Here it goes, my first attempt at a blog entry while on our grand adventure.  We arrived in Innsbruck, Austria on a gorgeous sunny warm day, tired from a night flight.  We made it from the airport to train station by bus, and walked to our hotel, the Weisses-Krutz, built in 1475.  Our lovely room faced the main pedestrian walk way and we could see the famous Golden Roof from our window.  (Later, this lovely view turned out to face an extremely loud and boisterous crowd enjoying wine and beer into the wee hours of the morning.)  We toured around the next day with our Innsbrucker cards.  We visited Schloss Ambras, the castle of Ferdinand II (1529-95), went to the Olympic Ski Jump site, and took a tram to the top of the mountains overlooking the city.  A fun-filled day!
        We packed up that night to get ready to head into the mountains.  We were greeted, however, the next morning, by rain and a very tired boy.  We decided to go to Neustift anyway, and hopped on the bus.  When we got off in town, it was painfully obvious that Jeremiah was not hiking up a mountain that day, so we checked into a hotel, and took turns going on walks in this mountain resort village.  We tried to figure out what to do.  We were ready to give up on all of our planning and leave the mountains without visiting them.  The next morning, however, dawned clear, and Jeremiah seemed well rested.  So, off we went...to the Franz-Senn Hutte, where we were supposed to have stayed the night before.  The scenery was spectacular!  We made it to this hut easily, and against the advice of the host, we went on to the Neue Regensberger hut, a mere 4 hours away (distances are listed in hours, not km).  Thus followed perhaps the longest 4 hours (a bit more for us) ever!

           Soon after we left the shelter of the Franz-Senn Hutte, the clouds got thicker...and thicker...and thicker, covering the beautiful views, and casting an ominous feeling on our hike.  The "trail" (well marked, but hardly a trail) kept going up and up and up; and the clouds kept coming down.  Just as we approached the saddle, the rain and wind started.  At this point, cables were fixed to the rocks to help navigate the steep route.  We were wet, cold, and exhausted...and we couldn't see anything!  When we finally saw the lights of the Neue Regensburger hut, we were so relieved...until we saw the tiny space we each had to sleep.  (2 feet wide)  We got into dry clothes, and enjoyed a simple meal of meat and noodles.  Luckily, not all the spots in our dorm were filled, so the 3 of us got to share space for 4, and didn't have to sleep 6 inches from people we had just met.
        We woke up the following morning to a blanket of snow on beautiful mountains that we could now see.  The hike in would have been so much easier had we enjoyed these views!  We were told that the next leg of the hike was much harder, and we knew that at least one of us was not up for the challenge.  We opted for the easier way out...down to the valley below, thus saying good bye to the huts and the high route.  We spent some time enjoying the mountains in the snow, then headed down, down, down, out of the snow and clouds, and into the warmth and sunshine.  Our planned trip of 5 days was done in 2.  We were soon sitting eating apple strudel and brat-worst on a sunny terrace, waiting for the next bus to Innsbruck.
        We are now holding up in Innsbruck for the day, hopefully giving Jeremiah a bit more time to recover from a never-ending cough and cold (which was probably not helped by our mountain adventure).  Our plans for 4 nights in the Austrian Alps, hiking the High Trail, was cut very short by said cough/cold, as well as rain and snow...not to mention the fact the the trail was much more challenging than expected.  All that preparation and planning for naught!  We are quickly experiencing the reality of being flexible, and letting go of expectations.  Tomorrow we head to Salzburg to explore the land of Mozart and salt mines.

Our first stop

Well, we made it out of Arcata, barely.  We were busy down to the last minute with all the final touches on the house, packing, and taking care of Freya.  It is still hard to believe that this year that we've been talking about and planning for years is finally here.  We have a week to spend in New York, seeing family and friends, and then we are really off into the world.  I hope that we will be able to draw on the impulses from "the age of exploration" during our year of exploration.  We will be comparing and contrasting our experiences with experience of people who's explorations had huge impacts on people during their times and in times still to come.  Grand goals, perhaps?

Two weeks from today, we will be arriving in New York City, the first leg of our 9-month journey.  We are frantically trying to fix up our home, pack up the last of our things, figure out what to bring, and make some of our first reservations.  Jeremiah just got back from two and a half weeks at Camp Tawonga, paradise for a 12 year old, and is dreading going back to Arcata with no home.  A hard transition...until we reminded him that he didn't have to get ready to go to school next week.  That seemed to soften the blow!