Europa III, Bad Aussee MMXX

Next up were the Austrian Alps. Initially, I wasn’t too excited about this part of the trip, since I wasn’t planning to partake in the snow sports, and it felt like we’d end holed up in our cabin without exploring too much. It ended up being one of the best parts of the trip.

This is the fourth in a long series I shared throughout January. When you’re done here, make sure to also check out parts zero, one, two, four, and five.

Technically, I’m cheating, because this is still Vienna. We had to take a train to Salzburg, where we’d rented a car to drive up the mountains.

I wish I’d taken this one just a second later. Taking good photos in spaces like this one is easy. Taking great ones is hard.

We made it to Salzburg, and had some time to kill while Ben went to pick up the car.

This was the nicest accomodation we had during our trip. The kitchen was awesome, and I really enjoyed cooking for the group a couple of the nights. This evening, however, I was not in charge.

Ben and Maizie’s German friends Fedo and Hannah joined us for this leg of the trip. It was really fun to have another two people in the mix, and I really enjoyed the fact that they brought the European perspective to our conversations. I was warned that I should not engage in political conversations with Fedo, but the few we did have were quite insightful.

We had family style dinner almost every night.

Thanks to Fedo and Hannah, we all learned to drink Kleiner Klopfers correctly. In exchange, they learned how to play Gently Remove.

The ladies found a book on “secrets for girls only.” Here, they’re learning how to levitate.

The next day we drove over to Hallstadt. It was raining, but the views were amazing, and the little town had a lot to offer.

Danny, being Danny.

The classic Hallstadt photo. Apparently, so many people are coming to the city to take this same photo that they are closing it down to tourist buses!

The old church had a beautiful entryway

A serendipitous shot. I just happened to look down the alley at the right time.

We played an unreasonable amount of Settlers of Catan. Before this trip, I had only played once. I have gotten pretty decent at it, but I don’t think I’m good yet. I’m sure we’ll keep practicing!

We were there for a strange local holiday, where men dress up in drag and go around the neighborhood singing and making noise with cowbells.

Can’t use tires here, I guess?

And off we went, to another train.

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