Tamsweg might not be the hiking center I had imagined, but it still offers buses that can take one to nice places. Lake Preber is the closest of them, possibly even reachable by foot in two or three hours, though the walk will not be too pleasant, since most of it will be along a road with quite some traffic. Today, walking was definitely not an option, as the day started uninvitingly: drizzly and gloomy.
The weather got somewhat better and occasionally even sunny once I got off the bus and hiked past the lake and halfway up the nearest mountain. By the time I returned and sat down on Ludlalm’s lake-facing terrace for lunch, the clouds came back, however, and the wind turned rather chilly. That forced me to speed up eating, but on a positive side, the beer remained cold.
The Brettljause was very fancy. Thickly cut slices were seasoned with alpine herbs, and that indeed led to a much more refined taste. The local butter was fantastic, having such a good taste of its own that it was almost a pity to combine it with other stuff. Unfortunately, with only one (though big) slice of bread provided, rationing was unavoidable. The cheese, slightly spongy, like the Glundner Käse of Carinthia, was a pleasant diversion from the usual boringness. There was a bit too much of it for my liking, however, and replacing a half of it with a different second cheese type would have only improved the dish.
Beware that you need strong teeth (or a good dental insurance) if you want to enjoy Ludlalm’s Bretttljause. The Hartwurst in it is truly hard, requiring even more vigorous chewing than the Speck, and the fried pork fat in the Grammelschmalz is potentially tooth-breaking. But the pleasure you are going to get completely overweighs the effort. The only thing I regretted was that I did not choose a warmer day for my visit. And to be completely honest, the fried lake fish that a family at a nearby table ordered looked absolutely amazing…
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