"Otzie the Iceman"

Have you heard about Otzi the Iceman? If not, he was found half buried in ice way up in the Alps by some German hikers. At first it was thought that he was discovered in Austria, but a few years later Italy argued that Otzi was 100 yards inside their border. He was probably a pizza eating, cafe drinking, greasy haired, womanizer. I think I read about him first in National Geographic. He popped out of a receding glacier which almost perfectly preserved the 5300 year old mummified murder victim.

How cool is that? A murder victim. He was put down with an arrow. It looks like he bled to death right before the ice came.

Fast forward to this morning. Here I am, Gabe, getting ready to go for another hike up in the Alps - up in the globaly warmed melting ice!

By the way, I tend to set goals for myself during my hikes. Sometimes I photograph local flowers, sometimes study geological formations etc. You know, stuff I wouldn't be caught dead doing back in my 20's. But really, shouldn't I be looking for frozen mummies popping out of ice?

Oh yeah! Today was my official "Find a Glacier Giving Birth to Old Dead People Day". Hey, it beats watching television in deutsch.

I started my hike here - Gleinkersee, Kalkalpen National Park. It's up the road from our house. The trail goes up through that valley and above the surrounding mountains. It's steep and you must have an 'eye of the tiger' attitude.



Here's a flower. Exciting huh!? Sorry, no dead icemen yet.


This is where I'm headed today. The first sign I saw said two hours. This one is kinder.


The valley was full of fallen trees. It's exceptionally weird. This place must get some nasty winds. The dead trees were everywhere...but no dead icemen.


Glacial striations on a rock - a common sight in glacially formed valleys.


At last, my destination, Dumlerhutte Almhouse. It's a restaurant/cabin, although this one is on the large side, typically found at hiking destinations in the Alps.


Yum, beer and.... salad at Dumlerhutte. And no, I didn't know Scharfkase was salad when I ordered it!! Oh well. That'll do.


No dead people at Dumlerhutte. They're all alive.



I saw some melting ice above the the cabin/almhouse. Should I go? I bet there are mummified icemen up there.



Too bad for National Geographic. They'll have to wait until, maybe, next week. The receding snow was at least another two hours away, and I had to get back down to town to pick up Noah from kindergargten. Besides, that hill looked steep. I'm afraid I'd end up like Otzie if I went. In 5300 years someone would rename me 'Otzie".

We can't have that.

So no old dead mummies on this hike. Only rocks, trails, flowers, views, food, beer, people, exercise...and pure peace.


Oh, and I thought this was cool. As of last week Noah rides the bus to school. For you parents out there who remember seeing your child ride away in a bus for the first time, this will bring back memories. Here in Austria they start riding the bus at 3 or 4 years old. So cool.

41 Photos and a Broken Hand

Coming back from a 4 week vacation in California was, as they say, a double edged sword. Family and friends will be missed for another year, but at the same time I was happy to get back to my Austrian life. It seems I have two lives now. Which one leads my thoughts? Only time will tell.

So I made it back to the door factory! Work is work. What can I say. Interestingly enough though, as some of you know, I broke my hand in my kitchen. Ouch. So no work for 5 weeks! Can't lift doors with a broken hand right?

So what is one supposed to do for five weeks?

You got me. I have no clue. For this simpleton, I set my daily goals after a morning cup of cappuccino. Most days I throw on a backpack and head for the front door. I've been on local trains, busses, and mountain trails. Sometimes I'll even walk into the village for more cappuccino at a favorite cafe. Life is good.

Anyway, I took along my camera on one or two of my post-cafe outings. A picture of a church entrance, my favorite local Pizzaria (Austria is next to Italy. The pizza here is amazing), a park, an ugly house, clay tennis courts, a lonely wooden bus stop etc. Basically, a photo of pretty much anything I thought was cool enough to empty my camera battery. So if you're one of those people who enjoy looking at slide shows of someone else's family vacation, then, well, you scored today.

I hope all is well back in California. Take care everyone......Gabe