My morning began much earlier than I had expected today.  I had forced myself to go to bed early last night as I was beginning to feel the wear and tear of the road.  I got to bed around 11 last night, and set my alarm clock for 7 am.  But, in doing so, I failed to turn off my internal alarm clock which went off just after 5:30.  I realized I had slept about the same as I have most of the nights before and that is why I probably woke up when I did.  Anyway, I thought of trying to go back to sleep, but when I saw some sunshine outside the window I knew right away I'd get up and try to re-shoot the panorama of the village of Castelrotto from the hill high above.  I had an 8 o'clock meeting with the director of tourism and I wanted to get on the road right after we met.

The village was still mostly asleep when I made it out of the hotel, except for the seemingly endless old men walking around the village.  You seem to see them every where you go, wearing a felt hat with a feather and a blue apron.  I'm not really sure what their purpose is to be quite honest.  I made it back up the hill and took a better panorama than yesterdays and headed right back to the hotel for breakfast.  It was only 7:15 when I got back, so I still had plenty of time.  I decided to put all of the village panoramas on a cd  and regardless of how many the tourism director said he'd buy, he'd get them all.  Making money is nice I will admit, but that is not what this trip is all about.  I had a quick breakfast and out the door I went.  The hotel owner said farewell to me and when I asked if I owed anything for either the dinner or the phone, she smiled and said "Mr. Hall, of course not..."  I thanked her and went out to my car. 

When I got to the tourism offices, the director had not arrived yet.  I asked if they would call him which they did.  He told them he'd be right there and five minutes later he arrived.  We looked at the panoramas on my laptop, one after the other.  There were four from the village streets, four from inside the cathedrals, and two more from up on the hill.  When we were all done, I simply asked him which ones he wanted.  His reply was simply, "All of them of course Mr. Hall. They're wonderful!"  I couldn't believe it, $500 euros just like that.  I then pulled the already prepared cd out of my shirt pocket and said they were all on it.  I also told him had he only wanted to buy one, he'd of gotten them all.  He didn't care...

I left his office and decided to go to Ruben's and Elke's house to give them the Van Morrison CD I had made for them the night before.  Elke greeted me with a smile and told me Ruben was on the phone.  He came down shortly thereafter and together we went down to his shop.  I wanted to take advantage of his phone line before leaving for Austria so I could post my journal.  We spent nearly 45 minutes there and I didn't get on the road until nearly 10.  Damn I thought, but the extra weight in my wallet made it more the worthwhile.  Elke had come down to the shop and when she learned of  my planned route, she told me the pass I was going to take was closed and gave me a new route.  So, after saying goodbye to her and Ruben for what seemed like the 10th time in the last 12 hours, I was on the road. 

The journey out of the valley was quite scenic.  Little village after little village passed by.  I could of stopped over and over for pictures but knew I wanted to get to my next stop in Austria of Badgastein before too much of the day had passed.  I finally reached a point on the map called Bressanone where I would pick up ss49 would would take me out of Italy and into Austria.  Traffic was what I would call sporadic.  There would be stretches on the two lane road where there would be no one at all, then there would be time where I'd get stuck behind a convoy of cars, usually either a truck, tractor, or an old person at the head of the line of cars, holding everyone up.  I kept the folded map by my side and kept comparing the cities on it with the ones on the posted signs.  Before I knew it, I had reached the border.  I stopped when the sign said Austria was in 1 km so I could ready my camera.  Sorry, your browser doesn't support Java(tm). It just so happened that there was a WWI Italian war memorial and an adjacent field of flowers with a nice mountain range in the background.  I took some pictures of both of the before mentioned, as well as both borders.  Then, I got my passport ready as well as my camera as I wanted a picture of the "big - bad" border guard who would decide whether or not I could come into Austria.  As I drove further, I came to a sign that said Austria, the a little store that had a sign saying they sold the required vignette toll sticker one must buy in Austria.  After going inside and as I paid my 7.8 euros for the sticker (and a Snickers candy bar mind you) I asked him "is this it, are we in Austria?"  He smiled and said yes, this is Austria.   I was disappointed as I had wanted the before mentioned picture.  Oh well, on I went.  The man had told me I only had a half hour to get to the first city I needed to reach, called Lienz.  From there, I would then pick up another route to take me north to Badgastein.  As I drove the two lane Austrian highway, I quickly remembered how nice the Austrian roads are.  I arrived at Lienz within the half hour and once there, I faced a roundabout with three possible directions.  One was easy to rule out as it was the way I came.  So, taking Yogi Berra's advice about the fork in the road, I took it.  No, I asked for directions and soon was on my way.   Now the road became even more scenic as I had entered the National Park Hohe Tauern.  On I drove, wanting to stop every kilometer for a picture.  The scenery was spectacular is all I can say about it.  I then saw on a map that my route would come to what looked like train tracks separating me from my destination.  The word tunnel was easy to make out and I figured it must be a tunnel where you put your car on the train tracks for passage through the mountain.  Sure enough I was right. 

When arrived at the train station where I would drive my car onto the train, I discovered I had a forty five minute wait, as the next train was not until 15:05.  So what does a guy do when he is waiting for a train?  I shot a panorama along side the tracks of course.  It came out alright if you care to see it.  Click here    When time arrived, we drove our cars on the train, then left them to sit in a nice coach  further up the train.  Before one knew it, we were on the other side.  It cost me 14 euros for a one way passage.  Then, once off the train I looked at the map to realize I was only minutes from Badgastein.  Sorry, your browser doesn't support Java(tm). Folks, it was beautiful when I got off the train, and much cooler as I was in the mountains.  As I approached Badgastein, I saw the most unusual thing alongside the mountain road I was on.  A camel!  Then another, and another.  Then I saw a zebra, llama, cattle with huge horns, elephants, and other animals.  Yes, you guessed it, the circus was in town.  They were setting up the big tent as I drove by and I decided to stop.  I must of spent nearly a half-hour taking pictures.  At one point, I put the camera to my face and in the processing of taking the picture, my upper lip touched the rope which made up the fence.  It was a very thin rope I must say and I wondered how it kept the elephants at bay?  Oh, it was electric as I picked my ass up off the ground!  What a shock I got!  So with that little experience under my belt, I moved on.

As I approached Badgastein, I was quite surprised to see that it was much more than town one might pass through and miss if they blinked.  Store front after store front passed by as I headed to toward the town center.  I stopped at a service station and the man I asked spoke perfect English, perfect enough that is to tell me that the Haus Hirt Hotel was just through the town, past the second cathedral and then straight on.  (as they always seem to say in Europe)  Before I knew it, I was up the graveled driveway of the hotel and upon entering the sliding glass doors, I immediately also knew it was not at all what I had expected.  It was stunningly beautiful!  The girls at the desk seemed to be expecting me as if I had "Tom Hall" stamped on my forehead.  "Ah, you must be Mr. Hall" one of them said.   I smiled and said said "but of course, how did you know?"  I can't seem to recall their next reply, but none the less a very charming lady came around from the desk and introduced herself as Evelyn.  I tactfully asked if she was the owner of the hotel, and she smiled and said yes.  After some small talk, she began a short tour of the hotel.  Hallway after hallway we walked down, and as we did, I was just breathless.  It was incredible!  I hadn't realized it, but the hotel was also a "health farm" as they call it, offering a variety of massages and other treatments.  In the spa, was a nice area for just relaxing on reclining chairs where a lady hastily covered herself as we approached.  After the tour of the spa, up we went in the lift with Evelyn telling me that now she would show me my room.  I just couldn't get over how refreshing and cheerful she was.  So much so, that I had to wonder about the sincerity of her cheerfulness. 

Sorry, your browser doesn't support Java(tm). We got to my room and I couldn't begin to adequately describe it to you, but I will try.  It had a beautiful bed with two "Haus Hirt" robes folded neatly upon it in the rooms center.  Evelyn said she was sorry, but she thought I'd be with someone.  ( I only wished I thought, as making love in that room would of been incredible. Ok, making love in any room, in any hotel is incredible...)  The rooms windows had views of the most incredible valley, far below the hotel perched high on the mountain side.  Then I saw that there was a very nice desk in front of the window where I could of done some work had I the time.  The bathroom had a bathtub that even I could fit inside, and at its foot was a narrow window, also with a view of the valley.  I thought to myself that were I ever again asked as to where to stay and visit in Austria, this would certainly be amongst my very short list. 

Evelyn then departed and after recovering from all that I had seen in the past several minutes, I decided to put on a robe and meander down to the pool.  When I got there, an exercise class was beginning so I just sat at one end of the pool and thought the "students" looked silly jumping up and down and all about.   I then spent some time beginning to write this journal you are now reading while I lounged in a chair in the before mentioned spa room.  It was great.  Soon after the class had ended, the instructor came by and for one reason or another we engaged in conversation.  It turned out she would be the second Olympian I would meet on this trip.  A girl in her mid-twenties I would say, she told me her name was Äsa and she was from Sweden.  She then told me only after I asked that she had been on the Sweden snowboarding team in the Salt Lake Olympics and had finished 10th.  I was impressed.  We chatted for a bit more and then she departed as did I, for my room.  I had left all my luggage in the car except for my shaving kit, something to wear for dinner, and my computer and camera equipment. 

After showering and getting dressed, I decided to try to take some photographs and panoramas of the hotel.  In the process of doing so, I realized that I deserved a massage so I scheduled a full-body massage for the next morning at 9:30, with Äsa's assistance.  Why not I thought, I had just made $500 Euros that day and what was $42 Euros anyway.  The photo shoot went alright, but time was limited so I wrapped it up quickly.  I decided I wouldn't go all out with the panoramas  as I needed a night to relax.  So, with all the "work" done, it was time for dinner.  As I approached the dining area, Evelyn was behind the bar and encouraged me to have a drink first.  I said a scotch of course, and somehow she knew it would be without ice.  (don't ask me how)  As I sat there with  my cocktail, I engaged in a conversation with a very friendly man who told me he was also from Sweden, traveling by himself.  We chatted for bit and in the process, I learned he was retired and also a former Swedish Diplomat.  He seemed quite impressed with my computer skills and told me he had some great contacts he might be able to make for me.  Sure I thought as he headed into dinner with a couple from Vienna whom had had told earlier he'd join them for dinner.   It ended up we sat next to one another at dinner anyway. 

Dinner was great I must say.  The staff seemed surprisingly small, consisting of a chef, a bartender/waiter, and a most lovely girl named Monica who was from Slovakia.  ( I think that is how it is spelled)  I had several courses, with the main course being a beautiful steak cooked medium rare.  (not that you needed to know that mind you)  After dinner I quickly began to feel the wine and scotch and became about as tired as I am getting right now on the terrace of Landhaus Appsbach on Lake Wolfgangsee.  (more about that later...)  After dinner, I must say it was delightful as most of the guest congregated in the bar and adjacent sitting rooms, all conversing in small groups, almost like a family.  That is what it seemed like to be quite honest, one big happy family.  This I think was in great part due to both Evelyn and her husband Ike, who really made it feel that way. 

Well as it is getting late right now and I don't want to get too far behind in my journal entries, I will try to keep the rest of my narrative short - if I can.  I ended the night sitting on the balcony of my suite looking over the valley.  I was exhausted but for some reason I just couldn't let the night slip by with on the memories of my dreams.  I sat there in the darkness looking over the scattering of lights in the valley below when I heard a familiar noise.  It was that of a train I thought.  Then, across the valley, I saw it going across the nearby mountain side, all the coaches light up.  It was like a movie I'd swear.  It was with that in mind that I literally crawled into bed with the lingering taste of the fabulous red wine that had been given to me by the Italian couple in the bar downstairs and went to sleep - wishing I had had a woman with me...

With the arrival of the morning, so came the 6:30 wake up call that Evelyn thought I was crazy to schedule.  (did I say she told me I should stay another day and relax? I told her I would cancel my next nights accommodation if it were anyone but Max.  More about him tomorrow, but you'll love him as I do)  I immediately opened my laptop and began to write this very journal entry.  I knew if I did a little of it at a time as the day passed, I'd get it done.  This journal has become a challenge for me, as the trip is almost done and I've been able to keep up so far.  Agree?    I then got up and decided to take a bubble bath of all things before going down to breakfast.  I only sat in there for a few minutes, but enjoyed it none the less.  Once downstairs, I found the Swedish diplomat guy eating breakfast by himself and once again we engaged in a conversation.  The more I talked with him, the more I liked him.  Our discussion ranged from politics to hotels, and when finished we agreed to meet in the village for coffee at 12:30.  He had asked me and I just couldn't say no to him.  Before I left for my 9:30 massage, I took some pictures of a German couple on holiday and gave them the picture on a diskette. 

The massage wasn't much to talk about, as it was over much too fast but was relaxing none the less.  (I mean how much can one say about a massage?)  Afterwards, I went into town and was surprised to see several unkempt large buildings that must of really been nice in their day.  The town was able to be seen in all of 10 minutes I discovered, with the focal point being a spectacular waterfall right in the middle of town.  Very well worth seeing I thought.  I bumped into to Thomas - the Swedish guy from breakfast - who was coming out of a realtors shop of all things.  He smiled his wonderful smile and said he was going to look at a flat he was thinking of buying, and he'd see me in an hour in front of our meeting spot, the casino.  An hour later, right on time he arrived and the two of us spent nearly forty five minutes walking back to the hotel from town.  I must say he was/is a delightful man whom I'd love to perhaps visit in Stockholm one day if possible.  Scandinavia is a tough nut to crack I have found, so a connection there is much welcomed. When we returned to the hotel, we chatted while I made a cd for him of the pictures I took of both of us and well as him separately.  I then spent some time with talking with Evelyn about various topics before I left, but mainly about my route to my current destination of St. Wolfgang and also about a possible place to stay on Sunday night as I currently have not made a reservation for that night.  (it won't be a problem though, I guarantee it)  As Evelyn and I stood at the desk, at times our faces only inches apart from one another, I knew I had to have that picture.  She was trying to be so helpful and to be quite honest, doing a very, very good job at it.  As I got ready to say goodbye, she kept telling me I could come back on Sunday if I wanted.  I told her I owed her $50 euros for the massage and she said "Oh Mr. Hall, I will only charge you for that because we had to call in a masseuse for your massage because all of our girls were booked, but if you come back, I guarantee you, they will pamper you very much - I guarantee it.  With that in mind, out the door I went with the fondest of memories of Haus Hirt and a lady named Evelyn.  Folks, if you go to Austria, which I cannot recommend highly enough, don't dare miss Haus Hirt.