Alpenhotel Waldfrieden Schladming

... the women then the men to follow. Got to the bottom of the track just in time for the final few riders. Sam Hill won for Australia by 3 seconds with Fairclough of Great Britain in 5th. Great day. The riders partied through the night so we put our ear plugs in and got some sleep ready to move on to Salzburg the next day.<br><br>Here's some pics before the camera broke....<br><br>

... room.... but it got the thumbs up as it was clean, tidy and modern. The view from the room was amazing, perfect view of the Planai mountain slope, so good we could have sat there and watched the biking from our room!! Dropped our bags and went for our first meal out since leaving home, chilli fahitas and chicken burgers went down a treat, god bless Papa Joes!!!!

... buses at the top of the mountain when we finally got there.<br><br>Mom was already freaked out from the hairpin turns alongside steep drop off cliffs, so she decided to skip the mines. Instead she got to relax in the beautiful sunshine beside the glistening water of the large lake. We, on the other hand, managed to get on the funicular to the mines just in time to catch the last tour.<br><br ...

... parts out (head and leg bones). They wash and bleach them, then paint the skulls as a way to show respect and stack them all together in this building. The building is basically full and the last one was added in 1984 I think. It is a very important place to the community and it was a huge honor to get buried in there. As my dad would say, "People are dying to get in there"!<br><br>After that we went on a long hike up to a lookout and the salt mine. Really nice ...

... br>So tomorrow morning Derek arrives at the Salzburg airport about 9:30 am, and we&#8217;re meeting by the Mozart statue in Mozartplatz (the main square of Salzburg). We&#8217;ll have two days in Salzburg before heading up to Germany. We&#8217;ll have three days in Munich, one day in Nuremburg, and one day in Rothenburg. Then Derek will return home from Nuremburg, and I will continue my travels up the Rhine Valley in Germany.<br><br>Auf Wiedersehen!

... I normally would have done. But I just didn&#8217;t feel like it, so I stayed in my room and ate leftover munchies.<br><br>I almost didn&#8217;t want to go to bed, because I didn&#8217;t want to have to leave my room in the morning. But eventually I got really tired and couldn&#8217;t concentrate on my book anymore, so I went to sleep.<br><br>Tomorrow I&#8217;ll leave Hallstatt and go to Salzburg, where my brother Derek will join me on Sunday!<br><br>Auf Wiedersehen!

... as when<br>the sunset it got instantly cold....hmm this wasnt in the emma and<br>kathleen brochure! Tuesday morning we got up and went for a walk - well<br>mini hike really. I looked totally out of place... everyone had their<br>hiking boots and poles etc... then here I come, shorts and cardi,<br>converse sneakers and long pink ...

... and then hit the road for areas less populated. Destination: Hallstatt in the salzkammergut area of Austria.<br><br>An hour and a half out of Salzburg, the little village of Hallstatt sits perched on the edge of a lake. It is built on a hill, has really only one street suitable for cars, and is in a gorgeous mountainous setting. The camping is half a kilometer out of town, and across the road from the main city park with swimming area in the lake. Wahoo ...

... meinen Freunden mit ihren Begleitern eine gute nächste Etappe und einen freundlichen Fuß, der unseren Otto wieder über zwei Marathondistanzen näher an sein Ziel bringt. Und zum Abschluss wieder eine Geschichte, wie ich Michael immer erlebt habe: Eine Mutter brachte ihren Sohn zu Mahatma Ghandi. "Bitte Mahatma", flehte sie. "Sage meinem Sohn, er soll aufhören, Zucker zu essen." Ghandi besann sich und sagte: "Gute Frau, komm in zwei Wochen mit deinem Sohn wieder." Verwirrt bedankte ...

... everyone sang happy birthday. That was a great surprise. Craig's gift from me was the ski trip - so I ended up giving him his "Christmas" present on his birthday. It was a Cannon camera that takes those panoramic shots (great for mountainous scenes - see photos above). Tuesday 24th December Christmas Eve This time our lesson joined everyone else and took the bus (20 min) to another Ski resort called Sheffar. Wow, the slopes at Sheffar are so wide. It was great for ...