The Way of Mindfulness
Where can you wake up in a mountain hut to the sound of a rushing river, stay in a 16th century castle, sing in 4-part harmonies on mountain tops, watch the sunset from the terrace of a hotel situated at an altitude of over 1,000 metres, and eat every day to your heart’s content because of all the walking you’ve been doing?
I’ve just enjoyed all of the above, and much more, on the ‘Way of Mindfulness,’ a recently created 5-day circular pilgrimage route in Austria. I’d first heard about it from Marius, a Berliner that my wife Yim Soon and I had met when walking on the Way on Francis in Italy in 2025. We’d also met there (and sung with) an Austrian couple, Norbert and Elisabeth and they were organising this new trip in the Almtaler valley region in the Upper East of their country.
There were fifteen of us making the trip, twelve by foot and three on (electric!) bikes. The walkers set off, rucksacks on backs, from the tiny station of Grünau and the path was fairly level as we followed the Alm river. The ascent began after lunch and we’d reached an altitude of 423 m for our night in Almtalerhaus, a mountain hut that had no wifi. That meant there was no chance to have a sneaky peep at the World Cup scores, or anything else for that matter. Rather it gave the opportunity to simply be at peace in that beautiful secluded place, to listen to the river and the birdsong, and to gaze out at the tall pine trees on the mountainside.
Our second day’s hike was longer, with our time punctuated by little reflections from Norbert and Elisabeth, some songs, and two periods each day of walking in silence. Interesting conversations are had, as ever, with fellow pilgrims but I also valued those times of silence. Later in the day, I was extremely excited when I caught a first glimpse, high up on a rocky pinnacle, of our accommodation for that night, Schloss Klaus. Before making the final steep climb up to the entrance of that imposing castle we cooled off from the high temperatures by swimming in a lake (and there’s just something about wild swimming that has always delighted me). We were back into the world of wifi at the castle, which was just as well because that night it was Austria v Spain. It was fun to watch it with a group of mainly Austrians, and to witness the eternal hope of the football fan! I was also incredibly touched when one of our group, Andreas bought everyone a drink in celebration of his recovery from a stroke he’d had exactly six years before.
Day 3 was the long one! By the time we reached our hotel at 7 PM, having set off at 8.30 in the morning, we had walked 26 km (Marius swore it was 28!) and climbed two mountains. We’d done it, as well, with the temperature at over 30 degrees. There was just time to have a shower and make a cup of tea before meeting in the dining-room for a feast of a meal. Then someone suggested that we go out onto the terrace for dessert and to watch the sunset. From our vantage point of 1,148 m that was quite a sunset to behold. There was lots of laughter too and a strong sense of joy and unity in the group. As I observed to somebody the next day, those special moments we shared that evening would maybe not have been possible without the tough day that had preceded it.
I was pretty wacked by Day 4! Another big buffet breakfast helped a bit to kick start me and we were off again through forests and valleys and up and down hills. I was glad to get a bit of time on my own when we reached our guest house. I strolled down to a river and came back and sat in the garden and listened to a chaffinch in the trees. And there’s always something rejuvenating about birdsong. I rejoined the group at a dining-table in the courtyard and everyone was excited that I was trying Wiener schnitzel for the first time. It was good! And not for the first time on the pilgrimage, people were giving me their leftovers to eat. As I’d mentioned on the first evening in the mountain hut when we’d been introducing ourselves, we are somewhat out of your comfort zone when on pilgrimage and perhaps a bit more dependent on kindness. There was certainly plenty of kindness given to me during those days in Austria.
A highlight of our fifth and final day was lunch at a Buddhist centre. A banquet of a meal was given to us and I enjoyed chatting with a couple who are originally from Israel and live now in the U.S. I was fascinated to hear that Uri was writing a paper about the role of playfulness in the ageing process. I told him that in a recent talk I’d given about pilgrimage I’d mentioned that people become playful on the pilgrim path, whereas we often neglect the importance of play as we get older. I asked him to keep me posted on his reflections on playfulness. Another highlight of Day 5 was leading the group in a Taizé chant at a high point that overlooked the valleys and the mountains in the distance. It was very ‘Sound of Music!’
We were back along the river Alm for the last stretch and we stopped near the end at the water’s edge to form a circle and for each person to say what they were grateful for. I said I was thankful for walking in such a beautiful place, for hearing something of the unique stories of my fellow pilgrims and for having my heart touched.
Even though pilgrimage, like life, can have its ups and downs, I was already looking forward to the next one…
Eddie Gilmore is a Hearts in Search of God collaborator. More about Eddie and his books can be found here.
