Alpine Stream Walk – A Luxury Experience?
The Meaning of Luxury
According to the online Oxford Dictionary, “Luxury is a state of great comfort or elegance, especially when involving great expense”. Although luxury means different things to different people, the term has historically referred to something that is both expensive and beyond a typical or average experience. For me, this might be a flight in a first class cabin, dinner at a multiple Michelin-starred restaurant or a very nice bottle of champagne. But what about something like an early morning walk in an alpine stream? Would you consider the opportunity to wake at sunrise, walk barefoot through alpine flowers and wade through a frigid alpine stream a luxury? I do.
When I travel, I love to seek out experiences that enhance my connection with a destination. When I saw an alpine stream walk posted as a guest activity at the Adler Mountain Lodge, I wasn’t sure what it entailed, but I knew I had to try it. Here is my alpine stream walk experience – what do you think? Luxury or not?
Alpine Stream Walk Experience
The sweet morning air surrounded me and my Adler Mountain Lodge guide as we hiked through the Alpe di Siusi, the largest high-altitude meadow in Europe. Once we reached our destination, we took off our shoes and socks and walked in circles through the sun-warmed grasses and wildflowers.
After consciously inhaling and exhaling the perfumed air, we submerged our feet in the glacial water of a nearby stream. We dug our toes into the gray-brown muck on the bottom and didn’t move until our feet began to cramp in the frigid water. We limped back into the pasture to warm our feet among the wildflowers, before returning to the stream. We repeated this sequence many times while the morning mist dissipated, and hikers began to appear on the horizon. Eventually, we broke the meditative mood to take a few photos before warming our feet for the last time, donning our shoes, and hiking back to the Adler Mountain Lodge.
The alpine stream walk allowed me to experience the area on a deeper level. Walking barefoot through a pasture thick with wildflowers, immersing my feet in a glacial stream, and watching the mist disappear as the day began engaged many of my senses and created a lasting memory. Although the alpine stream walk didn’t cost anything, it was valuable on many levels and qualifies as a luxury to me. What do you think?
Sounds like an awesome experience- whether luxury or not, it definitely sounds amazing!
I agree with Natasha. Yes there’s the dictionary definition, but an experience like that which makes you feel like an absolute goddess is unbeatable š
Looks absolutely beautiful. Sometimes luxury is just having the time to enjoy the experience.
Living in Germany, we go down to Switzerland most summers for a long weekend of hiking. NOTHING beats the fresh air, limited people and STUNNING views…yup, to me that IS luxury at it’s finest!
SOunds like a fantastic experience – I would definitely count that as luxury too. I don’t agree that luxury has to be defined as a great expense, I think that experiences which you don’t normally have the opportunity to do fall under the caegory of luxury, because it’s a once off. Even if that experience is as simple as walking in an alpine stream. If you love it and you don’t have the opportunity to normally go, that to me is luxury š
That is an interesting experience. For someone living in the city, the countryside is definitively a luxury. I grew up in the country and I remember seeing people from the city coming in the weekends to look at the way we lived. For them it was strange and they walked around our farm house and the vineyards as if it was a tourist attraction. It took traveling to other places and living in the city for me to appreciate the value of such experiences. I would love to do this walk!
Sounds like a wonderful experience! I always love dipping my feet in an icy stream after a hike, and this looks like a gorgeous spot to do so! Love the wildflowers!
Love reading your posts–I can always look forward to good writing and beautiful photos! It sounds like being in such a stunning, natural setting really felt incredible. If that’s not luxury, I don’t know what is. š