A DAY IN THE ALPS

Had fruhstuck and relaxed for awhile then Dad and I went to our spa treatments here at the hotel. I had a moor bad treatment and Dad had a fussflegel (reflexology) treatment.

I'll tell you about Dad's session first. I was in the other room having my moor bad treatment and the door was slightly ajar...just a crack so I heard a bit of what went on. Keep in mind the woman spoke no English...and Dad had not been anywhere on his own here where he was required to communicate with the people here. So I heard her asking him various questions in German and Dad mumbling something. She said something and Dad laughed out loud...a fairly big guffaw...but when I asked Dad later what she had said to make him laugh, he said he didn't know. I just hope she wasn't telling him that her aunt just died.

Anway, so then I hear Dad trying to tell her about his neuropathy in his feet....and that they were numb in some places. She didn't understand so he told her they were schlaffing....sleeping. Then he told her (in English) that it was from big drugs. Oh Heilige Gott! This was getting good! So then I didn't hear much, but in a bit heard what sounded like she was using a pumice stone on Dad's feet. Then a bit later I heard the Dremel tool...the electric buffing tool used in manicures and pedicures. Oh, it was definitely getting better....Dad was unknowingly getting a pedicure....I only hoped he didn't come out with toe nail polish! But if he had, I would have taken a picture! Well, all of a sudden he was done and had to wait in the waiting room for me to finish. He was a bit confused about it all. But we definitely asked for flussflegel...and I had one treatment last time I was in Germany, in a different place, and it was reflexology.

After we were both done, though, Dad was happy as a clam because his toe nails had been bothering him since they are so brittle....so he was thrilled to have them cut and nicely smoothed and polished, but not with nail polish! Too bad he didn't have his eyelashes curled, too!

Well, my moor bad...peat mud bath...was fabulous! I walked into the room...and the same lady that did Dad's feet (she got me started first, then did Dad's treatment as I was resting)...she told me (all in German, of course) to take off all my clothes..."alles" so I did. Then she had a tub like fixture covered with white plastic and told me to lay on it.




The surface was hard, but I laid there as she mixed up a large bowl of very black peat mud, adding water as needed to make it into a very thick paste consistency. She had me sit up on the table and started smearing the mud on my back and shoulders and then had me lay back down on the plastic covered bed or whatever it was. Then she continued to smear the mud on my shoulders, hips, knees, ankles, elbows, wrists ...until all the mud was used up. She then wrapped up both sides of the plastic over me and covered me with another plastic wrap and then pushed a button and the bottom of the "table" started to slowly drop down and I was floating on a water bed type thing...I was wrapped in the plastic but in the water floating. It wasn't just water, tho...it was like a water bed...very comfortable and heated to 101 - 102 degrees. I laid there like that for 20 minutes...and it got very warm...but that was needed to activate the moor mud.

She went to do Dad's feet for the 20 minutes or so then came back in to get me. She made the water bed raise and go back into a firm table. then she scraped off as much black mud as she could...but it still left a lot. Then I got off of the table and went to a glass enclosed shower and tried to get all the mud off. That was not easy.


Finally she gave me a washcloth...which was very helpful...and I continued to get the mud off. I'd hose myself off with the detachable shower head, but about the time I thought I was done she would tell me there was still more on the back of my legs or wherever. So finally I was done and I dried off. She then mixed some nice oils and lavender and (asked first) rubbed the oil all over me. It felt nice but I was worried about putting my clothes on with all that oil...and feeling like a grease ball. But not to worry... I was given a terry cloth robe and told to lie down on a bed of straw and rest. Luckily the straw was covered with a light sheet.



So I rested there for about 15-20 min, then got up slowly because it can make you a bit light-headed. Then I got dressed and we left. It was amazing! It was about an hour long and only $40...what a deal.

We left the Hotel Dax...they were very nice here...and what a nice place to stay.

Went down the road ...on the autobahn for awhile, then on smaller roads. Here are some sights along the way. We were heading west towards Innsbruck.







We stopped in a little town and for lunch had a cup of coffee and a piece of Bienenstick, but Sara, it really wasn't anywhere near as good as mine! So don't feel like you missed anything!




So as we turned the corner on Innsbruck and headed north,I realized that this was the exact route that Debbie Csere and I took when we were over here 45 years ago. We bought bikes in Mittenwald, Germany and rode them to Innsbruck, Austria in one day...but we forgot to look at a map and see that the alps were somewhere in between. It was raining that day and we would ride up the steep highway and then down the steep highway. We were drenched by the end of the day...actually it was night time when we rolled into Innsbruck. We sold our bikes the next day and went to plan B.

Here are pictures of the exact road that I rode on:












And this is coming into Mittenwald, Germany. I stayed at a jugendherberge (a youth hostel) again...45 years ago. Here's on the way out of Mittenwald.


But lo and behold, as we headed out, I saw a sign to the jugendherberge...and here it is 45 years later!!


I loved this place back in the day but it was a "if you stay here, you earn your board" so I remember being handed a broom to clean up. Anyway it was a very spartan place but I really liked it.

So we drove up the road and I went inside...no one was there but I looked around...it was definitely not what it used to be!! I think the original hostel was just the one long building in the back...the L on the right has been added on. Here are some pictures:







This is the new kitchen/dining room. You can't even imagine the contrast. The old one looked like something out of "Oliver".


The reception desk: ha! they never had any reception desks...just the wardens!!


Here are 2 views from the hostel. This first one...I remember in 1969 the last day being here and it snowed...it was beautiful! I took a picture with a wood fence similar to this one and close to the same place.





We got into Schwangau, Germany and had a bit of trouble finding a zimmer frei (room)...you see, this is the home to the most famous castle, Neuschwanstein...it's the one Disneyland is modeled after. This photo is grainy because I zoomed in...but I took the photo from the outdoor cafe where we ate dinner tonight.




OH...and when we parked our car in this little parking lot beside the restaurant, we pulled in, then looked behind us and in front of us and they had roped off the parking lot so no one could get in or get out. We didn't know what was going on. Then in the adjoining field we saw this:


It was a farmer taking his cows across the street in front of the restaurant and then across the busy highway. That's why they had temporarily roped off the lot.


There they go...about to cross the busy highway ahead. Actually the cows got across way more easily than we were managing to!!


As we were sitting outside at the cafe for dinner...here's the bike rack....brilliant!


Something Dad saw online that was supposed to be good...obatze...it fell a little short...but at least he checked it off his list.


Dinner was good but too much...we need to start splitting our meals...we just keep forgetting when the time comes.


Here's a view from our table. There were people hang gliding off the side of this mountain. We watched them as they soared around.


Here's a child's jungle gym...made of wood as far as I could tell. Somehow I don't think this would be approved in the States...and yet we saw children climbing on it and having fun.


Came back to the hotel and realized how spoiled we were last night at that hotel...this one is clean, but small and nothing to write home about...so I won't.

Tomorrow we will be going to one of our favorite spas here in Schwangau...it's the one with a bunch of different pools and most important...the infamous flume that I couldn't get out of!

Location:Austria and Germany