Already on arrival I notice that this is a very special place. It is somehow different here, but I still can not say exactly what is special. The road winds through the rather barren mountain landscape - well, that's everywhere in the Alps. And yet, something magical, maybe even a little eerie radiates the area. Just as I want to shake off the queasy feeling, I discover the church tower: it rises out of the turquoise waters of Lake Resia. So, if church towers rise out of a lake, then it must be a unique place. I want to get to the bottom of its secret in the next few days - on the mountain bike.
But now for orientation: we are on the way to Nauders a small village of 1,500 souls in Tyrol. Better said, the village is located in the three-country corner of Austria-Italy-Switzerland. This place is known among mountain bikers mainly as a stopover for alpine crossings via the Via Claudia. That's a shame, though, because the region has turned into a true mountain biker's paradise in recent years. It's worth it to do a few laps on the spot. We have chosen for the next few days in the Hotel Central quartered. The farm is a member of the Mountain Bike Holidays and thus offers every service that we need as mountain bikers. At check-in we immediately get to know the head of the house. Harald Ploner himself loves to ride on studded tires and is happy to share this passion with his guests. He was also the driving force when it came to developing the region into a biking El Dorado. "A tough piece of pioneering work, but it was worth it!" he reveals to us.
We throw the suitcases in the rooms and then we are off. The Trails call! Until departure, we want to get to know as much of the region as possible and that is quite a bit. A look at the bike map tells us that we are spoiled for choice. There is so much to discover: Three-country tours, the 3-country enduro trails powered by Alutech and last but not least the Uina Gorge, this is rideable on a 600 meter long path blasted into the rock. In some places the path is less than a meter wide. And there it is again, the queasy feeling.
For the first tour we let ourselves be transported up by the Schöneben lift and tackle the first trail right away: this time it's not a queasy feeling, but a mixture of adrenaline and pure satisfaction that flows through us. Natural coniferous forest soil flits by under our studded tires, peppered with roots and stones. Liquidly it goes downhill and the smell of damp forest is in our nostrils - fantastic! We can't get enough of it and tackle more trails until the fading sun forces us back to the hotel. In the evening there is only one topic of conversation: such an abundance of natural mountain bike trails is rarely found. No gravel roads, no paved sections, just the bare natural ground.
The tours over the next few days will take us over terrain steeped in history, among other things. Old smuggler trails turn out to be the ideal mountain bike trails. We cross the borders between Austria, Italy and Switzerland several times, without really being aware that this was not always so carefree. However, we are brought back down to earth when we pedal past the tank barrier on the Plamort plateau. In the background we discover two bunkers from the Second World War. This time it is no longer a queasy feeling, but a cold shiver that overcomes us. We quickly cycle on and shortly afterwards reach a vantage point - the Reschenseeblick. In front of us lies the elongated lake and radiates an enormous calm. That feels good! The way back to the hotel we cover again on the nature trails that we have come to love so much.
On the way home, I review our trip and try to fathom the reason for my mixed feelings. Is it perhaps the special flair created by the mixture of three countries? The constant wind that was our constant companion on the plateau? Or was it the purist trails that brought us closer to nature? I'm not quite sure yet, and that means I have to come back. This spot of earth has done it to me and there is still infinitely much to discover.
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Nauders at the Reschen Pass
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