A quick catch-up

29th August to 5th September, 2023

I’ve been beyond remiss with my blog. Not really been in the right mood for scribbling. That’s not to say we haven’t been having fun. The disaster of my mountain boots falling apart may have seen the end of snowy mountains, but that hasn’t stopped us having fun.

If coffee and cake isn’t fun then I don’t know what is

We’ve been hiking. It would be rude not to in such a beautiful place.

And climbing of course….

…with a gentle nod to klettersteiging (please note; there is no such word as ‘kletteresteiging’. That’s just me Anglacising the German verb ‘klettersteig’ badly. Anyway, here’s some pictures of us klettersteiging…

We also met up with some marvellous friends, Mr & Mrs (or Herr und Frau) H. We first met this wonderful couple in southern Spain last autumn and they have become firm friends. They took the time to drive all the way from their home in Kitzbuhel to meet up with us in the Ötztal valley. We had a blast.

The simply splendid Frau und Herr H.

We ate together in the evenings and they watched us suffer as they took us on a magical mystery cycle tour. They on their electric bikes and us on our toil and sweat bikes.

What was supposed to be an easy day cycling to the next village, turned in to an epic detour via a 600 metre hill climb due to a closed section of cycle path (which, it later turned out, we could have simply cycled round on the road!). As the temperature soared and the tarmac road turned to forest track we ‘real’ cyclists were reduced to pushing. The track was just too steep to get any traction!

Mrs P and I were finally defeated by the incline.

Mrs P cools her tired muscles in a mountain lake. Afraid of nothing except the sky falling on her head she sensibly kept her helmet on.

Our epic detour was not however in vain as lunch turned out to be spectacular.

Mrs P and Herr H shortly before eating too much.

Herr und Frau H have now headed back to Kitzbuhel, leaving us feeling somewhat bereft. But at least I have finally found the time to get the blog a bit more up to date.

More to come though, as in my next blog I discuss the pitfalls of ignoring “path closed” signs.