A Fairy Tale Land

The lengthening of days in February continues to brighten life here, in more ways than one!

I feel kinda predictable starting off every post recently with a weather report because it’s usually the topic to bring up when you haven’t anything to speak about and you find yourself in an awkward social situation. Please be assured that my continual, bringing up this passé subject, is simply because since living here, I have begun to realize how much the weather can affect one’s well being.

How we need the sun. And oh how we need the Son. You know that Jesus Culture song, “He’ll come like rain” by Kim Walker Smith? I really love that image but right now I’m experiencing Him coming like the sun. Strong, brilliant, unmistakably warm. The byproduct of His presence is LIFE.

I think one of the many ways that our Austria trip was such a beautiful time was because of all the sunshine we experienced. It was always sunny but not scorchingly hot. We didn’t wither in the sun. We had just the amount of shine to nurture us, not too much heat to kill us. Isn’t that like God too?! He knows just what will give us life. And even in the days of extreme heat when the fire gets so close He does not let us be consumed. And then He uses the fire to increase our ability to sustain life. Just like the forest areas where fire has swept through soon awaken to new, abundant life, I feel as though I’m awakening to a fresh page in the book God is writing for me. After several months were I felt like I was drowning and losing myself, the dawn is breaking and I realize that I’m becoming even more ME.

How gracious are these times when we can see the progress in ourselves and be comforted that something really is “going on” underneath all the pain and confusion of life.

Anyway, I want to continue the story of our Austria trip now. 🙂

We left off at our last night in Salzburg, running back to the hotel in the rain after a day of pushing the limits and getting out of our comfort zones. To catch up read this post.

The view outside our hotel window in Salzburg.

Bidding farewell to Salzburg, we hopped in our rental car, which we nicknamed “Scooter”, and continued our exploration of the breathtaking countryside of Austria.

We had reserved tickets to tour the Neuschwanstein Castle, THE fairytale castle of Europe, a couple weeks before but we couldn’t shake off the feeling of stress and uneasiness when we considered the schedule and how to get there that day. TripAdvisor reviews were heartily in favor of the spot but everyone cautioned it was a madhouse with the massive crowds that the castle attracted. We decided to cancel our tickets just in time to avoid a fee and drive leisurely to the castle and admire it from afar.

This proved to be a very wise decision.

We ended up getting lost several times on the roads and if we had kept our reservations for the strict tour time the unplanned detours would have been cause of major stress. As it was we enjoyed the small towns and views that we otherwise wouldn’t have seen if we’d not strayed from the main drag.

Getting close to the mountains and our first look of Neuschwanstein! (No that’s not it…)

We stopped at a gas station / small grocery store to fill up the tank and grab some things for lunch. Sparkling waters, gluten-free cookies, and lunch meats with chips, and cherry tomatoes were a tasty picnic.

After our refreshments we continued to drive along and then we saw the castle!

I snapped a photo of the crowds. Sadly it doesn’t accurately convey how packed that whole area was. As we inched along people were getting smashed against the car because there was not enough room to walk and for the cars to drive! Driving a stick which he only got used to the day before, Austin navigated expertly, but we didn’t hang around to run over someone’s stroller.

The companion castle.

Austin turned around while I hopped out and got a couple photos before we drove through the mass of people again to get free!

I have no doubt that the inside of the castle was perfectly splendid, but neither I nor Austin had any regrets about only seeing the outside. We drove away feeling greatly relieved like we had made the right decision in canceling the reservations and also like we had gained a whole other day. 🙂

We happened upon a beautiful emerald lake! It was so clear and cold. I stuck my toes in and little minnows came and nibbled on them!

See how the sunshine is sparkling on the water?! It was utterly gorgeous.

There was a helicopter transporting logs from the top of the mountain to the other side. You can see it if you look closely…

Driving along further it looked like we had stumbled onto everyone’s favorite holiday spot. I wished I had my swimsuit with me but then consoled myself with the thought that I probably wouldn’t have been able to stand the cold water anyway.

SAILBOAT!

We weren’t exactly sure where we were so we took a picture of this “landmark” so we could figure out from there our exact location. Good idea but I still couldn’t find exactly where we traveled on the map.

He sees something he likes…

This small town had an impressive building which turned out to be a monastery.

It was a charming little hamlet but the road called to us and we could not ignore.

We pulled over to admire this view.

Look at the shade of emerald in the water!

Old ruins! My eyes seemed to have a homing device that zeroed in on ancient looking buildings much to my heart’s delight and Austin’s amusement.

What could this be? I imagined it was ancient an Roman aqueduct! But it was more probably a tunnel for a train. *sigh*

Almost to Innsbruck!

We rolled into Innsbruck late afternoon. Dropping our things at our hotel which had a beautiful views of the mountains that hem in the city, we pulled out the trusty Yelp app to assist us in our dinner plans. We found a great hamburger joint that had gluten-free buns and a real food menu! It was packed and pretty hot inside as it was a very warm evening but the heat felt good and the food was a tasty treat. And the servers were super helpful and friendly! Innsbruck charmed us from the first.

Sadly all the pictures we took that evening as we walked through the historic center are a bit blurred. Flash always seems to wash out the photo and then without the flash I cannot hold it steady enough for a clear photo. I opted for capturing the ambience if not all the details…