Hiking in the Alps

This adventure was definitely a highlight of our family's visit.  Grandpa and Grandma spent the day with the kids (a huge blessing!), and Drew, Carrie, Gregory and I headed outside of Vienna to the Rax Alps.  We were scheduled to have a snowshoe hike with a guide, but seeing as there simply was not enough snow, we took a winter hike instead.  It was quite surreal, hiking in the Alps.  The air, the views, the exercise, the company.  It all came together to create a remarkable, unforgettable experience for us all.

We would highly recommend our guide, if you're interested in doing this one day!

Before we headed out, we had to find appropriate winter hiking gear.  I managed to borrow most of what we needed so that Drew and Carrie wouldn't have to pack everything.  Here's what Carrie came out wearing the night before the hike, and Drew's reaction was priceless!

(She didn't actually wear it.)

On the train

  

On the gondola (this photo cracks me up!)

 

Album photo cover attempt one

(Gregory missed the memo.)

 

Album photo cover attempt two, at the top of Jakob's hill

 

Some of the views

 

 

Heading back down the gondola as the sun was disappearing behind the mountains