Home: a topic which has been mentioned with more frequency as our European extravaganza winds down. This morning it hit a fever pitch as “home” became Noah’s sole focus on our drive to the luge ride. “I just miss my house so much. I miss my state. I wish we had gone to states in stead of countries. They aren’t as far away. Too much driving. Too much walking. Too much of this trip.”
Another day, another big breakfast at Gintherhof, which has officially taken the status as our favorite place we’ve stayed on the trip. The crew at the home is extraordinarily friendly and thoughtful; the room is well-appointed; and the breakfast spread is extensive. In addition to cold cuts and buttered bread, a fresh set of hard-boiled eggs were served to the delight of Amanda, Emmie, and Noah.
After breakfast, we retrieved our final load of laundry from the nearby Hotel Maximilian, packing it into our bags before packing the bags in the car. The kids were then shown the cow, baby calf, and pig which resided on-site, especially to the delight of Emmie, who blew numerous kisses before retreating to the car.
Peering into the window and baby calf.
We made the short drive to the luge at Biberwier, a short 20-minute drive from our guest house. Unlike yesterday’s luge, Emmie was eligible to ride, so I convinced Amanda we needed four tickets, allowing each of us to ride once with each child. (With both the luge and alpine coaster, the second ride is always faster and more thrilling as we gain confidence in the riding process.)
The kids held hands climbing the stairs to the ticket area and luge entrance.
We rode a lift to the top to start the luge ride.
Featuring more than 40 curves, this 1.3 kilometer track is the longest in the region and top-rated by Rick Steves. Amanda and Emmie, who shared a luge on the first trip down, quickly caught up with the timid rider in front of them. Amanda had to stop the luge multiple times during the downward trek, taking away some of the usual fun from the course.
Amanda and Emmie, pre-ride.
Amanda and Noah, pre-ride. Emmie is ready for me to join her on our luge.
Post-ride. Despite the neutral face, Emmie loved it.
Noah wanted to pose with the big bike before we left the luge course area.
Our next stop of the day was in the city of Innsbruck, perhaps most famous for hosting the Winter Olympics in both 1964 and 1976. Our stop was not Olympics-related, but instead at the Alpenzoo, located literally on the mountainside near the edge of town. While both Noah and Emmie seemed to have a fun time, the zoo was rather unimpressive with fewer big-time attractions (e.g. giraffes) than the local Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines.
I pose with a sheep in the petting zoo.
Emmie loved the quacking ducks.
With some assistance from the GPS, we found Innsbruck’s IKEA location in search of a new stuffed animal for Noah. While we walked away empty-handed, Noah did get a free IKEA Swedish flag which provided a bit of bonus entertainment on the way to Salzburg. With the drive clocking in around two hours, the excitement of the morning had faded and topic of home resurfaced.
We checked into our new hotel room at Pension Bloberger Hof on the outskirts of the city. Emmie was excited to see she once again had her own bed to sleep in, and I’m pleased to report, for the third night in a row, she’s gone to sleep happily and quickly. Following some quick TripAdvisor research, I identified a local pizza place for dinner, Ristorante Pizzeria da Giacomo.
From our arrival, the dinner experience seemed a bit off; it took several minutes to be greeted and assigned a seat; then, several more minutes to receive menus; and several more minutes to place our order. Once the order was in, however, the pizzas came out quickly, and were at least decent. I tried a pie with pepperoni, salami, and peppers while we ordered a plain cheese pizza for the kids. Amanda broke the pizza trend with an order of soup (which she loved) and salad (which was literally a bowl of lettuce.)
Noah once again ate a ton of pizza.
After supper, we were super-excited to meet up with our friends Heidi and Willi, and their kids Sophia, 4, and Olivia, 2. We’ll spend the next day with them in Salzburg before some time in Munich and then their home in Eichstätt to finish the trip. Ice cream was on the agenda, and I had identified ICEZEIT as the place to go. Parking was a bit of a challenge, but we found a garage a couple of blocks away to be followed by a pleasant stroll to the ice cream shop.
Sophia, Olivia, Emmie, and Noah with their ice cream.
Heidi and Willi and their ice cream.
One of the few pictures without kids taken on the European leg of our adventure.
The ice cream received rave reviews from all; I was particularly pleased with my cherry and chocolate-chili varieties. After finishing our ice cream, the kids were off to a nearby fountain in the mostly-pedestrian zone, where they proceeded to have a ton of fun while getting completely soaked.
The fun in the water, and most importantly, time with similar-aged friends was exactly what was needed to end day 15 of our vacation. On our drive back to the hotel, we confirmed to Noah that the last stretch of our vacation would be spent with our friends. While still looking forward to his return home, Noah reported he’s now happy about the rest of the trip.
He also proceeded to note he was looking forward to time at home this summer, as long as it didn’t include any trips. That said, there were numerous exceptions mentioned, including a return trip to Canada (we didn’t spend enough time there), a trip to visit our friends Josh and Natalie (and their kids) in South Dakota, and really any “short trips” in general.
All-in-all, both Noah and Emmie have been incredibly good travelers to this point. We’re in the home stretch with four full days left before our travel day to finish our European adventure. Tomorrow morning, we’re riding the bus at 8:21 a.m., heading downtown for a Sound of Music Bicycle Tour. It will be a fun day.
It is good to see your friends with you. It is fun to see the kids playing in the water.