The European Chronicles - 2021 Ch.7
3440
That's the top, 3440 meters, 11286 feet.
High. Very High.
But there's still coffee...the world's highest cup? 😂
The journey is quite interesting. The Gletscherexpress is about a 500 meter walk from my hotel, and takes you on the first leg, from 1740 to 2840 meters. It is a "train," perhaps more accurately a funicular cut directly into the mountain. Steep, no view, you walk out of the mid-station and take a gondola to the top.
Those are charging stations on the right.
Walk over to the gondola for 2840 to 3440 meter trip.
The ascent:
At the top, there's a climb to a viewing platform...and a cafe. Of course.
The views are spectacular.
The cafe sits perched on the ridge.
Good coffee too!
Heading back down.
Heading up, I was in car 29
And heading down, I'm in...car 29. What are the odds?
Got solar?
Relaxing at the mid-station.
Which, of course, has its own cafe, with a very serious umbrella.
Bench art
TONS of hiking at the top and at the mid-point.
Serious snow equipment
More waiting.
The Gletscherexpress
Some rock art on the stroll back to the hotel.
Just stunning.
And a decision...
I'm flying home Friday, 20 August. There's been "chatter" about increased restrictions because of the delta variant. While cases in Austria and, in particular, Germany, remain low, they are rising in all the countries around them. And cases in the US are now up well beyond what the EU considered "safe" when it authorized travel, so restrictions are possible, especially because the US did not reciprocate on lifting the travel ban.
Here's a snapshot:
You can see that Germany and Austria remain pretty low, Italy has ticked up, France and Spain are as "hot" as the US right now. The EU just announced that it will reconsider whether the US is still on their "safe" list in two weeks time.
Germany has also announced that it will be authorizing booster shots for those over 65 (I'm now firmly on that list) and other high risk categories; the US is still on the fence about that. Personally, because both Krisanne and I were lucky to get our shots early, it has been about six months since I got my second shot. When I was planning this trip. Austria had required vaccination no older than six months; they later extended that to nine months, which is why I'm here. But I think if my immunization is "fading" in any way, the prudent thing is to head back and get in line for that booster shot. Sign me up!
So, tomorrow I head back to Germany and will ride around until returning to Stefan's on the 18th. Prep Mia for storage, get my mandatory-to-travel-to-the-US Covid test, and fly back the 20th.
I feel like I've accomplished what I'd hoped with this trip. In many ways, it has been much better than anticipated. I'm taking my winnings off the table.
But not before riding around a bit more... 😎
Cheers!
