Austrians seemed to be always outdoors. In the Summer, people everywhere were walking, hiking, riding, swimming and engaging with the stunning nature. That's why there are playgrounds on top of the world, and why even us, the Gilberts, the most non-walking kinda family out there, found ourselves outdoors......walking for fun!!! It was the beauty, the Alps, and the delicious vanilla ice-cream at the end that totally sucked us in.
After experiencing a successful walk in the great outdoors for the first time in our lives, we were feeling rather daring and began to brave the trails even without the 7 essential elements for a successful Gilbert family walk.
We walked places where there was no ice-cream on the top of the hill!
We walked in the rain!
We even walked places where there were no slides down to the bottom!!!
You may well ask;
"Why would the Gilberts be so adventurous and daring?"
" How can they attempt a walk without a guarantee of cushy places to rest their bums when they get tired??"
I blame the Alps. I really really liked them. Plus, it seemed to be the activity of choice in the area, so we were assimilating. Haha.
Well, we had varying degrees of success, but it was a fun and free thing to do as a family, and it was lovely to see the Austrian countryside, sooooooooo beautiful! And there was something nice about being out together, off on our little adventures and learning about ourselves and each-other. We were so distant and apart from our old familiar life that getting outdoors in Austria helped us to find our feet.
The kids either liked it, or hated it......or they were just confused as to why we had suddenly decided that walking around outside in the drizzle was a fun thing to do! LOL
But we did always find some of those essential elements, like rocking chairs in the clouds, or a handy lift here and there.
And once you venture off the beaten path, you never know what kind of photo opportunities await.....
I saw it as educational. If the kids said they were bored, then fine, we would take them on a walk somewhere in the mountains and tell them to go and discover something about nature. Mwwahahaha!!
Also, at this point in our journey, Bo was waking up at 4-5am!! Seriously, why do babies do that?? Who would ever want to be conscious at that time in the morning, aaarrrggghh! Our apartment in Maria Alm was kinda small and we had filled every room for sleeping, so when Bo woke at such an unearthly hour, there was no where to take him without waking someone / everyone. My awesome husband got up at 4 or 5 in the morning, strapped him to his back, and went-a-walking in the Alps. ( I'm not sure if he yodeled, but I secretly think he did ).
This outrageous and daring activity that we continued to embark on - walking as a family, showed us that we really could adapt and change. We didn't always love every minute, but we did improve. We found that we could enjoy the Earth and each other, and that funny or bonding moments could appear unexpectedly, and were to be cherished.
