Living Moments - N°4 Edition 2017

7TaTYR 8ZXPY_^ Edition 4 · 2016/17 76 As a nature lover and big fan of the impressive Kitzbühel Alps, my present tour once again leads me to the Bichlalm. On arriving on top, low mist cloud shrouds the view. Hopefully it will not remain that way. Klaus Gasteiger and his son are already waiting for me. It does not take long for the pair to win me over. Is it because of the father’s charm, or the blue eyes and tousled blond curls of his son – or is it this extraordinary place? It clears up. The mist reveals peak after peak and then before us lies, the Kitzbuehel Alps “Sea”. Like ocean breakers, the mountain peaks emerge from the massifs, side by side, as far as the eye can see, a never ending surge. As if a stormy sea were just turned to stone. Fascinating, impressive, beautiful. A cold shiver runs down my spine. I first have to gaze, collect myself, before we talk further. The comparison with the sea was whispered to me by Klaus Gasteiger. There could scarcely be a better one. “This is a magical place”, says Klaus and his eyes glow. Sea, magic … the beauty of the place turns this manly Kitzbuehler into a poet. It has always been a very special place for him. Even if intangible, inexplicable. Klaus’ great uncle constructed the “old” Bichalm long ago; his father was a ski instructor here. And, often enough, Klaus himself was a guest. The place has always fascinated him. So for him it was a completely unbearable thought that the alm should lie unused. “That would have really pained me”. The old times live on In 2004 Klaus Gasteiger acquired the alm from his second cousin. Not for himself, but for his son Niko who had just finished his studies in economics and who, like his father, had in mind one thing above all: the Bichalm. In the mean- time, the hut had lain empty with open windows for 7 years, water had penetrated everywhere. There was not much left to be salvaged. Apart from the millstone that Klaus’ father had once set in the hearth and a little of the old timber. The millstone now rests in the new fireplace in Niko’s lounge and the Gasteigers have built the chapel near the hut from the old timber. So that the spirit of the ancestors survives. The many old photos throughout the house serve the same purpose. They show life on the Bichalm as it was many decades ago, when exotic creatures like Gunter Sachs and company wandered around. Again and again “Simma”, Klaus’ father, can be recognised in the photos. The Blitzerstüberl, in which grandmother’s old accordion immediately catches the eye, is dedicated to him. Above it, already framed, hang the scores to the melodies of “Simas Weis” and the “Bichlalmpolka”, composed by Andre Feller, one of his friends. The hut itself is considered a showcase in its architecture and fittings. Whereby the term “hut” in no way matches that which the visitor discovers. Hut, lounge, restaurant, alm? None of these terms fits. “I just wanted to do the place anzeige