Mittenwald and Goas-Alm

Last night my American cousins Dan and Brian arrived by train from Berlin. We all hung out here and ate Weisswurst for dinner.

Today we all took a drive over the border to Mittenwald and the goat farm. (Goas-Alm) This time we remembered to bring a bottle for fresh goat milk and bought some for Jim to make his goat cream cheese. We started a hike from there, through the meadows and a wood to the TennSee. The first photo is of Brian and Dan just before we started the hike. The good news is that my foot is much better and I could hike with them. The bad news is that it started raining just as we started the hike. Jim and I had umbrellas. The rest of the guys just toughed it out and we all hiked anyway. The brown lumps in the photo of the field are made by moles, called "Maulwurfen." There is a cake called Maulwurf cake, and it is called that because it is made of a pile of chocolate cake and chocolate pieces and looks like one of the Maulwurf lumps. I am going to make it soon.

It was a nice walk, although the TennSee was small and looked like a swampy frozen field. You can see it in the background behind the group photo of the guys. We saw another lake, the Schmalensee (Little Lake) on the way back, which was much more photogenic.

Then we drove back to Mittenwald, where we had a very nice late lunch at the Gröbl-Alm with a beautiful view of the mountains. You can see Jim, Jim and Chris pondering the menu. Then we walked around the pedestrian zone of Mittenwald and poked into shops (yea!!!)

Tonight we are going out to the Wilder Mann for dinner. Brian and Dan leave tomorrow on a train for Slovenia.

Zirl,Kematen, and Ranggen

Jim, Jim, and Chris went for a walk in Oberperfuss this morning. The first three photos are from their walk. Then we all had lunch out on the terrace. It was warm and sunny. We didn't even need sweaters.

After lunch, Jim, Chris and I went to Zirl to check out the winery. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be in business anymore, and a woman in a bathrobe who answered the door wasn't too happy to have us come calling. Oh well.

We drove past an old castle ruin in Zirl. We found out that it is called Schloss Fragenstein and was built between 1200-1220. We drove back through Kematen, where Chris took a photo of this old barn. Apparently, the owner is very proud of the medals his cows have won. The last photo was taken from the neighboring town of Ranggen, on the way back to Oberperfuss. The sun was setting, but still shining pink on the top of the peaks.

Festung Kufstein and the town of Hall

Chris and Jim M. wanted to go and see a castle. So we picked one near here, called Festung (Fortress) Kufstein. We did the self-tour and it was pretty interesting as well as atmospheric. It dates from the mid 12th century. We got to go into the prison tower and see the prison cells. Many of the prisoners even in the early days were political prisoners, including those who tried to fight for the serfs' freedom. The prisons were used even in WWII.

After the castle, we drove to the town of Hall, where we had lunch in the old town and walked around. We were glad to get there in time for the weekly Wednesday afternoon market, where we bought some cheese and an herbal potion for my foot (Arnica.) The guy who sold the herbal things was pretty interesting; he went up into the mountains and in the woods and picked the herbs himself. He was telling me what all they were used for.

Hall is a picturesque medieval town, we had fun walking around and taking pictures.

When we got home, we were about to take bets as to whether Mausi would be waiting for us. Of course she was, perched on the picnic table in front of our door. She was quite happy to come in with us, where she immediately had Brekkies washed down with some cream. Now she is napping on the sofa.

Chris & Jim arrive

Chris & Jim arrived to visit yesterday. They will be staying for almost two weeks. We are looking forward to doing lots with them. Today Jim took them up to Rinn and they hiked up to the Rinneralm. Unfortunately it was closed because of icy conditions on the road. They hiked up anyway. They said the ice and mud were a bit challenging. On the other hand, the weather and the temperature were great and they said there was no one else around.

Sunday in Oberperfuss

Jim went skiing here at Ranggerköpfl today. He walked to the lift.

I did something I don't think I've ever done before - this is truly a cultural difference - I spent the morning ironing the bed linens. I can't imagine why they don't have wrinkle-free cottons here! There are some quite elegant high-quality cotton bedlinens, probably 500-thread count. But they wrinkle. And our tiny little washing machine doesn't help with the wrinkle-free thing, either. The house comes equipped with the hugest, high-powered steam iron I have ever seen. Very German.

It was 60 degrees today and perfectly sunny. I had to open the windows and doors, it was so warm in the house. I did some gardening. First I drove to Frau Schmit's house and got a pailful of compost. Then I planted some primroses with a good amount of compost for Frau Luise in her yard.

Later this afternoon, Frau Luise came over for cherry topfen torte (it came out very well!) She told us lots of stories about growing up here, and about the ghosts in her house. Mausi joined us for coffee. Frau Luise tried to get Mausi to go home with her after coffee, but we encouraged Mausi to stay here. I gave her some cream from the coffee table as a reward for choosing us over Frau Luise. After we leave, Luise can have Mausi back. Mausi isn't even her cat!

Frau Luise

This morning I drove Rosie and Brendan to the airport at 5 AM. Today is clean the house day, I get to rest my foot too. Jim went to the movies. I am going to bake a cake and have invited Frau Luise over for coffee and cake tomorrow. Think I will make a cherry topfen torte.

It is 57 degrees today, real Spring weather. I took a picture of the snowdrops in front of Frau Luise's house. I also promised her that I would plant the potted primroses I have, two of which she gave me, in the shade around her house so that maybe she will have them to enjoy again next year.

Frau Luise and I were talking about Mausi. At first I didn't want to tell Frau Luise that we let the cat into our house. But she told me first that when she has the window open, Mausi climbs in to her living room and watches television with her. So I guess it's ok that she know the cat comes in to our house too. Today I am changing the bed linens, and Mausi is helping me, as you can see. She now comes to our front door, stands up on her hind legs at the glass door, and meows to be let in. Luise described her as "our shared cat."

Schloss Ambras, Innsbruck, & Swarovski Welt

Rosie and Brendan went to Schloss Ambras today, while Jim took Anita to the hospital to have her foot X-rayed. The x-rays showed that nothing was broken; it's just an inflammation that will work itself out in time. Meanwhile, I am hopping rather than walking on that foot.

There were some beautiful peacocks walking around the castle grounds. Also various kinds of ducks in the pond, including these interesting Mandarin ducks.

After the Schloss, Rosie and Brendan spent the afternoon seeing Innsbruck and walking around the Altstadt. Then I picked them up in the car and we drove out to Swarovski's KristallweltenRosie picked out a handsome blue and silver necklace and earring set. Very elegant.

We have a rental cat!

Jim has long been of the opinion that hotels and rental houses ought to offer rental cats. So that you don't get so lonely when you are travelling and missing the company of your own cats. This trip, Jim hatched a devious scheme to lure neighborhood cats to our house. I humored him, hoping it would work, but having serious doubts. Jim bought a box of "Brekkies" cat food (actually we are now on our second box) and put a small bowl of them outside our front door every day. They always disappeared, but a month went by and we never even caught a glimpse of the responsible party. Then one day when I was coming back to the house in the late afternoon, a little cat peered out at me curiously from under a bush in our garden. I called to her and she followed me to the front door, where I poured out some Brekkies for her. She ate them appreciatively but was sort of shy and wouldn't let me pet her. Then a few days later, I was talking to Frau Luise, our neighbor, who seemed to be on good terms with the little cat. She said she didn't know her name, but simply called her "Mausi." She seems to answer to Mausi. Then one day I opened the front door, also in the late afternoon, and called "Mausi!" She came running to the front door from the bushes. She got some Brekkies and this time she let me pet her.


Today we made another big step forward in our relationship. Mausi seems to have become quite comfortable with us. Today she spent some time sniffing around in the house and generally checking everything out. When we came back in the late afternoon, she heard us and jumped up at the front door, meowing to be let in. Here are the photos of Mausi enjoying our company today. Jim had fun playing with her. She jumped up on the couch and made herself comfortable while I was reading. As you can see, we had to add another place for her at dinner. She has agreed to be our rental cat.

Bolzano, Italy

We drove to Bolzano, Italy today through the Brenner Pass. It didn't work out exactly as I had planned. My hope was to first go to the Archaeological Museum to see Ötzi the Iceman and then have a quick lunch followed by a trip up onto the Seiser Alm (Alpe di Siusi in Italian) to do some hiking or cross-country skiing, followed by a sauna and dinner in a local hotel near the Seiser Alm. Well it all worked out okay except that we never made it up to the Seiser Alm. A shame, since it is so very beautiful up there and I wanted to show it to Rosie and Brendan and have them experience it. But the day was too short. First of all, we got out later than expected (no great surprise there.) Then we spent two hours in the Museum. Everybody loved the Ötzi exhibit and seeing him in person was quite moving for me. He still has skin on his hands and feet - you felt like you could hold his hand. The exhibits of his clothing and supplies he had with him were amazing, some in very intact condition. His bearskin cap was in almost perfect condition. And to think that he lived here 5,300 years ago!!! Must count as one of the most important archaeological finds of all time.

After that, Rosie and Brendan wanted to walk around Bolzano. The old part of the town is quite attractive.

One of the problems turned out that I hurt my foot - I don't know how- skiing on Tuesday and can't put weight on it. So I couldn't walk very well. Jim and I sat in a cafe while Rosie and Brendan explored the town a little. Then we tried to get up to the hotel and the Seiser Alm. We made it to the hotel, but it was already too late to go up to the plateau. Seiser Alm is the largest alpine plateau in all of Europe and it is quite spectacular. Sorry to miss it. Also, the weather was unusually hazy yesterday - not the perfect weather we have been having. So we hung out at the little Pension-Hotel Rier in the little hillside town of Seis. They had an outdoor hot tub (not hot enough for our taste) and a sauna and steam room. We were given the unused massage room to change in. The hotel people were extremely nice to us. They had coffee and cake there, very good, and we enjoyed that before the sauna. Then we had a very nice dinner meal there. Buffet of hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, appetizer of homemade raviolis (Teig-taschen) and then mdeallions of pork followed by homemade vanilla ice cream with lemon tuiles. Then Jim drove us home to Oberperfuss.