Slow Living in the Alps

SGGP 07/09/2023 07:05

After 7 years, my father, 75 years old, returned to Europe because of his daughter's "persuasion" that European summer is wonderful, very cool and green. The scenery and people are cheerful and she will design a schedule so that he can walk as little as possible but still see the most beautiful sights.

I chose a route for the former geological engineer to find the old feeling between the mountains, the forests, the streams and the lakes, so that father and son could have more time together, understand each other and bond more, and also satisfy the wanderlust of those who love to travel and seek new things.

So formed a road trip through many cities, towns along the famous Alps of Europe in all three countries Germany - Austria - Switzerland and down to the famous Mediterranean Sea, endlessly in the countryside of Provence, immersed in the ancient half-timbered houses of both France and Germany right in these days of July. Dad said the more I walked, the more healthy I became, the more I drove, the more I felt happy every mile.

Father and son on a mountain road in the Alps, Europe. Photo: NAM VINH

The first time we set out without booking all the services for the whole trip because we were worried that Dad’s health might not be able to handle the busy schedule every day. But thanks to Mom’s supplements and Dad’s many walks before the trip, after only two days of confusion, Dad was able to catch up with the walking speed of a long-distance hiker.

Arriving in Berchtesgadener Land - the part of the Alps in Germany, Dad exclaimed: "It feels like I've been walking for many days." But the hobby is also very elaborate. There are people hiking on the mountain's spine, people climbing cliffs hundreds of meters high with their hands, teams of motorbikes with large displacement, groups of two-door sports cars, groups of old Vespas, and old cars also enthusiastically participate on the beautiful roads. Some people travel alone, with a small boat on the roof and a mountain bike hanging from the back. Many old people, even older than Dad, still ride motorbikes with full equipment, looking very cool.

My father was very impressed with the pinnacle of Austrian mountain road construction - the 48km Grossglockner road built in 1935 at an altitude of 2,500m with 36 bends, is a magnet for motorcyclists, cyclists, and cars despite the high toll (day ticket 40€/car, 30€/motorcycle). Every meter of road opens up a spectacular landscape of the Alps with snow-capped curves, admiring the Grossglockner mountain peak, the highest in Austria at 3,798m, appearing almost within reach, the Pasterze glacier and every stop along the way is also a place to admire the panoramic view of the mountains and beautiful steep passes.

The geological engineer was also very excited when he was able to sit in a car and make a complete circle around the Verdon gorge, the largest and most beautiful in Europe in the Provence region of France, and admire the steep cliffs that were up to 700m high in some places. He kept admiring that when his father used to work in the Da River geological survey team, each person had a knife to clear the path, there were sections of thick and tall cogon grass, the knife was too big to handle, so they had to take turns lying down to flatten the grass to create a trail. In Europe, people have built asphalt mountain passes just for tourism. The impression of the vast agricultural areas in the countries was also "really cool". Both cultivation and livestock farming are large-scale, with alternating crops and only one crop per year to prevent soil erosion. Fields growing perennial crops such as grapes, lavender, and fruit trees all depend on the terrain and soil characteristics of each region.

The 2-week road trip, completely by road, driven by my daughter, covering a total of nearly 4,200km from home in Germany, took us father and daughter across fields, through countless mountains, along emerald green lakes, around many steep turns, celebrating birthdays together, enjoying every mile together, going fast but living slowly. It was truly a first-time trip, saying things we had never said, seeing things we had never seen, tasting flavors we had never known, feeling emotions we had never felt.

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