To Dorfgastein with Love

Though today was another early day, I was excited for Dorfgastein. It is my favorite of all favorite places!!! Each time I go, I dread leaving - and leave a piece of my heart there. This time around I bought a litle stone rock in remembrance :)

The train was fairly straight forward. In fact, no switches. Only we can never have a day free from adventures. We stood at the door as the train stopped. However, the door WOULD NOT open….like seriously, I was pushing and pushing the button but soon the train began to move towards the next city, Bad Hofgastein! We found ourselves there 5 minutes later. Holy Cow!!! Our options were limited….wait the hour for the train back (without tickets) or wait 30 minutes for a bus, buy a ticket and take time to get there. We all opted for the hour wait. We had a good time - it reminded me of the time we missed Mödling station on our way to Burg Liechtenstein during my first study abroad. We had to wait for an hour for the next train back. We saw cute things, but we froze….literally. Well, the girls did, I did not. ;)

Soon enough we were on the train - semi-illegally - to Dorfgastein. We found our way to Pension Theresia to store our luggage. It was nice to see Fritz and Anna Marie. We also saw their grand daughters, Jasmine and Emily. Kelsey had SUCH a great time with Emily last time. I snapped a pic of me with them and sent it to her.

After our luggage was stored, off we went to find out way to the top of the mountain. Fritz usually takes us so I had to navigate by myself….and I never do it perfectly. But no worries, up the mountain we went and soon all the mishaps faded into the clouds as the breathtaking views overtook us! What a fun hike….only I am MUCH MORE out of shape than I like. I gotta drop this weight this summer! And it was wonderful as always. We ate at the restaurant …. cheese dumplings in soup, which was delish!!!