A few remaining questions

Did we have a good trip?

Will we do it again?

Are the bags packed?

Does Ann have a lot of email to read at work tomorrow?

Sent from Ann's iPhone

German Engineering

Special thanks to Harald, Katrin, Ric and Chris for engineering such a fun visit. From biergartens to BBQs, they took great care of us. We rode in fire trucks, ripped it up on the Autobahn in convertible BMWs, flew down mountains on bobsleds, and chased the paragliding and kitesurfing winds. This was a high-speed fun time! Danke schön! (I promise to learn a little more German before my next visit.)

Sent from Ann's iPhone

Wolpertingers and other art forms

Arlo's cousin Chris is a commercial pilot and yesterday was "bring your cousin to work day." Chris and Arlo flew to Agadir, Morocco, for the day and Arlo got to sit in the cockpit with Chris. 

I amused myself in Munich visiting the Wolpertinger exhibit (think Jackalopes gone wild) at the Hunting and Fishing Museum which displays all of the animals that once roamed in Germany as well as all of the tools that killed them. I was happy to see another stuffed Wolpertinger in a gift shop later and be reassured of their popularity. (Was tempted to buy it for you, Karin A, but I'm not sure how I would explain it to US customs.) I then walked to the Modern Art Museum and saw other mod creations. 

Sent from Ann's iPhone

Fog and hogs

Seems a shame to head down the mountain after that climb and not be able to enjoy the view but the weather is getting worse instead of better so down we will go. I bought a postcard of the hut's scenic location so I can see what it looks like. The hut had a heated boot rack and it was quite luxurious to put on warm dry boots in the morning. Though they didn't stay dry for long. We had 3000 feet to descend on the wet and slippery trail but amusements along the way kept us distracted. Near a ski lift station we found a water cannon game and a restaurant where, realizing our Kaiserschmarrn days were numbered, tried out their version which was nothing to write about in what is becoming a food blog.

Then things got worse. At the bottom of the mountain we found a bus stop but had missed the bus by 15 min so we walked into the town of Fieberbrunn and found that the next bus wasn't for 2 hours. We drowned our sorrows in a very traditional way...Once on the bus we found we had to transfer in the next town, St Johann. We missed that bus by 2 minutes and had another 2-hour wait.  We spent our time enjoying the very charming small town and hazelnut gelato. On the next bus we had to go to Kitzbuhel for yet another transfer. You guessed it, a 2-hour wait. There we happened upon the European Harley Owners Group (HOG) rally and I will not soon forget the sight of a Harley rider in lederhosen. At 7:30 pm, 6 six hours after coming off the trail, we were back to the car. It was almost faster going up and over all those mountains than around them on public transport on a Saturday! But we saw three very charming Austrian towns.

Sent from Ann's iPhone

Mountain music

Not sure if this audio file will come through but it is worth a try! Enjoy!

Next stop Cloud 9

We had a big hiking day and climbed 4000 feet over 10 miles. We went up and over several passes in the Austrian clouds unable to see what was ahead or behind us. We stopped for lunch at a hut run by a former soccer star and his stewardess wife. Unfortunately the stewardess was on a plane somewhere so the soccer stud made our lunch. The trail is so little used that it was simetimes hard to follow through the tall ferns, flowers and fog. We hiked through fields of cows which  sounds charming until you think about the cow pies. One cow kept following me as if I was leading her to the barn. We then hiked up and up past a snow field until we reached the Wildseeloderhutte that emerged from the fog at the shore of a beautiful lake.

Sent from Ann's iPhone

Back to Austria

At breakfast at our Cortina hotel we recognized a young guy from Drei Zinnen. After 3 weeks of hutting it (with hotels every 3 days or so like us), he suggested a hut we'd like in the Kitzbuheler Alps. Well, that was all it took for us to take to the road and head back to Austria. Hut hiking is a lot less stressful than driving in busy towns. On a hut hike you follow the trail and your only decision is whether to have Kaiserschmarrn for lunch or for dinner. As soon as we left Italy we felt more relaxed in the open Austrian mountain valleys. The Italian roads are crowded with vacationers and drivers are aggressive. 

We parked at a trailhead near Kitzbuhel and headed up to a hut. The rain started so we rigged our umbrellas onto our packs. The Bochumer hut was built in 1842 as part of a copper mining operation. It is run by a family and they had a cozy fire in the dining room to warm us up. There were only two other hikers and it felt nice and homey to have dinner there while the thunder, lightning and rain stayed on the other side of the windows. Speaking of dinner, we ordered spätzle (think shaved pasta/gnocchi smothered with Gouda then baked in an iron skillet and topped with fried onion skins) followed by, you guessed it, Kaiserschmarrn this time in an iron skillet served with homemade apricot jam (the best yet as you can see by Arlo's expression when the skillet was licked clean).

Sent from Ann's iPhone

Cortina clock towers and clock cards

In the resort town of Cortina, the Tourist Info Center told us where to find a clock card for our car. But it was siesta time and all the stores were closed. We had pizza and pasta for a late lunch/early dinner to wait it out. In the meantime we called a few places to ask about a room for the night with no luck. Then I did what I have never done before: waltzed into the first hotel we passed and asked for a room. We got the room closest to the bell tower and every half hour our windows rattled because the bells were so loud and close! Oh, and we did find an Italian clock card but it may not suffice in Austria and Germany because I'm sure it will run late. 

Sent from Ann's iPhone

Bunks and bobsleds

The hut "lager" rooms vary in size and configuration. Some are just a football field size futon with pillows side by side. Others are barrack-style bunk beds. At Drei Zinnen our room had 32 bunk beds. The rule at the mountain huts is that they will never turn you away but we have tried to call in advance to reserve private rooms or at least a bunk to be sure we aren't sleeping in the hallway. Unlike my experiences in European youth hostels 25 years ago, everyone is very quiet and polite and so tired after full days of hiking that they all crash early. At breakfast, we chatted with a group that had been in our bunk room and on our same schedule and route for the past four days. We said goodbye as we all headed down to the end of the trail and I joked that we were following them. Arlo and I caught a bus to get back to our parked car. Stoked about what we had seen of the Dolomites already, we decided to head for Cortina, Italy, only a couple hours away, to see more of these mountains. But when another bobsled ride beckoned, well we had to give it a go. We rode far up a mountain on a chair lift and then ripped down in a bobsled attached to a rail! Yahoo!

We stopped at Lake Misurina and tried to find a clock card so we could park the car. Frustrated that no shops had them we made one and put it on our dashboard. We took a stroll around the scenic lake and when we were on the far side of the lake we ran into our friends from the hut! They looked a little concerned that maybe we really were following them. 

Sent from Ann's iPhone

Birds and bees

Even the birds and bees have huts for the night!

A 4-star 4-hut day

Even the napkins at the huts show you the way and at breakfast Arlo suggested that instead of going straight to Talsclusshutte we go the long way around and enjoy our mountain high a little longer as well as a see a couple more huts. So instead of straight down, we went around and laughed that the trail route number was the 101! This allowed us to see some other Dolomitan peaks and perks. We stopped for cappuccino at Büllelejoch hut perched in another spectacular spot. How do they build such cozy places and stock them with espresso machines and cups way up here at a rocky pass? An Italian woman serenaded us on guitar with American pop. (I would have preferred some yodeling and accordion.) Further along we found a picnic table in a grassy spot right on the side of the trail that we couldn't pass up for our trail lunch of Nutella, carrots, and nectarines. We had carried trail food so far up and we did not want to carry it all back down. The fact is that it is hard to eat dry bread and raisins when Kaiserschmarrn, soup, strudel and beer are so readily available at the huts! An hour or so later we were at Zsigmondy hut eating apple strudel with whipped cream. We have learned how to do it right. Then we had a steep descent back to a warmer elevation and the Talschlusshutte for afternoon cake with a side of beer and a bunk room for the night. A 4-star, 4-hut day.

Sent from Ann's iPhone

Inside the mountain

On the trail we met a group from New Zealand and one Kiwi told us of a climb inside a cave near the hut. He said in his 9-day trip it was his favorite experience. So off we went to find it. There are remnants of WWI all over the mountains including rock bunkers at many of the passes, memorials, and foundations for old lifts. Getting the supplies up these mountains jump-started the ski industry after the soldiers found the easier way to get gear up mountains by building lifts and then got themselves down the mountain faster on skis. Arlo read that over 60,000 soldiers lost their lives in avalanches alone.

With our headlamps we entered a hole in the side of a rock outcrop and had to watch our heads and feet all at the same time. A helmet would have helped! The tunnel climbed inside the mountain with stairs and cables to help us navigate in the dripping damp darkness. We had fun climbing up higher inside the mountain with occasional lookout holes. We climbed and climbed and Arlo's GPS told us we had gone a kilometer up. At the end of the tunnel was a cable for klettersteigers (rock climbers) to hook in to climb on the outside of the mountain to the top. We wish we had the gear and skills!

Sent from Ann's iPhone

On top of the world

We climbed high above tree line into a Fairytale land of mountain peaks, waterfalls, and wildflowers. We lost our breath as we reached the pass and caught the view of the Dreizinnen peaks and it wasn't just because of the climb. To see such spectacular rock monoliths of that scale twists your mind. You feel dwarfed and awed all at the same time. What a place we have stumbled upon! 

We also gasped at the hundreds (yes, hundreds) of people gathered around the hut. After seeing just a few others on the trail, we were so taken aback by the crowds at such a remote place that we considered leaving. Turns out there is another much easier route up the other side and bus loads of people were there for a day hike and postcard photo. We had secured two bunks in the "lager" (bunk room) for the night so we explored while the crowds paraded down the trail.

Sent from Ann's iPhone

To Frank with love

What a beautiful day hiking into the Italian Dolomites. All day I thought of Frank and how he was the first to give me a book about hut-to-hut hiking in the Alps. I am carrying his hiking poles on this trip and each step of the way he is helping me along.

After a steep climb along a beautiful creek we arrived at our hut nestled in a brilliant green high meadow with bell-ringing calves and a view of the peaks. The Dreischusterhutte welcomed us with a spacious private room that was neat as a pin. Fräulein in dirndls served us apple strudel and Weissbier on the patio in the sun before dinner. Frank would have enjoyed everything about the day. Cheers, Frank! I miss you.

Sent from Ann's iPhone

Into the Dolomites

We are loading our packs for a three-day hike into the Dolomites! More when we find wifi!

South to Italy

The weather for the weekend is bad in all directions and on top of that we learned that mountain huts are most crowded on weekends. So after our laundry chore and brush with the parking police we decided to make use of our rental car and drive over the Brenner Pass to Italy. Now neither of us can speak the language!  And yet when we popped into a restaurant for dinner near our pension and the handsome Italian waiter took me by the arm, leaned in, and described each dish on the menu to me in intimate detail, I could understand every word! I ordered gnocchi with salmon and asparagus and Arlo ordered fried Camembert on top of veggies roasted in Italian olive oil. Goodbye schnitzel! (Food photos for Julie. :)

Sent from Ann's iPhone

Sign language

When we left our barnhouse this morning Arlo asked our Austrian host where we could do our laundry in town. He gave rapid-fire directions to several places and Arlo commented on how all the laundromats are located next to gas stations. We soon found ourselves pulling up to a car wash with our load of laundry! 

Arlo speaks fluent German with an excellent accent so the locals speak quickly back to him often in regional dialects. Parking rules are another language entirely. We thought we were safe parking at a spot with a sign that said 60 min free on Sat morning but after 15 min we came back to find a parking ticket. Apparently you are supposed to buy and carry a clock card. You set it with your arrival time and put it in your window so the parking police know how much time you've been there. Our laundry turned out to be expensive with the addition of the 20 Euro parking ticket but as my mom says, education is expensive no matter how you get it!

We did find a place that did our laundry for us. Bonus!

Sent from Ann's iPhone