It’s Monday morning. The day after we climbed to the summit of Sulzfluh. We’re planning an easy day. A gentle walk to Carschinasee, after a stop for coffee at the Carschinahütte, and then steeply downhill to the car, 600 metres below us…
Breakfast. After handing over our ticket to prove that we have paid for breakfast, the ‘sergeant-major’ (aka hostess) instructs us to use disinfectant on our hands before handing out our cutlery and crockery. The breakfast is nothing special. But adequate. The coffee – no decaf available – is best not commented on. We nevertheless have enough to arm our bodies for a day’s walking…
We pack our bags, say goodbye to the Tilisunahütte and start the walk to the top of the Tilisunafürggli (pass), which is also the border between Austria and Switzerland (perhaps the Von Trapps crossed here, as it’s uncontrolled?) A simple sign saying “SCHWEIZ” on one side and “ÖSTERREICH” on the other tells you you are now crossing back into Switzerland…
A short way down we have to decide if we want to follow the ‘Bergwanderweg’ or the ‘alpine path’. We pick the latter because it’s more direct. It also turns out to be somewhat more complicated. The terrain is more uneven than we had on the highway (Bergwanderweg). Here and there we have to scramble. On the plus side: it offers superb views across the peaks in all directions.
It’s after 11 when we arrive at Carschinahütte. That means I’m allowed to have a Radler. Yes, these laws apply even in the Alps…
A Radler, for those who do not know is a drink similar to the English beer shandy. In its purest form it consists of a 50:50 mix of wheat beer and lemon soda. The name Radler originates from a drink called Radlermass (‘cyclist litre’), created by innkeeper Franz Kugler in the small town of Deisenhofen, outside Munich. As he started to run out of beer he mixed beer and lemon soda and gave us Radler!
Another hour later we’re at Carschinasee. We walked past here last year the day after we climbed Partnunblick, and liked the little lake so much that we mentally bookmarked it for future visits.
To our surprise we are on our own. We have the whole lake and pier to ourself. It doesn’t take us long to shed our layers and submerge our bodies in the cold refreshing water. We swim across to the far side and back to the pier, get our undies back on and sort out our lunch. A short while later we’re joined by an elderly lady who doesn’t take long to disappear into the refreshing water of Carschinasee.
When she’s out and safe, Barbara and I say goodbye and head off. We’ve picked a route that is seldom used. It’s quite a long way down from Carschinasee and a bit tricky in places, but it has superb views over the surrounding peaks and back towards the very imposing Sulzfluh. The final obstacle being a river crossing (we could have walked around, adding a few hundred metres to our journey), to get us back to the car.
Another great mountain day. And I’m sure we’ll be back many times for a visit to this part of the Alps – both Carschinahütte and Carschinasee firmly fixed on our map of places to return to!
More information about Carschinasee
There are several ways to reach Carschinasee – the Prättigau tourism website offers more information. On a previous trip we walked from the village of Sankt Antönien where we stayed in a very interesting room in what looked like the back of a barn… Rustic would be an appropriate term… It was lovely and warm, even if the bed was somewhat make-shift. The hosts were friendly and chatty. And the dinner and breakfast was great. Our route took us past Bärgli, then onto Carschinasee, where we had a quick swim, before continuing to Carschinahütte. From the hut we then continued down to Partnunsee, and from there back to the Alpenrösli Berggasthaus where we caught the last bus down to Sankt Antönien.
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