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.

Hildesheimer Hütte zur Siegerlandhütte

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

Stubaital zur Hildesheimer Hütte

Yoga in the Alps

Here is a photo shoot from last summer, when we were hiking in Ötztal (and a good reason to use the yoga label on our blog again)!

At almost 3000 meters above sea level, Ellen decided that hiking alone was not enough exercise for her.

I don't know the names of yoga poses, but I do think that the previous one should be called "stubbed out cigarette butt".

Anke decided to join in as well.

Ötztal Bonus Post

Amanda sent us some more photos by email!

Austria Summer 2011 --- Conclusion

We woke up in our small 2-person lager, just as the sun came out above the mountains.



Only a descent of about 1500 meters was left for us. We went down and had breakfast...



... wandered a little bit around the Hütte, savouring the beauty of the Alps...





... then said goodbye to the family running the Hütte, and started our final descent. The battery of the camera decided this was a great moment to stop working, and therefore we cannot show you the fresh homemade butter we had for breakfast the next day.

This post concludes a great holiday of hiking in Austria. It was even better than either of us remembered!