The hills are alive...

We were invited to join Ingrid (the administrator for David's lab), her husband, Alois, and her brother, Werner, for a hike. We climbed up "Rote Wand" which means "red wall."

It was a gorgeous fall day: clear sky, bright sun, warm breeze, with the crisp scent of leaves. The trail we took up is called...













We come across an animal called a "Steinbock." I don't think we have them in the USA, it is a relative of a goat, and the English name is "Ibex." It is the animal that the zodiac sign Capricorn is named after.



After going to the top, we stop at a hut to relax

Everyone else ordered "Diperl" so we figured we would try it too. It is dry and slightly sweet with a little bit of alcohol. The atmosphere at the hut was great! People of all ages relaxing in the sunshine after a good workout. Some people were playing traditional Styrian music with a guitar and an accordion.



After our hike we went to dinner at the Gasthaus Willingshofer in the small village of Gassen and met up with more of their friends. The atmosphere was friendly and it was fun to communicate with the natives. The food was comforting and we tried several local wines. After dinner everyone sat around chatting, including the owner of the inn, for hours. We finally got home around midnight... and today as I write this, we are pleasantly exhausted.