Day Eight

DAY EIGHT

Day seven supplemental: Kurt and I were attracted to the sauna, solarium and whirlpool on offer at our Neustift camp site. Now Kurt had regaled me with tales of his previous traumatic sauna experiences in Europe given that nude saunas were the norm around here, but the sauna looked private enough for us to risk it with our swimming pants. Much to our disappointment we arrived to find the facility in use… fortunately Kurt had bravely offered to lead the way and he shielded me from the worst of the discovery. He’s still a bit traumatized though.. At any rate we backed out hastily and made for the showers instead – which at the very least are unisex in Germany and Austria. I must admit I never realized just how conservative South Africans are about their bodies – certainly nudity isn’t unheard of, but it’s the exception rather than the rule. It’s the exact opposite here in Europe. I find it hugely peculiar that the people here are generally very private about their personal lives, yet totally at ease being nude in the company of complete strangers, regardless of age or social standing. I’m still trying to get my brain around it and Kurt is recovering nicely… kind of.

ANYWAY today we woke up to the coldest morning yet at -10.4 degrees outside. Our Camper fortunately has an internal heating system that works off the vehicles diesel. The only downside is it’s (or she rather – ‘Fat Betsy’) is eating up five to six liters a night to keep us in the high teens inside. I guess I should be grateful that we haven’t had any more trouble with the heating system since two nights ago.

Given the cold we decided that four hours of ski training would undoubtedly be harmful to our delicate South African sensibilities and chose instead to have a chilled morning before heading up the Stubai glacier to take advantage of the fantastically clear skies and sunny weather. Kurt is adamant that in his previous trips to the glacier he’s never seen such a clear or bright day. After buying tickets in town we drove up to the lifts at the bottom of the glacier which rests at the top of a steep valley which runs 30km back towards Innsbruck, the second biggest city in Austria. Unfortunately we couldn’t get to the very highest point at 3200m since there had been rockfalls a few months ago. But even at 2900m the views were breathtaking. In many ways similar to a snowy scene on the escarpment of the berg, but rather than running in a line the peaks jut up in random splendor all about into the blue horizon. Naturally I snapped away as fast as my frozen fingers could allow since the temp up there sat at about -14 without wind chill. Everything being equal our gear held up well and only the exposed parts of our bodies took any real strain.

With scarves wrapped around our faces we chose to walk down from Eisgrat at 2900m to Gamsgarten at 2600m. It was an incredibly scenic walk, something you’d only rival I imagine with views from the base camp of Everest. Kurt’s knee gave him some trouble but the walk gave us unmatched views over the slopes and the ant size skiers zipping their way downhill.

Back in our heated van we went to visit the parents of a friend of Kurt’s - Mr and Mrs Steinboch - who own and run a pension just outside of town. We enjoyed good company, coffee and Austrian Christmas cake. Kurt really enjoyed the catch up and after some time we made our way back to camp. Given the fact that Kurt and I have been spending over 23hrs a day together it seemed a good call to get out to an internet café for half and hour.
Dinner then followed with the best schnitzel I’ve eaten.

It looks like the weather is going to be even colder tomorrow so unless things improve drastically Kurt and I are planning an early departure for Italy.