At the beginning of May, I went for a 4-day hiking trip. As the title suggests, it was sunny, but with quite cold mornings.

On the first day of our trip, the hike was relatively easy, given that we spent around 5 hours on the way. By the time we started, it warmed up to a more pleasant temperature. The hike itself wasn’t that interesting, most of it going through the woods until we reached the town where we were to meet up.

Given that I had enough time to spare, once there, I also walked through the chateau gardens, though most of the decorative shrubs were either past their bloom, or before.

Most of May this year had really cold mornings, sometimes just around 3°C, which meant taking a lot of layers at the start and then shedding them as it got warmer. These four days were no exception. The second day’s hike started with a walk across fields and pastures, which let me enjoy the sunlight and warm up after the chilly morning.

The landscape around was, to be honest, quite calm and almost idyllic for letting my mind rest. After crossing the fields, I reached the place shown below.

I walked around the boulder and used it to have a snack at the top, though getting down wasn’t as easy – I slipped and pulled something in my left leg. The pain passed soon, fortunately, because I still had a fair distance to go.

The next stop was the ruin of a castle which I took time to walk around. The exterior was quite in good condition, with a small patch of decorative flowers and tiny shrubs.

Then, I walked around more ponds and fields, then woods, to find another rock formation. This one was just near the trail yet quite hidden in the woods.

There were some more solitary large boulders or small formations, but many of those were right in the woods, so taking photos that would give them justice was complicated.

At this point, my hurt leg started to give me pain again, making me slow down a bit, though I had enough time for that, so I wasn’t too worried. My last stop was a place where the remains of a long-abandoned village were unearthed by archeologists a couple of decades ago. Hints of foundations are still visible in the area.

As I was nearing the town, the trail gets closer to the border with Austria, which means that remains of WWII fortifications are present. Given that I was in the area around the anniversary of WWII’s end, there were many people interested in military history taking tours of the area.

The third day, I took a bit shorter option for the hike – while my leg didn’t cause any further pain, I didn’t want to push it too much. Seeing further boulders and small rock formations in a young forest was definitely something to improve my mood.

And, as before, the day kept getting warmer. This area is quite gentle when it comes to the trails, so I could relax and enjoy the nice day.

One of the points of interest was a rock formation aptly named “Devil’s butt” because of the crack in the stone. Given the amount of people there, and especially the kids running around, taking a decent photo proved a challenge.

I then ascended the nearby hill and the lookout at the peak, though the nearby area was mostly forested. I then continued towards my destination, stopping by at one more rock formation – this time an exposed rock wall.

And, as I was passing through one of the villages, I couldn’t resist stopping by the pond and try for some charming photos there.

The day’s hike ended near the ruin of a small chateau. Like many, it had a fair share of bad luck after WWII. At first, it was confiscated by the commies and used as offices or accommodation for agriculture workers during summer. And, when they were gone, it changed owners often – many had plans to use it (often as a hotel) but the costs of necessary renovations proved to be too much. The current owners repaired the tower as the most iconic part but any other plans are on hold indefinitely.

We were allowed a tour of the interior, which shows the true sorry state of the building, including the low workmanship quality of some of the previous changes.

The fourth day, just as the first, was a short walk near a town from which we would start our way home. I took the middle option – a short walk, while some decided to just enjoy the museums and historical landmarks.

Despite the small mishap from the second day, I enjoyed this calm weekend and seeing another part of my country which, while small, still has a lot for me to see.

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Of course, I also went for some one-day hikes during May, as I do most months, and those will get their own post soon. For now, I hope your May was nice (and not as cold in the mornings as mine) and that with summer coming, there will be many chances to enjoy the warmth and outdoor fun.