Monday, April 28, 2008

Schneeberg

To the Top of the Mountain!





Today - Mary and I climbed a mountain! Unbelievable! It was amazing. We had the perfect morning for a hike up into the alps. The sky was blue and there was little wind. In the afternoon as we were leaving the clouds and wind were rolling it. They are calling for storms tonight.

We left the house early and drove for about an hour and then caught the spotted salamander tram and got off at the summit station. We hiked up to the cross. Every summit has a cross on the top. Austria is a Catholic country and this is just one of their traditions.

Mary and Adrian just ran up the mountain in the snow. We had to walk quickly to keep up. We also had to lecture them on staying on the path because it can be very dangerous up on the summit. Mary was amazed at home deep the snow was. It would have been perfect for snow shoes or cross country skis.

Once we made it to the summit we sat down and had a picnic. Everyone was hungry from the fresh mountain air. We headed down the other side our summit towards a "hut". The best way to describe a hut is like a restaurant in the middle of no where. You cannot drive to the hut - you must hike. We were cold and hungry by the time we arrived at the hut. The kinder were pleasantly surprised by the warmth inside the building. They had a wood stove with a fire burning. Mary took off her shoes and socks in order to dry them on the stove. Again, we were hungry from hiking and ordered some food. Mary and Adrian had chicken nuggets and fries just like at home. Jutta and I had chocolate cake. You can find chocolate everywhere in Austria. We drank apple juice with sparkling water - it only looks like Mary is drinking beer.

Today was not magical - It was glorious!