We walked out of Obervellach down the pretty main street. The town had been the centre of the gold mining industry and there are many large 18th century buildings. The path led up the hillside on tarred roads and we decided to keep on the road, rather than following the track heading higher up the hillside. We passed a vineyard and were shocked to see the state of the vines; very small grapes and the leaves turning brown. There will be no harvest there this year. We continued upwards to a point where the Alpe Adria trail came back down the hillside, and we followed it downwards on a decent track. We were soon back onto tarred roads, with the Danielsberg in front of us. The harder rock survived the glaciers and remains as an impressive hill in the valley floor. The path wound through forest to the top, then there was a quick descent to the village of Kolbnitz and our accommodation. The sign on the door said “closed on Thursdays” which was not good. We phoned the owner and convinced him that we had a booking; after a discussion he said we could stay. The guest house runs a small pizzeria, and the sign outside the front door changed to “open at 5:30”. When we came downstairs this evening there was no sign of the owner or any staff, but the pizza oven was heating up so we took that as a good sign. There were also other would-be customers sitting outside in the garden and regularly trying the locked front door. Eventually the owner appeared with a large amount of shopping. It’s now 7:15 and the first pizza had just been made! Our pizza is in the oven as I type.
Max elevation: 961 m
Total climbing: 655 m
If all else fails, you could eat your fellow walker’s dog food.
We hope the food prospects improve as you travel further south.