Oh, I have to mention how impressed we are with Max's heating system. The American manufacturers could learn a thing or two!
First of all, the furnace and the hot water heater are combined. When you are running the furnace, the system automatically heats the hot water. But you can also heat the hot water separately, without running the furnace.
And the furnace is soooo quiet! We have been putting the thermostat on the "ECO" setting at 12C (53F) when we go to bed, and so when it drops below that the furnace kicks in and we don't even hear it.
We went over to see Michael and Yadira before they took off yesterday morning. I had mentioned they have an old rig! It's a 1960 Borgward B522...
He has been all over Africa in this rig!
Ruth, Yadira, Michael.
We said goodbye and I'm sure we will bump into them again sometime. Nice people. In fact, Michael said we were welcome to come and see him in Bremen when we return to Germany next year.
We had an early lunch and then set off on a hike. First, we had to stop in at Gmund Castle since it was along our route...
Nice looking guest house.
The main road through town.
Gmund Castle, built between 1320 and 1360.
Heading up to the castle.
The castle gates were wide open, and there is no "admission" fee as such. You can just wander around.
From there, we set off on a forest trail heading uphill. We were overdue for some uphill exercise!
Ruth, on the trail.
It didn't take long to get some nice views.
Taking a break and enjoying the scenery.
What a beautiful farm property!
Stopping to fill the water bottle.
We have seen quite a few of these fountain carvings.
By the time we made it back to town, we had been gone for four hours and had done 16.5 kms (10.2 miles)! What a good hike. And there are soooo many trails in these hills. Austria is really a hiking paradise.
Wandering through the old part of town.
Very cool!
Outdoor Cafe.
A little too chilly to be sitting outside though.
We had bought a whole chicken the other day, so when we got back to Max, Ruth put the oven on (which of course also warms up the interior!) and we had a roast chicken dinner with all the fixings. Our belated Canadian Thanksgiving!
I am so fortunate to be married to a good cook!
Today, we are headed into the city of Villach to match up two more of my father's old photos from his 1954 trip.
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And in Canada...
Oh Austria such a beautiful country definitely would like to go back and linger longer. Love your short hikes 😁
ReplyDeleteYes, Austria is definitely a beautiful country! I think it is giving us a sneak peek at what Switzerland is going to look like and we can't wait to visit thT country as well but we will do that when we have warmer weather. We also are looking forward to returning to Austria to spend more time and do some more of the wonderful hikes here. Lol, I think we have a difficult time understanding the word short! ;-)
DeleteLove the farm property photos, interesting wooden carvings to refill your water, the gorgeous country scenery! To top the day off with Ruth’s delicious meal, we’d say that was a perfect day!!!!🥰
ReplyDeleteWe are so happy that you enjoyed all the pictures, it is fun to show you the things we see along our travels, whether it be out hiking or driving along in Max.
DeleteIt was a perfect day and the meal turned out great. :-)
I replaced my old Suburban heater that sounded like a semi coming down a hill with the jake brake on. The new Suburban heater looks just like the old one but is almost silent.
ReplyDeleteYep, that is just about the way Sherman's furnace sounded too. We never wanted to have the furnace on overnight because it made too noise as it recycled itself. With this one we sometimes wonder if it is even running. Good to hear that your new heater is so quiet, perhaps they changed the technology on them over the years.
DeleteYou are a lucky man indeed. It is amazing what Ruth can whip up in that tiny rig! Loved seeing Michael and Yadira's adventure rig too...fascinating. And the Austrian scenery is stunning. Too bad it's getting too chilly to stay longer in that spot, but I am sure you'll find more nice places as you travel along.
ReplyDeleteI really like the extra space that I feel I have in Max's kitchen compared to Sherman's, so it really isn't all that difficult to cook a meal like that. I just have to be well organized.
DeleteThat old rig of Michael's has been to some very interesting places, we thought we were fairly adventurous but we have nothing on Michael. The one thing he doesn't like is the weight of his "cabin", he has bought a newer lighter weight one that his is working on and when he is done, he will swap them out.
Agreed, the scenery is stunning here, it is just getting to cold for us. We look forward to coming back to Austria again in the future and doing some of the wonderful hikes that here, they would keep us busy for a good long time. :-)
And were those Austrian hills alive with music? So beautiful!
ReplyDeleteLol, they are if you listen to the cow bells. ;-)
DeleteGreat photo's. The one of Ruth walking the forest trail reminds me of the ones i take when my husband are out hiking in BC. I have a lot of his back, lol.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I think Kevin has quite a few pictures of my back too! I tend to like those pictures though, they always look so much more natural than posed shots.
DeleteThe Canadian built Triple E is made for the Canadian winter and is a great rig.We had one for years never a problem and sold it for the same price we paid for it.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Triple E is definitely a well made unit but it is also almost twice the price that we paid for ours. Ours could most likely handle the cold weather without an issue, it is us that can't!
DeleteI know what you mean about the cold. LOL
DeleteBeautiful! Love the fun fountains and your friend's rig is very cool! Definitely go visit Bremen, Germany, it's a very old and fabulous city! We slept on a boat for the night that sits on the river...amazing! And you're right, you're married to a fabulous cook! Ciao!
ReplyDeleteThis area has amazing scenery, we will definitely be back here again sometime over the coming years.
DeleteWe will certainly do our best to visit Bremen, it sounds like a beautiful city. Wow, how nice that you got to spend a night on a boat in the river there, that would have been wonderful, I bet the night lights were great! :-)