Riegersburg - first via feratta of the year

Last year, my best friend, Irma, bought a via feratta (klettersteig) set for her and me and of course we had to try it. I often heard from others how nice it is to go via ferrata, but never tried it. So, we decided for my first time and also for D. first time to try the via ferrata in Riegersburg. 

This via ferrata is often recommended for beginners and kids, especially as there is a course you can try here as well. So the 1^st of May was the perfect time to try it. The weather was beautiful, sunny but not too warm.

I was a bit excited but also a bit worried about what could happen. The path has three parts which you can try, the first one is the easiest, then you can go on a harder one and finish with an easy one as well. The via ferrata in Riegersburg is very popular, and of course, there were many people there was well. We were impressed by two older ladies who just did the circuit over and over again. 

For me, the first part was scary, it took a while to be used to it, and I was often afraid I would fall. Therefore I used my entire arms to hold myself in some parts, when instead you are supposed to use only your hands, needless to say, I had bruises on my biceps for weeks to come.

Once we were done with the first part, we actually went for the hard one, and soon after regretted it. There was a tough part where I thought I would fall, but thankfully I managed to pass. After that, we were unsure if we should continue or just finish. One of these super ladies told us that the next part is easy and very nice to do, so she totally convinced us to try. So we did, even though we were already tired and it was great.

At the end of the via ferrata, we took a nice group photo and then we just visited parts of the castle and headed back to the car. 

[Irma and I]

We ended the day with fantastic food at one of the local Buschenschank, they even had vegan choices. I was totally amazed, as usually at Buschenschank you get a lot of meat.