I discovered that my brother has a formerly unknown-to-me talent–killing flies with his bare hands. Our gasthof seems to have many flies, especially at breakfast time because the owner opens the main door for fresh air. Today the flies are frenetic. They know their life span is short with the below-freezing temps this morning. Tom has further shortened almost a dozen flies’ life spans during the three days we’ve been here.

The best views were today. With crisp, morning air and no rain clouds for the first time since we’ve been in Austria, the day has been bright! Brother Tom says it’s the clearest skies he’s ever seen here, and he’s been in this valley at least three times.

Today was our last full day in the Austrian Alps, so of course, we had more hiking. The only form of transportation we had other than our legs was going up a cable car near the summit of the Walmendingerhorn Mountain (6,368 ft. above sea level) for a spectacular view. We did have to walk up about 15 more minutes to reach the summit after disembarking from the cable car. It was literally all downhill from there. We hiked all the way back to our gasthof.

John figures that with the step count of both yesterday and today, we’ve walked almost 22 kilometers. Today’s hike was fairly level and downhill; yesterday’s was more uphill. I’m not sure which is harder on the feet. They both come with unique problems. All I can say is I’m glad that I don’t have an ingrown toenail–going downhill puts a lot of pressure on the toes!

Enjoy our scenic photos!