Austrian Adventure Part 2

After I finished my workday in Vienna, I flew to Munich in the evening and met up with Chris, Anne Marie and Heather to start our 4 day backpacking trip in the Dachstein region.  Chris drove us to a little hotel on the outskirts of Munich and we had a celebratory bev to kick things off, then went to sleep and woke on Thursday morning to beautiful skies.  We had a great breakfast at the hotel, then drove to Gosausee to park the car and start our 40 km circular hike.

In fact, we started the hike with a swim in the lake.  It was just too tempting and the day was hot, and actually we didn't need to hike very far this first day. 

 So we went for a swim, dried off, then took the cable car up to the top of a mountain (not the highest peak, but high enough), had a beer at the cafe near the top of the cable car, then set off for a leisurely 2 hour walk to our first night accommodation.

Here is our cabin for the night, which served great dinner and lovely cocktails. It is called the Theodor Korner Hutte and can highly recommend.

On Friday morning we set off for what would be a very long and beautiful (although also difficult) day where we covered 13 miles of steep ups and downs and alongs the south flank of the Dachstein ridge.

The last 60 minutes was particularly tough, because our hut for the night was up on a ridge and below that was an exposed grassy steep hillside.  It was just then that the heavens opened and it was lightning and thunder and pouring rain. Very exciting! Also a little scary!  But we made it intact up to Sudwandhutte and were then treated to a very delicious and nourishing 3 course meal and a good sleep. We didn't quite manage to dry ourselves and everything out overnight, but mostly.

Austrian adventure part 1

I started off this morning by bus, and I had the great pleasure of sitting next to and chatting with Sam M from down the road.  The last time I started an adventure by bus I also saw him (back in Feb when I was headed to Indonesia), and it was great to hear about what he has going on in his life.

I flew from Gatwick to Vienna and then taxi to my favorite hotel Zoku, where I had a room that looked out to the middle of an active rollercoaster! It was so funny to have this view.

So I had a pleasant and productive evening, and then the next morning I set out for an all day work-related event which I would then leave straight for my backpacking trip.  Hence the weird pairing of work dress, heels, and a big backpack.

This fellow at Zoku was helpful in taking my photo, so I took his too as I set out!

Changing of the guard

 Rhods got back tonight and I'm leaving tomorrow for my backcountry adventure in Austria!  Tryfs is still feeling a bit delicate but he is on the mend.  Rhodri had a really fun trip and he is back safely with no injuries (always a bonus!).  So its all go here at the Lewis homefront, but in a good way.

Tryfs not feeling well

Poor Tryfs.  He has suddenly started not feeling well and having stuff come out both ends.  In order to be closer to the toilet but still able to rest, he has set up camp in the hallway on a folding mat.  Hopefully this will pass swiftly and we'll have our cheery, light hearted Tryfan back in no time.

Fantastic Pentastic

My mermadam friend Sarah is a professional musician and finally, finally I got to hear her play with her band down at the Hop Yard.  Yes, it was a Sunday night but it was well worth doing something a bit different!  In fact, a group of us went together and had a little pow wow up top on the Hop Yard patio before going down to the main venue for the gig.

The whole band was really goo, but Sarah is such a fantastic performer it felt really special to be there to watch her.

Cousin Rachel in town

My baby cousin Rachel was in town for a few days and it worked out for Rhiannon and I to go into London and meet her for lunch.  Rachel made the booking and it turned out to be such a gorgeous lovely place. I definitely want to go back.

It was really fun to talk shop with her, because she is also working in the renewable energy space, and when she was living over here a few years ago I was not yet working in geothermal. There is a lot to talk about these days!

Men's adventure in the Dolomites

Rhodri took a bunch of the local menfolk over to the Dolomites to do some hiking from a base in Madonna di Campiglio.  They left a couple of days ago and seem to be having a grand old time. 

This is the same place that Rhodri and I went in August 2019 to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary, and it is just so spectacular. 

I believe there are 8 of them on this trip: Rhodri, Tim, Marc, Gordon, Cormac, Mac, and a couple others that I can't think of right now.  It's great that they could get out of the postcode and get up to the mountains for some fun.  I'll be doing the same next weekend with my girlfriends....

Magical Friday eve

Tonight it was just Rhiannon and me, since Rhodri is in Italy and Tryfs was over at a friend's house.  I was feeling a bit restless and she was in a funk, so we went for a drive so that she could practice her driving skills and we ended up calling by Cat's house.  When we arrived, Cat and Gary were sitting in the back garden with wine and cheese and it was all very civilized!  They generously offered to share with us, and soon B came out to join us and then even Lee made an appearance.  It was such an easy and friendly atmosphere with beautiful evening light and warmth, it truly felt a bit magical.

I got to see Amy!

My long lost friend from Goleta is actually over here in Britain on a family trip, and I was able to arrange to meet her and her boyfriend right before going on the Geology Tour.  It was a hot day and we went to Bentley's Oyster Bar for some refreshing beverages and even had a couple of oysters. (I'm not a fan!).

It was so great to see Amy.  Even though I normally do see her when I am in Santa Barbara, its never enough time and it was great to just sit for a couple of hours with her and her boyfriend.

Geology tour of London

 I signed up to join a geology tour of London and it was great! There were about 20 of us and we spent 3 hours making our way very slowly around a small section of the city near Piccadilly. 

Afterwards we went to the pub and then I headed home!

The morning step

Even though we have a deck and chairs and benches and all sorts, in the morning I like to just sit outside on the top step.  Its just a nice spot to sit and get Annie cuddles.

Mid week beach

Now that it is summertime (ish), the Saturday morning swims are on the wane and I think its nicer to go to the beach in the evening. So tonight we made it happen, and it was a gorgeous evening for it. We brought snacks and drinks, swam and then lounged around on the warm rocks before getting back to our respective lives. This felt really nice.

Here are Cat, Ali, me, Emma, Sarah M and Sarah H. Kim and Anna couldn't make it unfortunately. Hopefully we will do it again soon.

Fun Run Marshalling

While I was away last week, I got 'volunteered' to be a marshal on the local Fun Run which took place at the Danehill Rec.  The actual course went around the Cumnor House School grounds so Rhodri and I were stationed up at the drinks stop at the far end of the course.  It was a super hot day actually (for England, that is) so I was quite glad to not be a runner and instead to be cheering people on and skipping through the sprinkler that was set up near my site.

It was all fine in the end, and I have to say the event was very well organized!  Next year hopefully more people will show up to do some fun running!

A long time away from the blog

Normally I keep the blog updated with about a 3 week delay.  And while I take photos and start blog posts along the way, I often post-date them and do a few posts all at once to try and catch up.  Well, starting in late February and going all the way through March, April, May and now the first 11 days of June, I haven't done any of that.  This isn't to say that there haven't been notable events and moments during this time, but to be honest, its been a tough time here in the Lewis family and I wasn't sure how to make sense of it or write about it.  The long and the short of it is that Rhiannon came home from Prin to deal with some medical issues. This was really disappointing for her, and while it feels important and right that she is at home with us, it has been a difficult few months.  

Champing adventure

This was a long awaited champing adventure and we had a brilliant time!  https://champing.co.uk/  This was planned back in September 2020 and we couldn't go because of covid, and it kept getting delayed and rescheduled until finally this week.  We had a really great time in Failand.

It was pretty amazing sleeping in this space.  The weight and thickness of the walls really made a big difference to the way the space felt. Highly recommended!

Open Mic night at the Bluebell

Our local vineyard, the Bluebell, has started a season on monthly open mic nights, and last night was the first one!  Rhi and I went down there and hung out with Sharon (Rhi's boss at the farm) and Grace (Sharon's daughter who is a year younger than Rhi). 

It was a great set up in this converted out building! Excellent sparkling wine (obvs), nice lighting and a good atmosphere.  Ok, it was a little cringey but not too bad.

Eggs and more

Rhiannon started working at a nearby farm where she is collecting eggs. Every day is like Easter!  Here she is in the sorting area. 

In the meantime, Tryfan has been doing his normal 15-year old boy stuff, playing soccer/ football and hanging out.  I often find him and Annie snuggled together.

And now here he is with his Forest Row football teammates

Peter Kay at the O2

Back about 8 months ago, Anne Marie was able to book a bunch of tickets to go see Peter Kay at the O2 Arena in east London.  I would have never heard of this guy except that he was a famous comedian here in England and had disappeared off the radar for many years, and now he is back!  So there has been a lot of hype about his show and it was apparently very difficult to get tickets, so well done Anne Marie.  There were 10 of us all going together to it, and we combined it with an early dinner at Cote Brasserie down near London Bridge at Hays Galleria, then took the Tube to the O2 where we enjoyed the show!  

We had nose bleed seats, but it was really fun!

One of the funny things about this event was that there was a train strike going on which started at 9pm.  So that meant that we could all get into London just fine but would not be able to get back home at the end of the evening. Fortunately someone realized this before today, so we had a workaround plan!  Gordon would drive the Haywards Heath Rugby Club bus and we'd park it somewhere close enough to be able to take the Tube (rather than the train), then make our way back to it and drive home after the event.  So just the 4 of us drove the 'Fun Bus' up to Balham and used 'Just Park' app to find a driveway big enough for this 20 passenger van, then all 10 of us rode back in it afterwards.  It was a really long afternoon/ evening, but super fun!