On leaving Ossiach we decided to walk up the forest road, rather than climbing the steps in the gorge. We made the 400m climb in about 50 minutes and then stopped for a rest on a bench overlooking the small lake. The track continued through the forest, which was a mixture of beech and conifers. For once, this forest track was very easy walking, mainly on fallen leaves. It does look as if autumn is arriving, with the bracken turning brown and leaves (and cones) falling. We finally caught a glimpse across the lake to the top of Gerlitzen, where we had spent the previous night. The track now swung to the south, and we were soon on tarmac, walking to the small village of Oberdorf. The church had some Roman stones in its vestibule, and also three memorial plaques for men killed in the war; including one in Finland, and one in Murmansk. (The German army escaped in 1944 with the bulk of their forces intact). From here, we followed a country road rather than doing another walk through forest, but soon rejoined the Alpe-Adria trail. This took us past another small lake. Again, the area was full of very large holiday homes, many closed up for the season, or until the weekend? There was another short section of road-walking before we reached a viewpoint overlooking Velden Am Worther See (Velden the town and Worther the lake). It was a short walk from there into town and the end of the stage, and from there to our hotel. This is the biggest place we’ve been in since the start of our trip, and has some expensive shops and hotels, lots of visitors, and a casino!
We’ve got a rest day tomorrow. There’s no launderette, so we are planning a train excursion to Villach, about 20 minutes on the train, where we can use one.
We have thought of a solution to your laundry problem. Fill a five litre can with water, add laundry and washing powder. Attach this to your pack at the start of the day. By the end of the day, your washing will be done. Still working on how you rinse it and dry it.