This year’s
summer trip in Europe was probably the best
trip i ever had in my life, the reason for this is that it was the first time i
brought our kids with us and showed them what i love in life. Back in 2009 we
did Europe road trip with a friendly couple
Antonis and Ioanna, we had just found out my wife was pregnant to my first son.
After several drinks a night we promised we will return one day in the Alps when we will have our own kids. So there we were 8
years later with 4 kids and 2 cars packed with baggages for our first kid
travel experience!
On Friday
16th June we took Anek lines ferry from Patras to Venice
on a 33 hour trip and arrived in Venice
early in the morning of June 18th. The outward trip with the boat
was a really beautiful experience and kids loved spending time in it. With
airfare prices in the summer period out of Athens going crazy it’s certainly a
cheap alternative when you want to travel in Europe, although this kind of
equalizes with the money you end up spending on board for food and beverages.
The biggest advantage though is that you get to travel with your own car and
not rely on rent a car with all the risks that it comes with.
After an
almost 6 hour drive, there was lots of traffic on the highway, we arrived at
the beautiful stubaital valley. First things first we checked in at Jedlerhof
house.
The Jedlerhof stems originally from the 16th century and, over the
course of the centuries, have been farmed the owner’s ancestors. In 1965,
their grandparents began to rent out rooms to hikers and mountain climbers. Jedlerhof is a 200sq meters old farm
house located on a hill of Stubaital with breathtaking views. The house was split
in 2 floors, the upper floor had 4 huge bedrooms and the down floor and giant
fully equipped kitchen and and a small, cozy stuba style restaurant hall for
our own use! The back part of the house hosted an animal farm and you could
actually see cows and goats outside our window, I almost pissed my pants of
joy.
There was
not much time for exploring the house as we were dead hungry and the plan was
to visit the closeby village of neustift for the first beer and schnitzel of
the trip.
The traditional “shopping therapy” in super market came shortly after
and we loaded the house with all the Austrian delicacies for cooking and
breakfast. Since we had our own stuba style restaurant there was no need to go
out at night as I can prepare most traditional Austrian recipes.
Second day
found me waking up to paradise on earth. Nothing in the world can beat the
morning walk when everything is silent and the views of the mountains make you
want to cry. After a short hiking we decided to go meat shopping to a local
butchery I had found online. It was a boutique store and mainly local meat with
really friendly and educated staff, they even had a 24h vending machine where
you could grab a rib eye and wine at
4:00 am lol.
Once everyone was up and prepared, not an easy task with 4 kids
believe me, we headed to Innsbruck . Tirol's capital is scenically squeezed between two impressive mountain chains. Past and future meet in the heart of the Alps, where Innsbruck’s world-famous sights, which testify to the Tirol province’s great past, stand alongside post-modern international architecture to create a fascinating blend.
After long walk in the pedetrian roads we had a delicious ice cream in the city
center, visited city's landmark "golden roof" and then headed to the city zoo. Not only does the zoo offer its visitors a spectacular view of Innsbruck and the surrounding mountains it is also home to over 2000 animals (150 species) which are or have been typical for the Alps. It is the only zoo in the world to devote itself specifically to this topic which is one of the reasons for its success. Their animals are housed in modern enclosures, going through aviaries, exiting outdoor terrariums and a large cold water aquarium. No need to say how much the kids loved the experience of the alpine zoo!
Third day
in the beautiful stubaital found us taking the lift to our first ever hiking. On the way up the scenery was breathtaking with
cows chewing grass in the meadows and the nature at its best with blossom
flowers everywhere.
What could ruin such a great day were children complaining they are bored, but not here. I have never seen a place like this where they respect families so much, every little place we gone had children playground in the middle of nowhere of the mountain.
The first stop of the lift had a small lake and a hut but we decided to follow a forest route and reach a nearby hut. After 30 minutes of walking in the forest suddenly appeared in front of our eyes Ochsenhütte mieders at 1592 m with beauty difficult to be described we felt like finding an oasis to the desert. The rustic Ochsenhütte is right next to the Ochsen lift and the winter hiking trail. We enjoyed home-style cooking with local products and cold beers.
What could ruin such a great day were children complaining they are bored, but not here. I have never seen a place like this where they respect families so much, every little place we gone had children playground in the middle of nowhere of the mountain.
The first stop of the lift had a small lake and a hut but we decided to follow a forest route and reach a nearby hut. After 30 minutes of walking in the forest suddenly appeared in front of our eyes Ochsenhütte mieders at 1592 m with beauty difficult to be described we felt like finding an oasis to the desert. The rustic Ochsenhütte is right next to the Ochsen lift and the winter hiking trail. We enjoyed home-style cooking with local products and cold beers.
Right after we finished our lunch a touristic train appeared out of
nowhere that was doing circles in the forest and we decided to join the ride.
The end of the ride took us to Maria Waldrast Monastery. It is located at the junction between Stubai and Wipptal. Herdsmen used to stop here for a rest, hence the name “Waldrast”. The pilgrimage site is one ofEurope ’s highest monasteries and a spiritual place, therefore
a highly popular day-trip destination.
Maria Waldrast has a rich history. According to legend, in 1407 two shepherd boys found an image of Our Lady grown into a tree trunk. A chapel was soon erected on the clearing where they had found the image, marking today’s church site. The first pilgrimage was held in 1429 when Our Lady Mary was returned to the mountain. In 1621 the construction of the Servite Monastery started. The Monastery was abandoned twice over the centuries. In 1945 the monks returned and with them the image of Mary. In the 16th century a spring which is said to have healing qualities was tapped near the monastery.
To be contnued...
The end of the ride took us to Maria Waldrast Monastery. It is located at the junction between Stubai and Wipptal. Herdsmen used to stop here for a rest, hence the name “Waldrast”. The pilgrimage site is one of
Maria Waldrast has a rich history. According to legend, in 1407 two shepherd boys found an image of Our Lady grown into a tree trunk. A chapel was soon erected on the clearing where they had found the image, marking today’s church site. The first pilgrimage was held in 1429 when Our Lady Mary was returned to the mountain. In 1621 the construction of the Servite Monastery started. The Monastery was abandoned twice over the centuries. In 1945 the monks returned and with them the image of Mary. In the 16th century a spring which is said to have healing qualities was tapped near the monastery.
To be contnued...