In today’s post, I’ll look back at the four-day hiking trip I took at the end of October. This one was unusual in a way, being in the lowlands rather than the mountains.

Going to the lowlands promised that the end of October might still be quite colorful. And as the area is more popular for cyclists, it would be past the main rush with the colder days.

Right as we arrived, I admit I was quite surprised by how colorful the vineyards could be during the autumn. It seems that different cultivars turn their leaves into different colors – something I didn’t expect.

This became a bit more pronounced as I headed for a small hill with a lookout overlooking the lowlands, though the gloomy weather didn’t provide the best conditions for photos.

But that didn’t stop me from walking up the tower to enjoy a bird’s eye view of the area.

Making my way down, I picked up my pace to catch up with the others, who didn’t take this detour, and so I walked across fields and villages towards the nearby river, which we were to follow for a bit. Between a few short moments of light rain showers, we also had some moments of sun making its way through the clouds.

After following the river for over an hour, I reached the main chateau, which was nowhere as crowded as it tends to be in summer.

Having visited the area during a school trip almost 20 years ago and on another solo hike a few years ago, I decided to go on and enjoy the fields further down the trail, but I arrived just in time for a falconer show, so I decided to stop by. The skies cleared up, though it was still chilly, so among the ~150 people watching, I was the only person who opted out to stand rather than sit at the cold benches.

Taking photos during such an event definitely wasn’t easy, and most of them turned out vaguely bird-shaped smudges, but I found a couple that are worth sharing.

It was interesting to see how different birds of prey prefer flying higher or lower, some of them making very low passes above the audience.

All with the colorful trees in the background. The hour passed by surprisingly fast, and I picked up my pace after to warm up, as standing still for an hour meant the chill of late October was getting to me. As before, the trail weaved through fields and woods and I enjoyed the autumn scenery.

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The second way was similar in many ways. I also took a minor detour at the start to head to another hill above the town and enjoy the scenery from above.

In the low morning sun, the yellowing trees had their charm, lit up to gold-like colors, proving that the idea to visit this place this late in the year had its merit.

I finished the loop and returned to the chateau, where I took a couple of photos. Many of the statues were quite worse for wear, which is a pity when the three-headed dog only has a head and a half.

Knowing I had plenty of time led me to take a couple more detours, not just to enjoy the colors but also the architecture of the large, partially forested and partially open area between the two chateaus.

Many of them bear inspiration from ancient Greece and other cultures despite being much younger.

As I went on, the flat terrain started making its mark – exercising pretty much just one muscle group meant I was getting a bit stiff by the end, but I found that better than sitting down somewhere when I knew I had a plenty of time.

Unfortunately, not all of the landmarks bore the passage of time well, as the last one shows.

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The third day was gloomy from the early morning, and it took much less time for me to feel the previous two days – it’s surprising how one-sided exercise can be more draining than a varied one, I admit I’ve felt much better after two days of hard hiking during my summer trip to Italy and its steep trails than I did after two day of flat terrain here.

Midway through, I reached a place that had a museum documenting ancient settlement in the area, but I arrived a couple of minutes after their lunch break started, and the skies began to darken with a clear promise of rain. Thus, I decided to return another day rather than wait an hour in the cold.

At this point, the one-sided movement caused some degree of pain in my right leg, which added another layer of not-so-good feeling as the rain started, lightly at first.

As I reached the town, the rain intensified, so I opted to take the public transport to the hotel rather than wait over three hours for a group departure, a choice many people took, eventually.

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The rain continued into the evening, but faded during the night, and we woke up to a bit better view for the final day. Our trip was headed to the point where the borders of Slovakia, Austria, and the Czech Republic meet at the joining of two rivers, which made for a decent photo setting with the colorful trees around.

From there, we spent a bit of the time enjoying the surrounding scenery.

Yet, despite the bright day for the moment, even this day, the sky turned cloudy again shortly past noon, though we were gathering for departure by the time the rain started in full.

To wrap this up, these four days were definitely something to see, but they have also reminded me that while it might be easier to walk the lowland trails, they can leave worse marks than mountain hikes. The one-sided exercise is something I felt for almost two weeks after, but I guess that’s something for when I get to recall my November hikes…

So, that’s it for now. See you next time, and enjoy the coming days.