Cool Snow Pics...

The next day, Veronica took this photo when she visited the barn near the hotel to meet the cows.

While the family skied, I took another walk. The sun was out, giving me some interesting photo ops.

When I arrived back at the waterfall, I was impressed to find an ice climber near the top.

While I was there, he climbed down.

I’ve always loved photographing reflections, so I was thrilled when I saw reflections of the Alps in the puddles on the road.

Geocaching in the Snow...

Ashlynn was excited when she found a meditation seat straight across from the falls. Of course, the conditions weren’t ideal for doing some yoga poses while contemplating the majestic beauty of nature.

Ironically, it was under that seat that Veronica found the geocache, the only one we managed to find that day.

A Frozen Waterfall...

The best thing about Ashlynn’s determination to find a geocache is that she led us to a waterfall. Of course, this time of the year it was frozen.

Apparently the Verpeilbach Waterfall is the largest remaining waterfall in the lower Kaunertal Valley after the construction of the large dam upstream.

Hking in the Snow...

I was happy that the girls decided to skip one day of skiing and were willing to go hiking with me. It was a little snowy.

We found a much nicer trail along the river than the one along the road that I took earlier in the week.

My little snow angels

Ashlynn lead us astray in an effort to find a geocache and then stopped to appreciate the beauty of the woods.

No surprise that Veronica stopped to take photos.

To the Top...

I joined the girls for a gondola ride to the top of the glacier, from which we could look into Italy and Switzerland. I was impressed that the girls later skied down from this point, but this time they took the gondola back down for a family lunch.

The glacier looks like blue ice.

Ashlynn enjoyed a few minutes in the sun.

Ski Bunnies?

The next day, Jimmy took the girls skiing at the glacier and I went on a walk with the wife of one of his colleagues. The following day, I took the ski bus to visit the glacier and check up on my ski bunnies.

Or rather, my ski ninjas.

Check out how much shorter Jimmy’s snowblades are compared to the girls’ skis. The snow conditions were much better than Garmisch was in previous years. It snowed one day and it was foggy another. 

The Austrian Alps...

We usually go to Garmisch, Germany for the company ski trip. Unfortunately, no one remembered to book the block of rooms this year, so a small group went to the Tyrol region of Austria instead. We flew into Munich, rented a car and took the back roads through Austria into the Kaunertal Valley to Hotel Weisseespitze.

The view from our hotel was beautiful as this photo shows.

After going into the very small village to rent skis, we took a walk around. There wasn’t much other than two ski shops, a small grocery store and a few restaurants. We did spot this ornate cemetery... 

...and this fresh milk dispenser. We were initially apprehensive that our hotel package included breakfast and dinner, but the food turned out to be really good.

Boy's Ski Weekend...

While Ashlynn was modelling in Amsterdam, Jimmy was enjoying the ski slopes of Innsbruck with Jim.

Jim was able to bring an extra set of snowblades (like strapping two thin snowboards to your feet) for Jimmy, who loved the maneuverability of the short skis.

The skies were blue and there was plenty of snow, which made for a great weekend.

The Top of Innsbruck...

We made it to the top of the mountain in time for sunset, then stuck around to watch the lights of the city come on.

We considered getting a drink in this igloo bar, but decided we’d prefer to have a hot toddy inside with a view over the valley..

We went down the mountain on the last funicular. We’d planned to stop for dinner on the drive back to Garmisch, but our plans were waylaid when our road was closed due to an avalanche.

Interesting Sightings in Innsbruck Churches ...

The Court Church houses the tomb of Emperor Maximilian I and features 28 larger than life bronze statues. This particular statue made us laugh. It’s common for people to like to touch certain statues for good luck, but this is the first statue that we’d seen with this particular part stroked. In further strange sightings, we saw this giant photo of The Burning Supper in the cathedral.

Views of Innsbruck, Austria...

View from the City Tower built in 1450

View from the top of the mountain

I spent a fun day in Innsbruck, Austria with Johanna, Jan and their families. We wandered the city visiting the City Tower, Hapsburg Palace, Folk Museum and several churches. Then we took the funicular up the mountain to the cable car which took us to the top where we saw more spectacular views.

I Take Thee...

On our drive back to the airport, we stopped by the lake town of Mondsee to see our final Sound of Music site. This lovely church is where the fictional Georg and Maria married; the real ones are reported to have married in Nonnberg Nunnery. It looked different to us because the metal gates at the back separating the nuns were just there temporarily for filming. A nice ending for a great trip. Too bad that we waited until Betsy was about to move to Houston to discover that we make good travelling companions.

Hellbrunn Castle...

On our final day, we stopped at Hellbrunn Castle to see the Sound of Music pavilion, which was at a different castle for filming, but had been relocated since. Our timing was perfect as we got to watch a procession of vintage race cars. Since we had some time to kill, we took an audio tour of the castle, built in 1615 as a Summer Palace for Archbishop Markus Sittikus.
Afterwards, we took a guided tour of the gardens. We had no idea what to expect and were pleasantly surprised and amazed by the trick fountains, all built without electricity. Apparently the Archbishop liked to invite his guests to sit around this table. He always sat at the head of the table, the only spot that stayed dry when he pushed the button to start the fountains. The guide had fun trying to get us wet at the different hidden fountains throughout the immense garden. Definitely a castle worth visiting.

Fun Rides in the Salt Mines...

There were two slides within the mine. They were wooden with grooves for our legs. The second one had a clock at the bottom to track how fast you went. Ashlynn’s pants didn’t have the rubber panel and she flew down at a whopping 32 MPH versus Veronica’s, Betsy’s and my 19 MPH. To exit the mine, we went on a small train which was also pretty fun. Afterwards, we walked in the rain down to the lakefront and had a delicious Austrian meal.

Off to the Salt Mines...

One of the other big attractions in the Salzburg area are the nearby salt mines. We chose to drive to the charming lakeside city of Hallstatt to visit a mine. We started by taking a funicular, then an elevator before hiking up the final bit up the mountain to the mouth of the mine. We changed into our miner’s clothes—pants with a rubbery panel on the bottom. It was interesting walking around inside the mine, however, we were disappointed not to actually see any salt being extracted and the guide did a poor job explaining things in English.

Sixteen Going on Seventeen....

We were disappointed that the glass pavilion was locked so we couldn’t jump around the benches singing Sixteen Going on Seventeen. Apparently it used to be open to the public, but closed after someone fell off a bench and crashed through the glass. Here you also see the girls singing Do-Re-Mi.