Alrighty, so, we got up, had breakfast and then headed off to find the cable car that would begin our ascent up the Nordkette. It was chilly on our walk so we thought we may need touques, and so we went hunting for decently priced ones. We found a lot of expensive ones first (€20+!!) but then found ones for €3.90. I was briefly worried about "bush goggles", a term someone on one of my trips coined, meaning thinking that something is nice or pretty when you first see it while traveling but once you get home is quite hideous... lol. We had a laugh trying on a number of them (the ones with the ear flaps) and eventually we both picked one.
We then headed to the congress hall station where a cable car would take us up! It took three in total to get us to the highest point on the Nordkette, the Hafelekarspitze. The rides were enjoyable and really easy. At each stop there were restaurants and cafes waiting to cater to those of us looking for a refreshment. After we had gone up two landings I couldn't believe we would be going up another one! What can I say about when we got up there... It was spectacular, amazing, gorgeous, phenomenal... It took our breath away instantly and I couldn't stop cooing about the view and where we were the whole time. Jeff had never been in any mountains before so to start with the Alps sure had him flabbergasted as well. He said it was the highlight of the trip and one of the best things he's ever done or seen. Me too. It was beyond perfect. We had a perfect blue sky with absolutely zero clouds and warm and bright sunshine. I took so many pictures, but I doubt any of them will really capture what it was like at the top of a mountain in the alps. It was amazing.
We wandered up there for awhile, just taking in the view of the small city below and the snow-capped mountains that surrounded us on all sides. We even threw snowballs at each other. We could have stayed up there all day, just enjoying the view but after awhile we took the cable car down a landing and looked around. We went on a panoramic view walk that was partly in mud, snow and gravel... I wasn't thrilled as I all I had were my running shoes but my feet stayed relatively dry. I got some great pictures that I can't wait to blow up or frame or canvas or something!
We found a nice bench along the walk and had our lunch, store-bought sandwiches, granola bars and clementines. We nearly had to fight off some crow-looking birds that got irritatingly close to us and watched as we ate our lunch.
We wandered along the mountain path until we decided to hike down from the cable car landing we were at to the next one. It said it would take two hours and since it was such a gorgeous day, we thought it would be something neat to do. Not to mention that it was downhill and not up! We managed the first way with ease on a road and passed lots of bikers and other hikers along the way. Many of the hikers had professional walking sticks and the bikers all looked super fit and serious about their ride (you'd have to be if you were going uphill like that!). We came across a sign that pointed down a sketchy set of rocky and earthy stairs to the Hungerburg (the lift we were heading to) and because it looked really tough we decided to follow the road instead, but after about 10 minutes or more we thought that maybe we should have taken the stairs because the road was leading away from the cables above. So, we turned around and hiked miserably uphill, back to the sign and took the stairs. It only took 10-15 minutes to make it down but my knees were screaming at me. It wasn't pleasant. We made it down to a road and thankfully there was a sign because for awhile there we weren't really sure (and that's unnerving on one of MANY paths along a huge mountain as the sun is descending).
It took us abour 2.5 hours in total and both of our knees took a beating in the process - we'll be so sore tomorrow! I nearly screamed in relief when we found the cable car landing as we had just taken, another, unmarked path in hopes that it would take us where we needed to go - the hill really needs more signs. And in the end, we didn't need our touques at all! It was warmer than we had expected on the mountain, even at it's highest point. I had three layers on and was quite comfortable, until we started hiking and then I was hot! I had five layers prepared but didn't need them at all! Now Jeff and I have hats from Austria... lol
We hopped on the cable car and took it down a landing to the next one which took us back to the congress station. It only took us five minutes to walk back to the hotel which was a welcome relief.
We went for a swim and I sat in the sauna, hoping that it would help my aching knees.
We went for dinner and got kebabs... lol After such a long and tiresome day, we didn't want to sit somewhere. We're tired of eating out, especially sit-down dinners, and already miss having a kitchen to use. Our plan is to look into some good places to eat and then go to those tomorrow and Monday. We didn't want to sit and spend €25+ on a meal tonight, so we didn't and we're okay with that. We will be getting schnitzel before we leave though!
Jeff's watching fencing (in German) on t.v. and I'm just finishing up here before heading upstairs to take some aleve and hit the hay. Tomorrow should be pretty easy going. We have some ideas of things to do and still two full days to do them, along with some exploring.
Hope you're having a good weekend.
Chat soon,
Amanda
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