*pflopp*

long time, no see, huh?
To be honest, I thought that I'd have more time on my hands once my move was over. And the unpacking of boxes. And the purchasing and assembling of new and old furniture. And the wonderful Easter vacation spent here with my parents. And that relaxed first week much-too-packed fortnight since Easter.
So it comes as no surprise that I am sometimes having a hard time these days to even just cram some grocery shopping into my schedule before or after work - after all, this place is a bit less progressive than my home country and most stores close at 7 or 7:30 pm at the latest. So there I am, briskly walking into a supermarket in my neighborhood to get some food. Of course, the store will be closing in 15 minutes and naturally, there is none of the small handy baskets left for me. "No problem", I think "I still have the bike helmet. It'll hold a number of small items for sure". So I set off to quickly snatch some fruit, vegetables, a container of yogurt, some cheese and finally, some cold cuts, stacking it all into the helmet and holding it together with one hand. Off to the cashier then! Which is just when I feel a movement, followed by the unmistakable *pflopp* - perfect hit, the yogurt just followed the gravitational pull and showed off its viscous qualities - after breaking free from its encasement. In the middle of one of the central aisles. Needless to say, I wasn't the only one there. However, a clerk of the store passed me at that very moment, took pity on me and assured me to take care of the mess. How about that for adding some excitement (and embarassment) to the evening?

So apart from my yogurt juggling, what else kept me from writing over the last weeks? Among others, that would be:
- MOVING. As in "covering big distances" and "moving lots of stuff". I was really happy that the whole drive went well and that we were able to move all of my bits and pieces into the new flat. Since my parents stayed for a whole week, we hurried to get all of the assembly work done within two days and filled the rest of the week and the Easter holidays with sightseeing, hiking, city explorations and some very relaxed evenings. Good times! ;-)
- slowly starting stumbling back into business as usual, not able to help but wonder "what the heck happened and where did all my time go?" Fortunately, everyone else was feeling the same, so there's at least some comfort in assuming that I wasn't delusional over the course of the last 3 months. ;-)
- unpacking moving boxes - as of today, the last one has been emptied and will be gone by tomorrow! Hooray! :-)
- upping my social life. And at that, this goes hand in hand with some more exercise! After all, I joined the Austrian Alpine Club back in January already, but could only now start to participate in their hiking tours. The local chapter of the club is huge, so there are a bunch of subgroups - one of them called the "Bergfexe 35", the former one referring to "passionate mountaineers", the latter one to the approximate age group (give and take 10 years and that's pretty much the group spectrum). It's a fun group, as far as I can tell from two hikes so far - both of them were really nice and with lots of joking and chatting, and both peaks offered superb views. They did however, differ in athletic demands - the first hike was up to the Gamsfeld (2027 m high), the highest peak of the mountains belonging to the Salzkammergut, the region to the East of Salzburg. We did the 1200-m-climb in about 3 hours and the descent in 2 hours (including rest stops) - originally, most guide books and signs on the way estimate a total of 7 hours for the whole hike. Well, we invested the time saved during the actual hike into the social after play of the hike. ;-) Turns out that was a good compensation for the sore muscles that plagued me for a couple of days after the hike. Quite differently, the second hike last weekend was much less strenuous - we hiked across the small and great Sonnstein, again part of the Salzkammergut, this time overlooking the gorgeous Traunsee, one of the many lakes there. The hike itself was rather short and comprised of nice alpine trails (the more roots, rocks and open rock there is, the more I like it!), but the views from the top were amazing! Needless to say, I love the area!
- trying to catch up with the rest of my life and taking care of some smaller issues. Works more or less, I'd say... ;-)
Well, enough for now. I'll probably get back here within the next days - then for a German translation and some more flashbacks or current episodes - whichever happens to "fall" within my reach first. ;-)

So I'll leave you with some impressions of the last weeks - hope you enjoy the pix as much as I enjoyed the actual events! :-)

exploring quaint Steingasse, one of the oldest and most authentic alleys...

 

on the top of the local Untersberg - the mountain I see every day when waking up and when going to bed at night...

 

Help! My parents left, but what to do with all the stuff left in the fridge? I guess I'll tackle the bottom door shelf first in the hope of getting some inspiration. ;-)

See? I can eat properly as well! No need for Ramen noodles! And let's not forget about the full fridge (see above)! ;-)

View from the Gamsfeld towards the Dachstein massif. Btw, at that exact moment, we were already halfway up the mountain, but still hadn't found the correct track - I love lumberjacks who are serious enough to even chop away markings. ;-)

...panoramic view from the small Sonnstein towards Traunsee and Traunstein...

Finn, a very fine and pleasant hiking comrade on my last hike. That is, until he started to chew on something that I would definitely never consider as "food". ;-)

Hanna