Zell am See: Day One

This past week we embarked on a trip that encompassed many firsts for us--it was our first overnight trip out of Vienna, our first family trip by train and the first birthday Audrey has ever spent away from her extended family. That could've added up to a lot of pressure, but we managed to take the overwhelming feelings and realizations as they came--supporting each other as we always do and occasionally goading one another into fits of rage or laughter...often both at the same time.

I think it's important to note that before we moved to Vienna, I wrote a list (I wrote about five hundred lists, actually, but this was an important one too) of things I wanted to accomplish while we are living abroad. Mostly, it encompassed ideas supporting our desire to grow closer as a family, but the top two items were: Know Vienna and Know Austria.  I want to leave this place behind as I would an old friend--Someone I'm able to identify by the sound of their throat clearing in another room, someone whose face I can recall down to it's every wrinkle.  So, while we had initially considered traveling to the beach in Croatia or Italy, Austria's wilderness kept calling.

Lake Zell

We ended up renting an apartment in a town called Zell am See--a little Alpine town that sits on one of the many gorgeous, pristine lakes in the area. Technically Zell am See is in the section of Austria called Salzburgerland, but it butts up to Hohe Tauern National Park: the largest national park in Austria. Here, one is amongst the pine-covered Alps in the Pinzgauer range where happy alpine cows produce happy alpine milk and beef--where dirndls, lederhosen, hiking boots and hulking packs are the norm. No one is out to impress anyone else; the overall goal is to relax--to enjoy God's magnificent creation or to hike/cycle up in it--to feel as one with the breathing of the trees and the song of birds.

An impromptu Drama staged on the train platform

Our train ride(s) out were a real adventure.  We had to transfer twice and each individual train ride ran the gamut of experiences I imagine one can have on a locomotive.  It was very cool watching the scenery change from rolling farmland outside of Vienna to the hills and forested areas near Salzburg. Once we headed towards Zell am See, we got into some incredibly dramatic terrain.  Not to mention the people-watching was absolutely top-notch.   (John and I never tire of making up background stories for every individual we encounter.) By the time we made it to Zell am See, we were ready to be done with train rides and drop our mound of luggage at the apartment.  After getting our keys, we didn't hesitate to literally drop everything and go find a Gasthaus in which to grab a beer (or three).  I'm not sure the cuisine at Gasthaus Gruener Baum is truly as earth-shatteringly delicious as I found it at the moment, but we were ecstatic to be stationary, devoid of luggage, and served hot food by happy staff.  It was an excellent introduction to the culture in Salzburgerland.

Prost!  He earned that beer!

The overall happy, laid-back spirit here would be hard to evade.  Our first morning, we started a habit of bundling in blankets on the porch, greeting the mountains and the pine cones, listening to the dinging of church bells and chirping of birds.  Reluctantly, we would head inside for breakfast, but once we stuffed our bellies and were done savoring our morning coffee, we were out. Usually for the day.

Good morning, mountains!

Soaking in the sights

Audrey's birthday was our first full day in Zell am See and we basically laid out her options and let her decide what we would do. What more could a four year old ask for? Our morning was filled with lots of exploration--at the playground, watching the swans and ducks at the lake, riding the Papa elephant into the mountains. Audrey was out to see it all and we got a good feel for the general area before an afternoon rain storm started rolling in. Luckily, even though the apartment didn't supply toilet paper, they did have a copy of The Sound of Music and we spent our afternoon listening to the rain through the open windows, singing along with Fraulein Maria and the Von Trapps. For dinner, we traipsed out in the rain at Audrey's request for some pizza.  We ended up at Pizzeria Guiseppe, where we ate outside under some fantastic awnings and watched people bobbing by under their umbrellas.

photo credit for this one goes to the birthday girl

Birthday cake

I would have to say that even though we had been opening presents all day and trekking about in the wilderness, the absolute pinnacle of Audrey's day was when she saw her candles waiting for her--there are no words for the happy expression on her face as she realized that this was her day--her turn to blow out the candles.  We weren't pretending.  It was the real deal.  I'm going to hold that bright smile in my heart until I die.  She could've cared less about the slice of cake she had picked out as her special treat.  All my big girl really wanted for her birthday were those four lit candles.