Last day in Austria

Today was our last day in Austria. We promised son #3 to take a ride with the steam engine of the zillertalbahn, and so we did.
All the kids, our boys and my cousin´s daughter were in ´trachten´, so they were the talk of the town.
The steam engine ride was really great for the kids, and the views are amazing. A trip worthwhile making.


We drove from Kaltenbach to Mayrhofen, where we had a bite to eat in a Konditorei, and then we took the regular train back to Kaltenbach; At the moment we packed our stuff and I am waiting for DH to bring the car to the chalet to pack the car. So this is the end of a great vacation in Austria.

Kaprun

We visited the Wasserkraftwerken in Kaprun. This little town is famous for the big fire they had in one of trains that brings skiers to the piste.
But they have a beautiful attraction, the stauseen in the mountains. High up in the mountains they built three dams to generate power. You can visited them taking one of these big elevators and some busses.

The sights are amazing and they have fun playgrounds and exebitions for the kids. And the ride up in the bus is worth it, but not for people who are afraid for heights.

Krimml

Today we visited the local craft market in Krimml. We bought some great wooden toys and minerals. The boys love all the minerals you can find here and in this valley you can find a lot of mountain cristals, as the picture above shows.
We bought some smaller ones and spent some time enjoying some local specialities like Krapfen and bradwurst.
Tonight we had a swim at the Kristalbad in Wald, where this picture was taken of Groene beestje on a cristal, because offcourse he joined us.

Krimml Falls

Today we visited the Krimml Wasserfall. When we drove up to the falls we drove pass a forest where there were 2 big male deer. As they saw the car they ran away, but I have never seen the big males this close to houses. The small bambi like deer you see a lot, but the big Hubertus ones, wow...
My dad, DH and son #1 climbed the falls, and I stayed down with the other kids. We visited the visitorcenter.

As the weather is very hot overhere, we had days with 34°C at 1700 m, a hat is not a luxery. But the waterspray from the falls gave a nice cooldown effect.

I took the kids in a Kneipp bath... the wellness lovers under us know this. First you submerse your arms into icecold water for a better bloodcirculatio, and then you walk around in a small artifical lake with stones... Let me tell you... do people pay for this?

But we found some lizards in the water, as you can see, the kids loved them, so I had to get a couple of them for all the kids, as they all wanted to touch them.

Last week update

We didn´t have internet connection at our last appartment, but now that we arrived at our new accomodation, we have internet again. We have had a busy week, so I will just give a short update.

1. Looking for gold in a small creek; 2. son #1 on the witch ride, which is a small seat connected to a line along the longest suspension bridge of the alps (175 m); 3. The Reiseck bahn, a small train that takes you up the mountain on a 82% inclination; 4. The cross on top of a local mountain where we had a picknick and had to flee for a thunderstorm; 5. a deer we encountered in a wild life park; 6. Son #3 hacking for granates, we found quite a lot of good quality and the kids, and especially me had a great afternoon hacking for granates; 7. a Murmeltier, a local marmot that lives in the Alps, we encountered them twice; 8. Drinking for fresh mountain water on our way to Grosglockner, Austria´s higest mountain; 9. Me and the kids at the Kaiser F. Jozef lookout, overseeing the gletser of the Grosglockner.

Another day at Sinsheim

This morning we visited the museum again to see the other parts. DH and son #2 also went to the iMax theatre.

I also went from the slide with the boys, 3 times ! They made a slide from one of the planes on top of the roof, and you can take the stairs into the plane and then the slide back down; Great fun.

Then we drove to Augsburg, where we incountered a guy that made fun ballons, so the kids offcourse wanted one.

Had a great German diner and then took a tram back to the hotel, because son #3 is completely obsessed by trains and trams, so he was all happy.

Holiday

Every year when we drive up to Austria for our skitrip, we pass a museum in Germany; You can see a concord standing next to the highway; So this year we decided to stop in Sinsheim and visit the Auto museum overthere. It is really spectacular. They have an extraordinary collection of oldtimers.

1. Oldtimer; 2. They have amazing big engines; 3. Izetta; 4. Engine in motion, Ruben was mesmerized; 5. Great copper statue of an oldtimer; 6. Steamcrane lifting up engine; 7.Restaurant with planes you can visit; 8. Concord; 9, airplane with slides, great for kids.

There is also a big playground so the kids had a great time. A museum worth visiting.

Sewingmachine broken

At the momet I wish I still had one of the old machines. For some reason my sewing machine lets go of the tread and I cant get it right so no sewing for me today.
Every time I guide the tread and start sewing, the tread come out of the needle...
Oh well, I will look into it after our holiday. The quilts will have to wait...

Laptop sleeve

It has been a busy week as my vacation started last friday, so had to finish some things, but now, vacation started and I finished my laptop sleeve.
Until now I didnt have one and I must admit there are some cratches on the lid, so I decided to make myself a crocheted sleeve, and here it is.
The cute pink buttons I found at Hema, a dutch store that also has stores in Belgium. The came in a package with pinks and red polka dots, so the pink onces matched the colors of the sleeve.

I am very please with the result. If you want the tutorial on how to make the African flowers, check out Heidi Bears blog, she has a good tutorial.