Reutte's Highline

In 2014, Reutte opened one of the world's longest pedestrian suspension bridges connecting the Ernberg Castle to Fort Claudia, over Route 179. We did not get an opportunity to go on the bridge last year, so we decided to check it out on this Wednesday night since it is open until 10:00.

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The bridge is engineered to safely hold 500 people, but on this lovely evening, we were the only two souls braving the span. First we climbed 30 minutes up to the castle. Since it was about 9:30, we caught some sunset clouds. Then we walked across the span of about 1/4 mile. The bridge swayed a bit but felt very safe. I found my comfort zone in walking quickly and looking straight ahead, not down. I noticed that tourists are starting to attach padlocks- I wonder how long they will last?

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After walking back across and descending the mountain, we headed into town in search of a thirst quenching beverage. Our vehicle found its way to the old Ernberg Inn (how appropriate) and the barkeep delivered two tall beers. He was very apologetic that the kitchen was closed, but we assured him that it was fine since it was late to be eating dinner anyway. Shortly thereafter, Hermann, the manager, came over to greet Steve and welcome us. He insisted on assembling us a snack, "No problem! No problem!"

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Well. He brought to us a large basket of breads and a wooden platter overflowing with meats, cheeses, wursts, pickles, horseradish, and more. We did what any grateful American tourist would do: We took a picture of it (sent the picture to the kids since we were sitting in our old booth), ate too much, and tipped heavily.

#Reutte #Austria