Up and Over a Mountain

Saturday, May 26, 2012
We leave our awesome hostel and ride the train into a town called Mariahof/St. Lambrect where a bus picks us up. This bus is going to drop us off at the monastary and drive our stuff to a hotel but we won't see it until the next day when it drives us to Zirbitzkogel mountain.

our bus

The monastary is beautiful and breathtaking in all its history. It is run by monks, you know guys in robes that vow to be celebate and take on a vow of poverty although our monk was sporting a pretty nice watch for being in poverty. He gave us a tour and explained some of the history which if I tried to repeat I would get wrong but its the monastary of St. Lambrecht if you want to look it up.

my photos don't do the building justice but its amazing

this is inside the courtyard

wider courtyard shot

After the little tour we went in for the monks prayers, there were only 5 or 6 of them and they chant/sing their noonday prayers. We then went on a more extensive tour of the building.

thats our monk in the corner and I loved this room, there are portraits of each abbot painted on the wall...only room for a few more though...

After the tour we had lunch in the gardens of the monastary and behind us was this mountain that people kept saying..thats what we have to climb over to get to our hotel. I thought they were kidding...they wern't...

how do you say I am not going to climb that thing in German?

Serously I thought they were kidding, I could see ski lifts on the hill they were pointing at, thats a hill you slide down not walk up!! alas...we started walking and pretty soon I would have sworn to you I was going to die on the mountain, I as a sterotypical fat chick was wheezing my way at a snails pace up the mountain while the batch of late teen/early20somethings fairly sprinted up. The professor offered to take my pack and I couldn't do that, I had to prove to myself that I could do this! I just kept chugging along, hoping I wasn't going to die on the hill since it isn't a mountain its a hill...

the town we are hiking to is Zeutschach...

that monastary is getting smaller and smaller the further up we hike

I can barely see it now but there is a snow machine...

most of the trail is this vertical

still climbing I think I need to get to the top of the tree line...

I made it to the top!! Everyone was waiting for me but I did it! What a feeling of elation that I did the impossible and hauled my hugeness up a mountain. I was slower and took longer than the others but I still did it and I am pretty proud of that accomplishment.

gotta do a victory dance at the top

such a pretty view. The photos don't do it justice

Now to climb down the mountain..when your body is screaming obcenities at you even a climb down is not that appealing. I did it. I hiked into town and made it up the 3 flights of stairs into my room that I am sharing with Miss Carla.

we are looking at some storm damage

you sure this is a trail? Looks more like a goat path to me!

coming through the trees we see the little town we are staying in

a weary group heading to the town

I turned around and marveled at the notion that I just climbed up and over that...

our little town..I still can't pronounce it.

Ok thats enough for now...more later!