Coincidentally we went up about the same time as six other people, which was unfortunate because I started in the middle of them despite trying to wait for everyone to go ahead. This ensured that the ones behind me got to see me flailing my arms like I was back in the 90s doing the Funky Chicken and barely inching forwards. None of that effortless gliding you see in the Olympics, oh no. One of the first things that struck me, other than that I felt incredibly unwieldy despite growing up skiing, was that there were actually ruts that you were supposed to stay in.
So I shuffled along in my rut as the people ahead of me steadily pulled away. Christian told me the basics then took the approach of letting me figure it out for myself, though every time he looked back he was definitely repressing a laugh. It didn't take him long to suggest that I forget about the poles for a bit and just try with my legs. I made progress enough to graduate back up to pole usage. One of the interesting things about the poles is that you loop the strap around your wrist, as normal, but then place your hands over the straps to give you more leverage. You're also supposed to more or less let go at the end of each push, but I never quite got the hang of that.
I started getting in a rhythm eventually, enough so that I had caught (and passed!) the group ahead within three kilometers. After another two kilometers, Christian decided I could manage the 11 kilometer loop (the blue one on the map), so we trekked onwards.
It was really quite soothing once I stopped getting ahead or behind (or to the side of) the rhythm; I would just slide along through quiet forests and across blanketed fields at my own pace. My Nordic skiing pace is Grandma-speed, by the way. It also ended up being the perfect temperature, despite my skepticism when we got out of the car. It was a few degrees above freezing, which sounds, well, freezing, but once you got going you warmed up quite quickly and never went fast enough for the wind in your face to be a bother. Well, I never went fast enough.
Christian said that I got the hang of it surprisingly quickly and asked if I wanted to try skating (the tracks on the left side of the lane in the above picture), so I did. It was awful. I seriously thought that I was on ice with silk socks. I'm not much of an ice skater anyway, but I'm used to skis with edges, dang it! After flailing even more than when I first started, I decided I should just conquer one new technique for the day and let it fully sink in.
I was really disappointed when we came around a bend and were back in Gutenbrunn. I would gladly have taken another lap, but I had an afternoon dessert date with Günter, Anna, and company. We finished the course in 2 hours, though. Fast? Slow? I have no idea, but Christian assured me that he didn't expect me to be able to go that far in two hours. Still, I was constantly floored by the distance he could put between us with three little gliding strides. I need to come back to Gutenbrunn, too, as apparently they are quite well known (by whom? I'm not quite sure) for their Knödel, giant bread or potato dumplings.
However, although I was sad to miss that opportunity, the Topfencreme hit Erdbeersauce I had at Günter's favorite patisserie made it well worthwhile! I didn't think it was really something we have in the US, but Wikipedia informs me that it's called "Quark". Since I would expect to be served some duck if asked if I wanted any (under the assumption that the person offering was a bit of a quack), I would be surprised to instead have a plate of something similar to curd cheese. Okay, that sounds like a horrible dessert, I know, but this was whipped with cream and not at all cheesy and really quite delicious.
It's open Tuesday through Saturday, 7:00am - 7:00pm, and Sundays 8:00am - 7:00pm. If you have access to a car, a friend with a car, or you want to make friends with someone who has a car, go here.
Café-Konditorei Kadlec
Karl Bergerplatz 3
3443 Sieghartskirchen
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