Hiking@St.Jacob Im Walde

Last weekend, my friends invited me for a barbeque at St. Jacob Im Walde. I never expected that we've got to hike the mountain first before we did the bbq. I had chosen to wear a skirt and a pair of slippers. It was definitely not an attire for hiking, but they didn't see any reasons why I shouldn't go for hiking even with my 30 months old toddler...:-{

My friend lent me a pair of boots and asked me to don my jacket to cover my skirt so that my beautiful skirt would not get stucked on the pine branches.
I was quite worried about my son because he has never gone for hiking before and I was thinking about how to carry his bag full of his nappy, his milk, his lunch, his jacket, his toys, blah..blah..when my friend told me that I had to carry only necessary items for my son and left the rest in the car.

So, finally of we went for hiking the hill full of pine trees. My friends always hike this hill with his family so they are very familiar with the situation there. I was glad because my son was so keen to walk on his own and got excited along the way. He stopped, touched and picked pine fruits, tree branches, and anything that amazed him. My friends explained things along the way.

I had to walk up to the hill, go through the jungle, swing through the trees just like a monkey, and jump accross the river full of big rocks and very slippery ones. (To me) The terrain and the jungle were very difficult to go through especially when we had to go through the pine jungle. I had to give my son to one of my friend who was able to carry him and at the same time walked trhough the jungle. Many times I had to ask him "Which way should I go? How can I go?" To me, it's rather impossible to walk through the pine branches which were entangled to each other. There were times I had to scream so loud because I didn't jump high enough and a sharp pine branch poke my beautiful butt...:D
Not just that. Because this was my first time wearing a pair of boots, I was not used to it and forgot about it. I jumped from one rock to another while crossing a shallow river and I fell down. My friend had to remind me that I was wearing a boot so it's ok to just walk on the river. D'oh!

When we arrived at the top of the hill, the view was breathtaking! I felt like singing "the hills are alive with the sound of music" just like Maria from the movie The sound of music. I actually did run around the green land with my arms spreading (like Maria) when I first reached the top.It was magnificent view! Many times I told my friends it's like in the movie! My hand couldn't stop taking photos and video of the beautiful view.

Then we had to continue walking down the hill. My friend never stopped explaining things to me and even took a piece of soil and squeezed it. There was some water out of that soil. He told me that I could drink that water. I was like "yikes!". How can I drink a water from a soil??But that's what hikers do when they couldn't find a river. My friends showed me some blueberry trees that I have never seen before. Man! I really know nothing about nature, don't I?!

Finally, after 2 hours of walking up and down the hill, we arrived back at my friend's cottage. My son and I did it! Yay! I was so glad that my son didn't give us problem at all during the hiking. He even still had alot of energy to run around the cottage and played ping-pong with my friends. All friends gave 2 thumbs up for my son. I'm so proud of him too. While all the men were preparing for the fire, the women were busy in the kitchen preparing for the salad and the sauce for the bbq. My friend gave me her recipe of greek salad. Greek salad is easy to make and it's sooooo yummy! While waiting for the meat and the fire, another friend of mine showed me the bee farm. Man! I have never seen so many bees before! I also saw a humongous beehive on the tree near the bee farm and the farmers were trying to capture the beehive with a net. It's an extra daring job! I will remember that every time I drink honey. The moment I saw the gigantic beehive on the tree, I run as fast as my legs could take me!! I got so afraid with the bees! My friend told me not to make noise and to keep calm because when I am afraid, the bees can sense that and they will chase me instead.Gosh! How am I supposed to keep calm when there were million of bees flying on top of my head!!
My son and I really did learnt alot about nature and how to conquer it during this trip. I told my friend, "I think I can write a novel just from this hiking experience." and he said, "Don't forget to give me one of the novel then."....:D Sure...I definitely will if I manage to finish one...:D

This was one marvelous experience my son and I have while we are here in Austria. It's definitely hard to forget.