Fall is a tough time for me. Mostly because I know winter is coming. Now don’t go telling me to go skiing or whatever. I don’t ski. I do have my own ways of coping with winter. But coping is not the same as liking. I don’t have to like winter, no one can make me like it, and that’s all she wrote!
This happens every year, of course. I may not like winter, but I am used to it. There is some other Foreign Service-related stuff that is bumming me out more right now. But I am not ready to blog about that yet. Oh wait, that happens almost every year, too! Funny thing!
AND I got a 72/100 on my second grammar assignment even though I studied really, really hard. Brain damage confirmed, sigh.
Anyway, nothing cheers me up like a day spent outdoors. Today, we pulled out the map and decided that a nature reserve about halfway between Vienna and Tulln looked like a place we could probably wander without getting lost. And we didn’t get lost. Well, only for about five minutes, anyway.
Hikes in Austria follow a pattern. First you go way, way up, then you walk along the top of a mountain or a ridge enjoying the view for a while, then you go way, way down. It’s great exercise, and the best part is that there is always a “gasthaus” near the end of the trail with tasty treats and/or a cold beer.
Attitude adjustment achieved!
-
- This is the “up” part of the trail, at about a 45-degree angle. I think this may have been the old road up the mountain to the village at the top, because it is sort of paved with rocks. I would not like to try it in winter.
-
- Burg Greifenstein, a 12th century castle that was once a tourist attraction but is now abandoned and filled with crows. Kind of creepy.
-
- Another view of the Burg, that like most of these castles overlooks the Danube, the better to extort money from passing ships.
-
- Another view of the Burg: this time as a lawn ornament with Lego people!
-
- Where the venison comes from. We were on the lookout for wild boar but didn’t see any. Probably just as well :)
-
- Where the mushrooms come from. This hillside was totally carpeted with them.
-
- The lawn ornaments in this yard included a painted utility box!
-
- An old watch tower, dating from 1908. I am not actually sure what they were watching for in 1908. But there is a great view from the top.
-
- The path down was dodgy. Usually they are better, but this one was pretty hard on the knees.
-
- Wild boar ragout with spaetzle, preiselbeeren, and a beer at The Brown Bear gasthaus. Hey, we earned it :)
That boar looks delicious! Carnivore envy.. I’m just having chicken tonight.