Above the town of Egg, the Bregenzerwald opens out into a landscape of green slopes and wooden farmhouses that looks like a picture-book version of Austria, and the villages along the Bregenzer Ach are among the best in the Alps. Andelsbuch, Egg and Großdorf are small places, each with a church spire and a cluster of houses, set in a wide valley at about seven hundred metres. The Bregenzerwald is part of Vorarlberg, Austria's westernmost state, and it has its own dialect, its own costumes, and a strong sense of itself.
The architecture is the first thing you notice. The old farmhouses are covered in dark wooden shingles, and the modern buildings, many of them designed by local architects, carry on the tradition with clean lines and carefully chosen wood. In Andelsbuch, the Werkraum Haus, designed by the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, is a showcase for local craftsmen, and it is worth a stop even if you only look at the building. The valley takes its craft seriously, and carpenters, cabinet makers and joiners have built a reputation across Europe.
Cheese is the other pride. The Bregenzerwald has a Cheese Route, a network of dairies and farms that sell Bergkäse, a hard mountain cheese, along with Alpkäse made on the high pastures in summer. Cows are driven up to the alps in early summer and brought back down in September, and when the herds return, decked with flowers, the villages celebrate with a festival. You can taste the product in almost any inn, with Käsknöpfle, a dish of small cheese dumplings with fried onions, a local staple.
The roads here are a pleasure. The L200 follows the valley through villages and meadows, with easy bends and good surfaces, and it is a fine way to begin a day. Side roads climb to the high pastures and viewpoints, and they get narrow, so watch for tractors and farm vehicles. Wet weather can come down quickly, and the clouds sit on the hills in a way that adds to the atmosphere, but cold mornings and showers are common, so carry a layer.
For fuel, Egg and Andelsbuch have stations in the valley, but Dornbirn, about twelve kilometres west, is much bigger, and has everything. Cafes and inns are plentiful, and a slice of cake with coffee is never hard to find.