When I say the word “alm” what image pops into your mind? For me it is the flower-filled meadow in the Alps where Johanna Spyri’s Heidi romped with her little goat friends. Now I invite you to join me on a trip to visit the two alms my family owns in the Styrian area of central Austria. The two are as different as can be. One is a very traditional alm and the other is the locale for hikes and fun adventures.
One glorious, sunny morning my cousin took me to the traditional alm. It was not high on the mountain as I had expected but it was a broad green meadow with tall evergreens surrounding it. In the background, the Alps stood guard. We parked and walked through a gate where we were immediately welcomed by several friendly cows. They were all a lovely light brown color with white markings, but I don’t know what breed they were as I had never seen similar cows here in America. However, they were very comfortable around people and provided milk for the local cheese.
We strolled with our new four-legged friends across the meadow to a low building to meet the sennerin (milkmaid). She was a little, white-haired woman who lived in the hut and was responsible for milking the cows and making the cheese. We stepped inside where we saw a small and very clean kitchen in which she produced the Steirerkas, cheese from Steiermark. This cheese has a very strong flavor, which I did not care for but some folks love it. One of my younger cousins picked up the extra milk and brought it back to town. He has a small, self-serve machine near his house where people can bring a container, put some coins in a slot and get a liter of fresh, alpine milk.
The other alm is more difficult to reach. We drove up a very steep road that is so narrow I hoped we would not meet a car coming the opposite direction. The drop-offs at the side go down forever. I was surprised to see bicyclists riding up that road: European bicyclists are a very hardy bunch. The area is called Hintereggeralm, roughly meaning behind the corner of the mountain from town. After several miles we came to a broad meadow that rests on a very long slope with alm huts at several levels. The upper cabins are said to be in Heaven, the middle ones in Purgatory and the lower ones, of course, are in Hell. My family owns a part of Purgatory.