I slept in the hammock that night, and let me tell you, that thing was comfortable as all get out, or rather get in. I do not apologize for that pun. We ate breakfast quickly, and hopped onto the next train leaving for Seefeld, where the parents were staying.
Running for the station that morning was exhilarating, learning to use the ticket machines and stepping onto the car. And the ride quickly turned into a game of Pokemon Snap, only foreign, and slightly more realistic. I've never even played that game, what am I talking about. You'll get pictures. Anyways, each time we exited a tunnel, I'd have the camera at the ready, catching that brief period before we entered the mountain once more. Waterfalls clambered of the cliff and swept under us, gushing into valleys below, and the far-off snowy peaks glinted in the rising sun. Just got a bit poetic there.
We met up with the parents, grabbed some truly German sausage and cheese, and headed up into the hills with 6 of us packed into the Prius; my sister laying across our laps in the back seat, with our arms disguising her. We stopped at a rest point, got lost, and then hiked briefly up to a stunning lake.
We still had some cheese, and my sister hadn't brought shoes, so she started throwing pieces in for the fish, and then stepped down into the water. I was not far behind, and eventually this young duck paddled over to us. She looked inquisitive, but upon seeing the food she dove into the now-swarming droves of fish, vying for the chunks. Then she called more over, and it seemed that the expanse of water had been awakened, with fowl and fish swimming to eat. I bent down near the water, pant legs rolled up, and with two fingers offered a piece of cheese to a teenage duckling. Curious, but wary, he serpentined near to my hand, and snatched the treat from it. My sister did the same, and we were very excited, let me tell you. Then we went up on the dock, and chilled, before going in to this log-cabin style eatery, where we had all you can eat soup and I got very mixed-up about the bathrooms.
After the lake, we returned, and laid on the bed of the parents home until the return trip, with the camera out again and my brother pointing at the best shots and laughing.
We went shopping for a few items. Shopping in Europe is only slightly weird, as you enter through a gate, and may not leave until you've picked out your items and bought them. They also have very long conveyor belts, as if people regularly order anacondas with their mozzarella and breadsticks.
With all the ingredients for pizza, we fashioned up a few, my sister and I chopping, my brother directing, crafting, and drinking ice tea with the rest of us. we invited over M again, who, upon being asked if he'd drank, replied that he was not "Austrian drunk yet". We hooked up the TV, and then went for some old-school video gaming with SSBM. M immediately challenged us to a team match, throwing 10 euros on the table. We whupped his sorry butt, I'm pleased to say, and were disappointed that we'd denied his bet. We slept when it got late enough.
Four in the morning, a phone goes off. We'd set alarms for 7, hoping to get 6 hours of sleep and then head to the parents at 9, a ridiculous time. The phone goes off again, and my sister clambers over me (I was on the top bunk now), and she nearly falls of the bed, turning off the phone. The phone goes off again, and they manually deactivate it. Again. My brother rips the case off and removes the battery. So truly, we slept so well.
The next day we popped out of bed, and went for the train again, and got their, at 9, as per the request of the parents. Then we discovered that they were not in fact ready, a truly fascinating occurrence. My brother returned to his flat, and would be joining us later in Breda (which I'm still too excited about) but we hopped into the car, and then drove the next 10 hours (the GPS said 7 left the first hour, and the second, and the third) straight back up to Steyerberg. We passed the time with the normal shenanigans, plus the Great Gatsby in audiobook form, as my sister hadn't read it. Not much else to say for that day, really. We stopped a few times, I learned that they charge you to use bathrooms along the roads, with turnstiles and everything. I got a scone. We arrived at base at evening:00, and I caught up a little bit with the blog. There'd been no internet at the Pension, and my brothers flat didn't have an open charger, so I'm still catching up (had an awesome last two days, you'll hear all about it soon enough). We got ready for the next day, where we'd join up with D and S and ride up to Holland for the Summer Music Festival.
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