This morning I was about halfway up some mountain in Austria, most of it by cable cart, but the last 200m or so elevation we hiked, dragging the kids along. Rafa did very well, and must have walked at least the first 100m by himself and the second half carried by me. He’s only two years old, so I find that a pretty good climb for such a little one. Lara was comfortably carried by mom. She’s not even six weeks, so I already find it cool that she’s joining us on mountain trips at that age. By 3pm we were back in the parking lot. Two sets of fresh diapers and back on the road to home.
I always took the dumb route before, through Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where a steep climb is what will get you to the Inn valley, where some of Austria’s main roads are and well-known valleys connect to. It’s a nice road, but always takes longer than you think. Today, I found out that you can somehow drive through a relatively flat dent in the Alps near Rosenheim. Due to border restrictions in the past, we haven’t explored the Austrian side of the Alps much. I blame that for not knowing this convenient route. In about 2 hours we can be deep in the mountains. For us this is one of the biggest advantages of living in Bavaria. The Netherlands is not so close to anything remotely resembling mountains. We would certainly miss this when the time comes to move elsewhere. This is also why we go to the mountains as often as we can.
By 6pm we were back home. Some traffic on the way. All plants and pets were still happy and well. The trip continues on Friday.
Robin Heinen 