Hiking Hohe Wand, the limestone plateau about 35km out from Vienna. Wolf and I enjoyed a ridge walk culminating at Wilhelm-Eicherthütte (1082 m.) with a view out to Schneeberg (2076 m.), renowned locally as the most easterly Alp of more than 2000 metres and like today, usually topped with snow.
The Hohe Wand has been a popular retreat for many years so has many settlements of log cabins; the cabin in my photo is constructed in the traditional way but also features a satellite dish, an interesting combination of aesthetics and lifestyles.
This is the eastern end of the Alps, the range known as the Northern Limestone Alps, where the uplifted and crumpled Tethys sea bed is meeting the Vienna Basin and the Hungarian Plain. There are hot springs in the valley due to the geological activity, my friend Wolf is a regular the baths of Baden. Looking over the valley we saw the town of Wiener Neustadt, that was founded in 1194 AD with the proceeds of the ransom of Richard the Lionheart of England. Vienna is far away from London but the history of the region has been affected by and, as the dynastic home of the Hapsburgs, has driven, the political and military history of the whole of Europe.