Our first entrance into Austria was met with a lovely moon. I don't mean moon like in the sky.
The truck next to
our lovely Contiki coach was fun of lively Austrian gentlemen who thought it would be great to moon us so we had a nice view of a white butt out of the window. The girls screamed and I wish I would have taken a picture but oh well....
Once we were in the Austria though, the view, the real natural view was spectacular. We first hand saw "The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Music."That day was quite an adventurous one for us. We went white water rafting in the mountains of Austria. I have always wanted to go white water rafting. This was a real jam packed adventure though, I'm not sure I was ready for it. We had full body wet suits as the water in Austria is cold. We had life jackets, rain jackets, special water shoes, brief episode of training and then we hit the water. We also first had to demonstrate that we could swim and had to jump out of the raft into the water, get our hair wet, and demonstrate that we could get back in or rather be pulled back in. The waves were immense. We also had moments to just sit back and enjoy the view which was gorgeous. We did tip over at one point and thank goodness for a fellow rafter who pulled me in. It was exciting and absolutely amazing. I was terrified but I was so glad that I did it.
After the experience, the first thing that we were met with were shots of SCHNAPS, the traditional Austrian alcohol. We all drank it down. Then we had really good goulash which is this red stew with potatoes and meat and really good bread served in white bowls. This was one of the best meals that I had. After being in such cold water eating this hot steaming stew with the bread melting in it was awesome. I really needed that.
That night we stayed in cabins in Hopfgarten which is a little complex owned by Contiki. The village itself is really cute and small. They have a local bar called the Steal Bullet and sperm shots are very popular there. Our own tour manager and driver served us our traditional meat and potatoes dinner. They were dressed up as Helga and Hansel. :)
The next day we spent mountain biking in the mountains in Austria. This was also a challenge. The hills were steep and I only then realized how out of shape I was. We decided to take a "short cut" that was shorter but took us on very steep slopes. Once we got to the meeting area, I could barely move. I almost instinctively threw the bike down, took off my helmet and collapsed on the green grass. Above me were mountains and below me was the most comfortable green grass that warmed my whole body. I will never forget that grass, those mountains, and that sunshine. The barbecue we had there cooked by Fritz I am convinced was the best food I have ever had in my life. A spring cabbage salad with sizzling sausage and a hot potato. This potato was like sent from God. I have never in my life had a potato that was taken off the grill in front of you and melted in your mouth like that. The sour cream, ketchup sauce, and sweet mustard sauce were also incredible on the potato and sausage. That was the best meal I have ever had in my life.
The ride down was much easier and really really really fast. I breaked the whole time and I was scared I was going to break too hard and fly out into the brooks beneath me. We had the rest of the afternoon to explore the village and go bass fishing, swim in a lake, or just ride our bikes and get lost in the way things used to be with a local post office and bank. At night there was a "pimp and hoe" party with other awesome Contiki tours. There was of course a poll there for everyone to show off what they had. Austria was awesome! So much adventure, amazing food, tons of fun!
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