Day 5 (Ooh la luge!)

Bob-sled day! I was giddy all morning and couldn't wait to get on that mountain. I was not thrilled about that drive through the mountains... some of the roads were so curvy and most of the drivers just zipped through the curves like they were qualifying for LeMans. Did I mention how steep the roads were? As we exited the Autobahn we were all thrilled that the sun was already beating down and it looked like it was going to turn into a beautiful summer day.

Now, there are times in a woman's life when she is made excruciatingly aware that she is, in fact, a woman... and not a girl. I would say that giving birth is definitely one of those times and cooking a big holiday meal for the whole family is, too. When Christopher started to cry I didn't think much about it... He and Sebastian were probably trying out some kind of new Chinese torture method in the backseat. Then he started screaming that his mouth hurt. Then wailing- Basti was thumping away at his DS so my torture theory was way off. Klaus wanted to pull over but WE WERE ON A WINDING MOUNTAIN ROAD WITHOUT A GUARDRAIL!!!!

"Just keep going, we're almost there," I'd said. Less than a minute later Christopher's head started spinning around, apparently he'd turned green when I wasn't looking, and he was channeling the Evil One from the back of the Grand Scenic. Not really. He was just carsick. There was a moment when I was frozen like the proverbial deer in headlights... trying to reconcile the liters of what was coming out of my baby with the petit 1/2 Broetchen breakfast he'd had earlier. Amidst a cloud of concerned curses Klaus managed to find a small alcove where we could pull over. Thankfully, I'd packed away baby wipes and trash bags into the trunk months ago just in case... Klaus and I did our parental duty in record time and put our underwear clad laughing 3 year-old back into his car-seat like nothing'd ever happened. Yes, indeed.... I am Woman!

There aren't, unfortunately, many shopping malls in the middle of the Austrian Alps. We could have used an H&M right about then. There are, however, an insane amount of sporting good stores. We find one that is still open (it was midday- many were closed for lunch). I ran in and was greeted by Heidi... Six feet tall, blonde, dirndle clad...How can she help me???? I give her the condensed version and ask if they have anything for children. (Do things like this happen to women like that?) In Christopher's size there are a whole two choices- an authentic leather overall set- it's adorable! It's also 80 Euros. An investment I'm not prepared to make with Old Faithful at the moment. That left the sun-reflecting bathing suit- top and bottom. He looked like Lance Armstrong. We took it!

The rest of the day was great! We did 3 rounds on the bob- sled. The track was over 1.5 kilometers long. Christopher loved screaming, "whoo hooooo" all the way down and was feeling well enough afterward to eat an ice cream.

On the way back to our apartment we decided to break the trip up a little- no need to tempt faith. We'd driven past a hotel made to look like a castle carved into the side of a mountain several times. We went to investigate. The hotel looked grand from the road, but in reality it wasn't that spectacular. There was a beautiful blue-green sea at its base and we headed there. (Christopher was dressed for the occasion) We rented a row boat and tooled around for about an hour. It was great. Sebastian played gondolier and did a super job rowing us all around!

The drive back cost us a few nerves but we did it. And couldn't wait to go to bed so we could get started on the next day's adventures as soon as possible.

Day 4- Ischgl (it's a word, not a bodily function)

By Tuesday we were all sleeping late and had taken to hanging our clothes up on the door handles. No one even asked if we could leave the TV on while we ate- of course we could! and I'd abandoned my novel (Water for Elephants- I had so thought I'd get it read by the pool- oh well) for Christo's coloring book. Our kids must think that the thin mountain air is getting to us- ha! it is. We had no desire to be tourists on Tuesday- just wanted to be lazy slugs. We managed to leave the apartment by noon and headed towards Ischgl- a swanky ski town about 10 minutes away. I'd read about a sports center there and figured it was just what the kids needed to burn off some steam.

Save for a couple of kids- maybe 11 or 12 years old...sending text messages under a big umbrella, the place was empty. I asked them if the center was even open. They grunted- really, they grunted and didn't even look at us- that it was the lunch hour. It would be open again at one o'clock . (I guess I've gotten used to the lunchtime "Ruhe" where we live. I was surprised that in a town so dependent on tourism they still took the time- respect)! We took a minute to look around and decided to stay. The grunters were now jumping on one of the inflatables doing back flips and cussing up a storm. Another one pulled up on his skateboard and greeted his buddies with the Austrian equivilant of, "Hey, as$#hole!" Locals! Now they were all bouncing around in their neon visors and hi-tops. My boys were watching them with a mixture of disgust and envy... obviously wanting to hop on, too.



"Go on," I told Sebastian, "You can go..."

*full eye roll* "Mom!" he hissed, "They're wearing their shoes."

Hmmm, this is eight-year-old logic... they're not following the rules so he won't join them. It's like he'll be guilty by association. I quickly file this away for future use. I think I'll start cultivating the idea and in about 5 years we'll all be better for it.

Klaus, my dear Klaus, decides to take matters into his own hands. Being the awesome dad that he is, he wants his boys to have a chance, too. I watch in slow motion as he confronts the boys. (At this point I should add that Klaus is really good with kids. KIDS. Pubescent teenie boys are a bit of uncharted territory for him but it's too late to intercede... here we go)! He coolly saunters up and, in a tone meant to sound like, "hey dude, what's up?" asks them if they should be wearing their shoes.

Nothing

"Shouldn't you take off your shoes on that?"

They looked up- incredulous. Honestly, at this point I'm surprised that they hadn't dropped trou and marked their territory.

"Why don't you take off your shoes so the little guy can play, too."

OK, so... I won't bore you with the gnarly details but I will say that Klaus had a totally Zen experience in self control. As the place started to fill up we did our best to ignore the young heathens and ended up having a great time. Christopher loved driving the go karts and Klaus, Basti, and I had a blast playing soccer in a cage. The idea behind the latter having to do with keeping the balls from flying over the side of the mountain... However, it added a whole new element by ricocheting the ball off the wall- a lot like billiards.

We played the afternoon away on the trampolines and at the playground. We headed over to the town center of Ischgl for a little sightseeing and coffee. Very cute and quaint and overpriced. The church was noteworthy as were the flowers around town. I can only imagine how this place looks in full Winter swing.

We headed back to our apartment and decided to go out for dinner. There was a cute little Italian place in See where Klaus had the best pizza (I can't wait to see how it tastes in Italy this weekend). The restaurant also sported the coolest sign I've seen yet- no cell phones- LOVE IT! We spent the rest of the evening lazing- Klaus and Basti worked on a model airplane and Christo and I played Donkey. The boys fell asleep after a Smackdown marathon on their bed- no tears! Life is good = )

Day 3- Higher Ground

Monday morning and I was so ready to go. I've wanted to do a real "Sommerroedelbahn" (Luge) for ages and we just happen to be an hour away from Tirol's longest. There was definitely a slower pace having breakfast and getting around- the reality of vacation setting in... The drive took us past a 150 year old stone bridge suspended hundreds of feet above us as well as down tight, winding, two-lane mountain roads. I thought of any number of 80's drama series' where nearly every week someone would drive over a cliff after the brake lines were cut. I stuck my head into Rick Steves and tried to lose myself... As we neared our destination Klaus started talking about "die Zugspitze." I really wasn't paying attention- my mind was on the 18 wheeler in front of us willing it to stay on the steep road. Finally, I listened to him long enough to hear that the "Zugspitze" is the highest point in Germany and a border between the two countries. We'd taken a wrong turn and now were right at the base of this mega-mountain... "We should go up, I had no idea we were so close..." Klaus sounded like a ten-year-old girl who'd stumbled on Hannah Montana's tour bus at a rest stop. I abandoned my bob-sledding dream for the time being. Klaus doesn't ask for much- it was going to be great. We were both a little surprised at the cost of riding to the top but this qualified as a "once-in-a-lifetime-experience." We waited to board the enclosed lift with around 40 other people. The ride up was splendid and quick; it left our ears popping. 9,718 ft later we were headed to the panoramic restaurant for an Austrian lunch complete with schnitzel and Knoedel. Later, we strolled around the weather station and tourist exhibits. Crossing the mile-high border we took advantage of being back in Germany and called Klaus's folks (no roaming fees). While the boys talked to Oma and Opa and regaled them with stories about our apartment and the long drive I found an empty corner and took a minute to enjoy the peace and quiet. Standing there, on top of the world, it was impossible to not think of all that's happened over the past year and a half. Such an abundance of loss... I felt very close to my dad and Mikey there, under the wide blue sky. I cried because I would never be able to hike through the Alps with my dad, and because the boys wouldn't be able to tell their Grampy about the gliders flying below us... But I savored the moment, too- alone among hundreds of people from all around the world and right in the middle of everything. By nature of my incurable romanticism I searched the sky for "a sign" that they were there- some sort of definitive proof... They were both with us. We would keepthem with us. By the time Sebastian ran up to inform me that we were going to eat a "Dampfnudel" at the cosy outdoor cafe I'd dried my eyes. There we met a Finnish father and his 11-year-old son who had just climbed the highest point of the mountain in seven hours- very impressive especially considering that the father was smoking Marlboro Menthols.... An Asian family asked us to take their picture and offered to take ours. We took off our jackets in the afternoon sun and listened to all of the languages around us... The confident Americans discussing European beer and the smug Germans complaining about the smog over Munich. French, Italian, Japanese- everyone sharing the view and the moment. Before we headed down we stopped in the Zugspitze museum. Small and very imformative, it was a definite highlight of the trip so far. On the lift ride down we spotted our car alone on the grass. Then I got my sign- a song I hadn't heard in years. If the boys noticed me crying behind my sunglasses they didn't mention it. We headed back to Kappl stopping along the way at a chic little grocery store. We got everything we needed for dinner and breakfast the following morning. After a simple meal we played a couple of card games and shared some chocolate- we went to bed early and slept without troubles.

Up, Up, and...Further up

Day 2- July 26, 2009

Everyone got up early. It was a sunny Sunday and the first real day of vacation. We had a cozy breakfast and the boys managed to get ready without too much drama. We decided to head into town for a couple of kitchen necessities and we knew that the bakery would be open in the morning...like their neighbors to the North, Austrians apparently can't go without their daily bread. I had the fabulous idea that we should walk... it's only about a mile and the sun was shining, and the river was rolling, and the edelweiss blooming... Boots on, and los geht's! So, without overstating the obvious (in retrospect) a mile on flatland is a little different than a mile uphill. Obstacles aside, there were highlights to our first trek; the boys finding gooey snails and a gorgeous wildflower bouquet that's still in the kitchen. We stopped frequently to enjoy the view and catch our breath, I guess it takes awhile to adjust to an altitude of 4,000 ft. The hike down was a lot more enjoyable- we followed the river. Sebastian went hunting for four-leaf clovers and Christopher threw any loose stones within sight into the river.
This was the only day thus far that we had a real plan. A "local" (on top of the mountain) amusement park- Sunny Mountain- was having their annual Summerfest with all sorts of special events. We took the lift up to the park and were once again gobsmacked at the view. We were greeted by the clearest lake- reflecting blue sky and green pine trees surrounded by a big playground, a tubing track, kett-car rally, and mountain huts. The boys were ready to go but Klaus was eyeing the next lift up. He said that he just wanted to see the view from "the top." OK, how long could that take? Again, we boarded the lift and up we went. This time, as we were transported upwards there was a new sound to break the unbelievable silence.... Bells- cowbells. The cows WAY up there (around 6,000 ft) really wear them- who knew? As much as I loved the peacefulness I was also terrified that Christo was going to take off over the edge- he is my insane grumpy Staff Sergeant and it was a real possibility. We took off our jackets and sat down far from any steep ledges to a small picnic lunch with fresh rolls baked with Caraway seeds and apples. The peak was calling to Klaus- another 1,000 ft- but I was skeptical. It was early and I didn't want to turn the boys off of hiking on the first day out- especially after the morning's escapades. We decided that we will return to in a few days to tackle the peak after we all get a bit more acquainted with the rhythms and demands of climbing.
The four of us spent the rest of the afternoon playing in a mountain stream, racing kettcars, hopping on kitschy inflatables, and people watching. Several hours later we traveled back down the mountain exhausted, smiling, and a little sunburned. We treated the kids to an ice cream (the lady at the shop was so excited to speak English- she'd just returned from a month long California adventure) and headed back to Kappl. We explored the church in its full baroque glory and the surrounding cemetary, where not a single inch of space goes to waste. Later, we returned to the apartment where K-dog made a delicious Austrian dinner and we headed to bed wondering what adventures the next days would bring.....