Here is another tip to those planning to visit Stubaital or some other famous hiking/skiing place. Many of these places offer “advanced guest cards” that make almost everything free. Hiking buses is the most basic example; but the free usage of cable cars is a much cooler option, easily saving you a hundred euros. Thus, please do some research and make sure you pick up a hotel that offers such a card. You might save more money than you can imagine.
Anyway, the thing about these cards is that they are still operational on the last day of your stay. In other words, you will still pay for a bus to deliver you to the hotel on the day of your arrival, but your journey back may be free. You can also be more intelligent and on the day of your departure pay at your hotel, and then leave your luggage there and go on doing hiking and using cable cars free of charge to your heart’s desire.
This is exactly what I did today. The Klamperbergalm is a simple, if a bit lengthy hike away from the top station of the Elfer lift of Neustift im Stubaital. The path is more-or-less flat, getting steeper only when approaching the hut, and is easily manageable – there and back – in half a day. When I reached the destination, it was not even 12 p.m., and my capacity for consuming a heavy Brettljause was significantly limited. Still, I made sure I took my time and conquered the Jause piece-by-piece because it was so bloody good. (OK, it’s a lie. I could not finish it. But I made sure that whatever I left on the plank could not be re-used for someone else. The bastard I am.)
Yes, it was a good Jause. Even if a couple of its ingredients did come from a supermarket (the soft cheese is my primary suspect here), that was for the best. I was more impressed by the Speck, easily edible and not over-present, and, especially, the Grammelsmalz, which was absolutely perfect. If you think that having a perfect Grammelschmalz is not a big deal, you are wrong. A sub-optimal temperature can kill it straight away, and a wrong balance between the Grammel and the Schmalz can turn the experience into a highly unpleasant one. Neither of these was a problem with the Grammelschmalz of the Klamperbergalm. If I could, I would use it as a case study to demonstrate all the pork-non-eaters what they are missing.
The hard pepper sausage was quite interesting, too. I had to cut it into thin pieces in order not to overwork my stomach, but I finished it at the end (almost), which is a testimony to its quality. What I mostly could not finish was the hard cheese, cut into thick slices but filling me up quicker than its taste deserved, and the salami-like sausage that was simply too heavy and non-exciting.
Honestly, I am sorry I did not have a chance of reaching the Klamperbergalm a couple of hours later, when the memories of my ham-and-eggs breakfast were further away. Still, if was hard not to appreciate the quality of the hut’s offerings, and the complimentary Schnapps was extremely welcome.
Leave a Reply