Four of us ladies ended two hours south-west of Gaming to Schladmig, Austria. The drive there is absolutely gorgeous! I'm continually amazed by how beautiful everywhere you go, every road you take, in Austria is just breathtaking!
Our theme of the weekend (thanks to Teresa!) was:
After checking in, and before changing into our bathrobes and flipflops, we relaxed, chatted, and sipped cucumber-mint flavored water.
The views out our hotel rooms (uncluttered by a crib, a mattress for Ellie on the floor, etc!!) was beautiful:
My first European sauna experience was a success! I was a little nervous knowing Europeans use the saunas in the nude - as signs are posted everywhere reminding you no bathing clothes allowed. You can keep your towel - and we did keep them tightly wrapped around us - but no one else really follows that maneuver. But at the time we were using the saunas we pretty much had the entire area to ourselves! After sweating it out in two different sauna rooms, soaking our feet in ice buckets and refreshing ourselves in cold baths in between, we headed to the "adult nap room." It was basically an all dark room, with soft music playing, and water beds with blankets....a dream come true! After that we changed into our swimsuits and enjoyed the perfectly heated indoor-outdoor pool with thermal jets -- only taking a break for our scheduled massage time and leisurely reading in the "relaxation room" with a view of the stunning surroundings!
And then it was time to eat! The food was exceptional - and all included in our room rate.
After sleeping in and waking up to the sun shining in our window (and not a baby crying!), we enjoyed breakfast and then headed into town for Mass.
After Mass the four of us took a pleasant stroll through town before heading back home.
Half-way home (an hour from Gaming) we stopped at Admont Abbey. (I was supposed to go there with the students earlier in the semester, but never made it do to our little ER trip). The church is absolutely stunning!
The entire drive was wonderful....the scenery, prayer, and conversation (and lack of crying!!)
I've been so blessed by a wonderful community and friends here in Gaming, and I'm so glad I had the chance to spend even more quality time with these amazing ladies! I'm also INCREDIBLY blessed to have such a wonderful husband, who works hard to support our family everyday, and who was so supportive and encouraging for me to go on this trip while he watched the kids! Never mind the fact that this past Sunday was actually Fathers' Day here in Austria (we'll save our celebrating for this coming Sunday on USA Fathers' Day :)
Now only 8 more nights to make up....just kidding ;)
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