Our day began at 6:15AM, when I was given the task to wake my sister up. It was difficult, especially with Sarah who I didn't know had earplugs in. I seriously thought she was half-dead when she didn't respond to my calling her name and prodding her legs. But eventually we were all up and packed to go.
We said goodbye to the McConkies at around 7:30. It was SO SAD. The kids had to rush to school and we had to rush to Austria. We've said goodbye to relatives so many times that it seemed surreal that we might not meet again in person for another two years.
We drove until 10:00-ish, and we girls slept for most of it. We only stopped twice on our way to Austria--once to buy groceries and get gas, and again to check out a castle that James insisted deserved a pit stop.
He was right! Totally worth it! The castle was in Cesky Krumlov, this beautiful little town situated in the bend of a winding river. Hills rise up on all sides of the river, and the castle is on the hill across the river from the town.
We started up there. First we were desperate to find a restroom, and that took us to the gorgeous castle gardens, which looked like they came straight out of a "Count of Monte Cristo" garden party.
Then we began our descent on a path that ran along the side of the castle facing the river and town. It was a spectacular view. We had our packed lunch up there on the ridge, then walked down through the streets, passing souvenir shops and pastry shops on every side.
We only stayed for about two hours, and as we left Dad said, "Note to self: make this an all-day visit next time we're in Prague." I agree it needed much more exploring. But I'm glad we got to see it at all. And after that it was straight on to Austria.
We passed through the rest of the Czech countryside, and when we crossed the border into Austria it didn't seem much different from Germany or the Czech Republic. Except that everything was in German again (hallelujah! I could sort of understand the language again!).
Then we were driving along and we saw through the heavy rainclouds a dark mountain shape up ahead. I got excited, like "Oh the mountains are starting! We're getting close!" But then the clouds thinned a bit more, and I saw a much bigger shape looming behind it. What I'd seen was only the base of the Alps.
Once we entered the mountains, that was all we could see for the next few hours of our drive. They're HUGE and so steep. They surround you on all sides, towering over you, leaving little room for roads and villages to establish themselves. The only open area is lakes, which are breathtakingly beautiful, nestled in green mountain valleys. The towns on the shores of these lakes are so quaint.
We got to stay two days in Hallstatt--a place I'd only ever seen in photos before. I never thought I'd actually get to see it, let along stay in it for two days.
We rented one of the adorable little houses right at the water's edge, with a cliff at the back of us. It was the cutest house I've ever set foot in--like a cottage out of a fairy tale. The rooms were small but cozy, and everything was made out of solid, beautiful wood. Like I said, it was right against the cliff, so there was just a narrow road leading to us, and you had to climb down steep steps to get to the front door. Then on the side facing the lake there were a ton of windows. We had the most amazing view of the lake and the mountains. Under each window was a flower box with brilliant fuscia flowers, and in the basement there was a door that went out to a little yard between the house and the lake. There were more amazingly kept flowers back there, and a table and chairs and a little boat house.
Every time I looked up, my gaze was drawn to the windows. It was SO BEAUTIFUL there. Almost unearthly. The mountains were so sheer and grey, yet they had so much greenery growing on their sides wherever there was a shelf for trees to take root. The trees are starting to change colors, and the rainclouds only accentuate the shapes and colors of everything.
After getting situated, we went on a walk to the town. It is TINY, which surprised me. We walked almost the whole thing in under ten minutes. But there was a lot to see, so we stayed much longer than that. There are two churches with gorgeous towering spires, a boat dock area, and the cutest little town square you've ever seen. Besides those areas, everything else is squeezed onto the slopes in haphazard stacks. Steep, mossy stone steps lead up or down to all the buildings. It's all so secluded and picturesque, we quickly decided we would want a summer home here if we were filthy rich. Never a winter home, though. It was freezing there already in September.
We checked out some souvenir shops and restaurants for a while, but they all shood us out and locked their doors at precisely 6:00PM. So we decided we'd check everything out the next day.
Mom made us a delicious pasta dinner for us, and then we played a game of Farkle together for a while. Dad won.
We got tired early, so we all went to bed at around 8:30. My room was dubbed the "Harry Potter Room" because there are two large bedrooms with sitting areas and large windows, but Mom and Dad were in one while Sarah and Ashley shared the other. That left me to stay in a tiny room at the end of the hallway. It was under the slope of the roof so the ceilings were low, and there was only room for a twin bed and a tiny nightstand and a shelf. It was nice and cozy, though, so no complaints. :)
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