Not without concern I’ve noticed lately how many people have rude manners and display a horrid lack of courteousness and respect (and lack of common sense as well but that’s another topic). Impolite acts always generate an atmosphere toxic and unpleasant, to which only three antidotes have been discovered: beauty, sun and humour. We enjoyed them all at once on our trip to Kreuzteich Lake, back in 2016.
The connection between greenery and joy has been a scientific fact for years so instead of investing emotions in angry bipods, we rejoice in nature. Speaking of beauty, I maintain a personal Top 10000 list of The Most Amazing Places where Green Lake and Kreuzteich Lake in Austria are among the runners-up. One needs just 5 minutes contemplation on these magical waters in order to forget all earthly concerns.
The Green Lake (Grüner See in German) was a part of our Austrian Lake Tour in the spring of 2016. Having more than 300 lakes, Austria is one of the best places for trips involving abundant greenery and crystal waters. It was difficult to narrow down our lakes list to just about ten but from what I had seen online, the Green Lake was an indisputable entrant.
After driving for about 80km from Graz and following a rough unsealed road through the deep forests near Tragöß, we parked at the paid public parking and embarked on a short walk. May in Austria is a month incredibly crisp and luscious, with occasional light rains, one of which has just started sprinkling freshness. 10 minutes later we reached a lake glowing in such a bright, almost neon green, so we presumed it’s the Green Lake, famous for its emerald waters. According to the signs though, we had to keep walking in order to reach it. A more careful review of all available guides revealed that it’s in fact two lakes snuggling against the rocky hills of the Hochschwab Mountains, so the lake we couldn’t take our eyes off was not the Green but the Kreuzteich Lake.
The fact that Kreuzteich is not as famous as its neighbour we found unjust but understandable. This lake probably spends the year in a very unremarkable way, we thought, showing no sign of this spring metamorphosis turning its humble shallow waters into such an eye-deceiving display. We were wrong. I did an extensive search online, trying to find out why on Earth no one had informed the world about this fairytale, and it showed that what we had witnessed was not an annual event but really a one time wonder. Due to some rare and specific conditions, Kreuzteich Lake was infested by algae in the early Spring of 2016 which is very untypical both for the pond and for the whole region.
It is funny how life rarely gives us what we expect, thus making the unknown unpredictably disappointing or unpredictably happy, depending on what type of person we are. We went to the Green Lake to see trees and benches submerged in water (as in the photos that prevail in internet) which we did not because the lake level was low in the spring of this year. We were lucky to see a rare nature phenomenon instead, in a lake we didn’t even know existed.
Grünner See does not need many words. It’s literally emerald, it’s glass-like and it’s lucid. Surrounded by fragrant greenery and rocky peaks, the place is a dream setting. We took the unpaved trail among the trees and along the lake, and it was just us, the birds and the smell of the forest. The height of the lake waters changes each season, depending on the amount of snow received. This cycle can take place annually only if all ecosystems are in tact and able to recover and regenerate properly. Austria has thousand advantages and one of them is the level of love and respect people show to nature – it will not be an overstatement if I say that every square metre is a piece of paradise.
