Susan: Since we are here two days, I didn’t have to set an alarm and didn't get up until 6:00 am. Started the day by washing our clothes in the bathtub and hanging them out to dry on the balcony. They were pretty wet all morning as our balcony doesn’t have sun shining on it…but eventually they dried later in the day. This resort is a beautiful place to spend a relaxing day. It started with the breakfast buffet. I had a fried egg, bacon, sausage and an orange plus cappuccino of course.
At 10 am those who wanted to take the two-mile hike to get a bird’s-eye view of the area met outside. It was a steep up climb through a heavy forest. After about 2/3 of a mile it flattened out and then the view, it was spectacular! I was surprised to discover that coming down was much harder! It was a challenge for my knees which once I stopped actually got a little wobbly. But it was worth every step! The scenery was breathtaking.
James: The hike up was a pretty steep, rocky path through deep forest to a point with a great view of the Schlögen loop. The woods were completely silent except for the occasional song of the European Blackbird which rang through the forest. It took about an hour to reach the overlook. The view was spectacular! Everybody got their obligatory shots and then we headed down. Total round trip was about two miles, a perfect morning excursion.
Had lunch and then chilled out for an hour before our afternoon bike trip to the Roman ruins. It wasn’t far, just about five miles one way, but there was a lot of up and down, unlike the flat we had been riding on for the past four days. It was tough. I was trying to push my big, heavy tank and at times had a hard time keeping up. The ruins consisted of an excavation with a shelter over it. It was the remains of a small castle fortress that was discovered underneath a tavern when they were remodeling it. The castle even had baths with a hot tub, a cold tub and a place to heat the water. It was interesting reading the signs that they had posted throughout, but really it was just a bunch of stones in a hole. Meh. The history is pretty interesting just to contemplate the reach of the Roman Empire. The castles were built approximately 20 miles apart, the distance that a Roman centurion could walk in a day.
We turned around to head back to the hotel. Franz suggested that we stop at a sculpture park that he knew of along the road. I’m glad that we did. It was extremely cool with big sculptures made of scrap metals in the forms of humans with animal heads. The detail was extraordinary and the images both playful and ominous. There was a crow’s head the was probably 20 feet wide and 15 feet high with a spiral staircase that you could climb to a space with two chairs and a small table. The place was called Atelier Fahrner. Very cool!
We plowed our way back to the resort. I laid down for 20 minutes before the next lecture because I was tired.
Susan: While Jim chose to do the optional bike trip this afternoon, I chose relaxation! I spent the afternoon alone, laying around the pool in the sun. It was quiet and restful. Just before dinner we had another lecture from Silvia, this time about traditions and customs of Austria. As she had with previous lectures, it was fun and informative.
James: After the lecture we came back to the room to kill a few minutes before the dining room was open for dinner. The food was okay and I had a local apple-pear cider which was quite tasty. After dinner we stayed and played Quiddler with a couple of our fellow travelers. It was fun. Bedtime.