This past weekend was the first 4 day break for the Austrian Program and while the 160 fall students departed to all corners of the European globe, I decided I would take advantage of the local opportunities. Moreover, with the 2 children, it is getting more and more difficult to travel as if were single....staying closer to Gaming just makes sense.
Lucky for us, (and two students who happened to be staying back), we went to work in a vineyard which was owned by the Kartause some 800 years old in Pfaffstetten! We worked for nearly 5 hours picking the grapes and removing the the diseased or rotten parts. The weather was cool and refreshing and it just felt good to get our hands dirty in the vineyard. After picking, we took the wine to the press and ended with a BBQ.
As if we were not sated yet, we decided to hike the Otscher Mountain which is the highest mountain in our neck of the woods. Little did we (Prof. Cassidy, RD - Katie Hess, and I) know, but as we climbed higher and higher, we were entering the Arctic. It was blizzarding, and with wind chill in sub zero temperatures. Depending on where you would step, one would also step into between 3 and 6 feet of snow! It was truly unbelievable with our visibility impaired, the deep snow, and arctic conditions. Nevertheless, after nearly 3 hours of intense climbing, we summitted the mountain and began our descent. It was probably the most intense climb of my life!
The reason why I don't have any pictures is that whenever I turned on my camera, it would just close back up, I am guessing because of the cold!
The hike was supposed to prepare us for our hike this weekend up the Grossglockner, the highest mountain in Austria. Look for a future post about this hike....
In doesn't get boring, even when you don't travel all around Europe; there is plenty of excitement in the back yard!
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