult job to do. I get a bit confused though, between which one is the best place into the woods. You know, I usually do not get too much places to choose between, so when I finally get the opportunity, I feel like quite fancy with so many options. I finally choose one between some trees in a circle. I feel quite comfortable in that spot. After cleaning the floor as much as possible (which took quite some time, so I actually appreciate a lot my decision of not going to the old town), I quickly make my camping because even so it is not illegal (I think so) and also not dangerous (I hope so), I always rather not to be seen.
When I finally get inside though, I start to hear teens’ voices and to see their flash lights. What the hell they were doing in the woods I do not know. I am assuming it was a kind of night trail or something, with school, maybe? Because it was a lot of them. But also, maybe, they just live across the woods and were coming and going. So I was aware but not very concern. Not just because they were teens (which actually does not count too much nowadays with this fucked up generation) but also because it was dark already and I know my tent it would be quite hidden. Apart of going a bit down during the night, since the spot was not perfect only because it is slightly inclined, plus some animal sniffing around, I have no problems.
My second good decision it is decide not to go to the old town, because next morning, as soon I start to move in direction of my hitchhiking spot, starts to rain. I actually get a little bit wet and, I do not know for which reason, that makes me lose my temper. I get really furious! I wait a bit under the bus stop and then I go to the supermarket (which for my surprise it is already open) to by something for breakfast. I must admit that I wish I could get some fresh baking, they look so delicious, but I only got some fruits and an yogurt.
I star to think two things: First, I am fucked because of the rain; and second, I am double fucked because I do not think too many people are leaving this town in direction of Graz.