TWINKLE LITTLE STAR.  All our holiday apartments and guestrooms have a view of Sternberg mountain (Sternberg = “star mountain”) that is also lit up at nighttime: a very striking hill (733 m) to the west of our village that was already settled in Celtic and Roman times. This handsome Romanesque parish church that can be seen from afar is dedicated to Saint George and was first mentioned in records in 1258.
Starting out from our farm, take the field path to the village of Köstenberg. After the fire station, follow the marked trail “Sternberg” and the forest paths on the left. Enjoy breathing in the clean forest air and listening to the birds chirping and the soundscape of the forest. After a good 1.5 hours you will be on top of the Sternberg mountain; climb the green hill next to the parsonage. Find a nice place in the grass or on the wooden bench and become familiar with this place. Are you ready for the story?

THE SMILER. Once upon a time there was a man who always looked grumpy without noticing it. One day he went past a large mirror and was startled by his reflection. “How dreadful! What will all the people think who see me this way?” he thought, “And in actual fact, I am not a grumpy person at all”. From this moment on, he decided to smile more often. First he found it quite hard. He kept forgetting about it, so he stuck little pieces of paper saying “Smile” all over the place to remind himself of it.
The first thing he noticed after he had learned to smile was that his smile confused people. If he smiled at a young lady, for example, who was waiting at the traffic lights in a car next to his, he noticed that she quickly looked away because she seemed to think he wanted to chat her up. If he smiled at men, he also got odd reactions that he hadn’t noticed when he’d kept a serious look on his face. Smiling and looking people in the eye seems to confuse most people because smiling eyes radiate a lot of energy. He realised that such a lot of energy was only set free between people who were very close or familiar with each other. So he tried not to force eye contact and then his experiences got better. If he happened to sit in a cafe, for example, and he put a smile on his face without looking at anyone particularly, he noticed that more and more guests seemed to be looking at him. He could even sense what they were thinking. First it was something like, “He must be a bit mad”, later on “Perhaps he has fallen in love”, and finally “Now why is that guy smiling all the time?” This question provoked all sorts of ideas. Usually nothing happened, but now and then, someone did dare address him and then he was able to smile at these people and give them eye contact without being misunderstood. Since deciding to smile, he was just as happy as he could be. And something else I’d like to tell you: He can’t even hold it back any more... (Lena Lieblich) 

ENERGY SPOT. Now ask yourself how often you put a smile on your face in your everyday life. Perhaps you could handle minor problems and annoyances much easier if you smiled more often.
Sternberg located in the region of Lake Wörthersee is an ancient energy spot and the perfect place for making new resolutions and letting go of old habits. You just have to be willing! Take as long as you like and then get ready for your return home. The same trail will take you back to our farm in Köstenberg.