The Hills are Alive.

Austria is probably one of my new favorite places. My grandmother had told me that my grandfather had always loved Austria; she had told me it was beautiful. Just driving through the mountains was breath-taking. There were houses and even castles set right into the hills. I honestly hadn't had much past experience with mountains, so I found that there was just so much to look at. Not to mention so much to do!

We wasted no time! Before going anywhere else we stopped at Feel Free rafting and went white water rafting!! I had never gone before and it was so exciting! The tour guides that took us down the river were so much fun. We learned what to do if we got knocked out of the raft and how to help other people get back in. Then we got to the fun stuff, hitting the rapids hard! We also did some tricks like the wheelie, which was when everyone in the raft went over to one side and almost made the raft tip! Other rafts flipped their rafts on purpose for fun. All in all it was an unforgettable experience. I would love to go again! The guys at Feel Free were really great too, when we got off the rafts and walked up the hill with out rafts we were greeted with shots of schnapps, I'm not really sure why, but it added to the sense of accomplishment. Sort of like a toast you know? Then we all changed up and had some delicious goulash to warm up and headed towards the small town of Hophgarten, where we stayed the next two nights.

We stayed at Contiki's very own Gastof Inn. It was a smaller place, set up more like a hostel than a hotel. It was a simpler place but still nice and accommodating. I got to room with two of my favorite people, Inna and Liz! The staff was like no other! They ALL greeted us outside waving as we drove up the path. It was really welcoming! Not to mention that they took us all on a mini tour of the place showing us were the dining area was and the bar where they passed around another shot of schnapps. This time it was green apple and delicious! I don't know if you are keeping track but it is only probably 3 o clock in the afternoon and we've had two shots of Austria's specialty. Then we had dinner right at Gastof where we were served our meals by some locals, Heidi was Ryno with a wig and an 80's make-up job. It was hysterical. Then after dinner we headed out into town to the local bar, The Silver Bullet, which was kind of empty on a Monday night in such a small town. But we filled it quite nicely, that's the thing about being with such great people on these tours. So we socialized over rounds of beer and got to know each even better. A group of us got to know one of the staff members from Gastof that night. Paula is originally from Australia and had gone on a 46 day Contiki through Europe just a few years ago and then applied for a job with them in Austria, where she now works at Gastof as one of the charming staff. For the rest of our stay at Gastof I would pop into the kitchen to say hi to Paula, she was so much fun and I'm glad we exchanged email addresses before leaving.

The next day started early with a 25k bike ride through the Alps! It was one of my favorite parts of the trip. The scenic route was so enjoyable. I went at my own pace, as did everyone else, stopping to take pictures of the gorgeous hills and the local livestock. We had gotten such beautiful weather where ever we went and Austria was no different. It was a little cooler and much less humid than Italy, which was perfect. After the 25k ride we had lunch of sausages and potatos that were great. We relaxed a bit before taking the short cut back to the hotel.

We were back around 2:00 and had the bikes until 5:00. So at his point went got to explore on our own. Everyone dispersed making the most of their afternoons, some people went swimming at the lake, others caught their own trout for a second lunch and some people even just went to the local cafes. I took this time to catch up on some quick emails and postcards and went into town on my own. I checked out some of the little shops, cafes and stopped by the bank to get some money to sent out some mail. Then I headed back, washed up and rested a bit before dinner. That night we were accompanied by another Contiki tour who was staying the night at Gastof as well. After dinner the Contiki staff had thrown us a party in the bar that is right at the hotel. It was a themed Pimps and hoes party, which proved for some interesting get ups for sure. Kyle, Kevin and John added some bling to their outfits with some aluminum foil and silverware, while a good amount of the girls just wore one of their dress shirts. It was a really good time! That night Christine and I had a blast trying some new things, for example, the sperm. The sperm shot is the specialty in Austria, a milky shot taken out of a small plastic sperm. It got its name from the shape of the country, apparently it is shaped like a sperm and Hophgarten was somewhere in the tail. That night was a blast! Just a group of crazy travelers having a good time!