Four Women

We again have four foster kittens from the Humane Society!



On the legs of the chair is Saffronia, the one on the right is Aunt Sarah.





Two more pics of Aunt Sarah.



Her name is Sweet Thing.



And last but not least, this is Peaches.

Cows

Umhausen

Last hike for 2016

The Hochstubaihütte concluded our hikes for this holiday.



We descended to down to the Ötztal, where we took a bus to our favorite little pension in Umhausen...



... to again have dinner in one of the two restaurants there.



It turned out that we fell with our nose in the butter, because the locals had a concert that night! I also took a video that I will post soon.

Attack of the Killer Cows

Do you think this cow looks cute?



Do you get all mushy and tingly when you look at these calves?

Well, you could not be more wrong.



These are Killer Cows, looking for their next victim, who turned out to be me. On our way to the Hochstubaihütte we saw these cute calves frolicking in the grass. As soon as they saw us, they start heading for us --- which seemed really cute at that moment. Then the whole herd turned towards us and started running! This was slightly less cute, and rather intimidating. After stupidly encouraging them by running away, and paying the price for it by falling down (and being sore for almost three weeks), we finally gained the upper hand again by shouting at these monsters.



The rest of today's trip was luckily less eventful. After going down 1000 meters, we had to climb 1200 meters, which is not too hard after 2 1/2 weeks of hiking.





And everything is forgotten and rosy again.

Timmelsjoch zum Brunnenkogelhaus

A chilly day, but no rain. We first walked up to the Timmelsjoch, and from there we slowly climbed higher, enjoying expansive views of all the mountains around us. Even though this is not a short hike, nor an easy hike, I would recommend this hike to anyone just because of the views!



When we arrived, it turned out that we were the only guests at the Brunnenkogelhaus! We enjoyed a wonderful Käsespätzle, before turning in early.



Another skill to learn: folding blankets into heart shapes.

Schneeberghütte zur Hochfirst

Another short walk, which was good because rain was expected.



Hochfirst is a not mountain hut, but a small pension next to the road to the Timmelsjoch.



At night the road is closed, so we slept like babies in our luxurious double bed.

Rainy Day: Siegerlandhütte zur Schneeberghütte

Fashion week continues! Today we had the opportunity to show off our rain gear!



Today's "Hütte" was an old mining site in Italy --- serving billy-goat stew!

Hildesheimer Hütte zur Siegerlandhütte

A short walk --- therefore, as an added bonus, we also climbed the Gaiskogel.

Stubaital zur Hildesheimer Hütte

Happy Birthday!

More Austria pics to come, but as a palate cleanser a few pictures from one month ago, when we were camping and celebrating A's birthday with family!

Cows