It now feels like a very long time ago, but just over five years ago we went to Austria for a week of activities, almost 40 of us.
Little did we know that this was to be the last trip for over 5 years given the events of 2020/21 (of which we shall speak no more) getting in the way of our plans to do another 3 years later.
In fact, it's now just over 5 years since we went and we're planning our Czechia trip for 2024.
We started the trip as we've done many others meeting everyone in Royton waiting for the coach to arrive, kissing our parents goodbye (with a good deal of embarrassment included), and gearing ourselves up for the 24+ hours on the coach to get us there.
The travel went better than we all dreaded as it normally does as we all settled into chatting, reading, watching films etc. all filled with the excitement of the week to come.
We arrived mid-afternoon on Saturday, after almost 1000 miles on the coach, various tunnels, food stops, a ferry, and travelling through France, Luxembourg and Germany before hitting Austria.
The moment we got off the coach, it was immediately evident that we were in the Alps, a place some of us had visited many times before. The architecture and the scenery are both stunning and the weather was great too, which luckily stayed that way the whole time we were there.
After sorting out the rooms and the rooms, it was time to relax, settle in and get ready for the week ahead.
Our week started properly on Sunday with a nice leisurely day. A bit of a lie-in, a nice leisurely morning with some brunch. A short walk from our hostel was the local Pool where we could relax, so we headed there for the afternoon to enjoy the sun before what we knew would be a big day on Monday.
Monday came, and we set off on the first of our main activities for the week, a 2-day mountain expedition, staying in an Austrian Mountain Hut.
Starting around 1160 metres, we made the ascent up to the Landsberger Hütte sitting at 1810 metres.
The weather was fantastic which meant we could admire the amazing views as we ascended. It was pretty hot, so as you can imagine, finding the café halfway up was great. They certainly made their money that day!
Once reaching the hut, we were a short distance from the summit of Lachenspitze, an impressive 2126m peak in the Alps, so most of us went up there after a break at the hut, coming back down just in time for the evening meal provided by the hut to be ready.
The hut itself sits at 1810 metres above sea level, providing amazing views late into the evening where we spent most of the time outside enjoying the wonderful weather before getting a decent night's sleep ready for the 2nd day.
Tuesday was much the reverse of Monday, with us starting in the Landsberger Hütte, in the morning, heading north over Schochenspitz (a 2069 metre peak) before heading back down towards the coach, a few hours away, and back to our hostel.
Wednesday wasn't much quieter as we headed straight for the high ropes park nearby (An Austrian Go Ape type place), deep in the forest for a few hours playing on their rope courses and zip lines. Again the weather held and we had another great day out trying new things.
The weather did break in the evening and we got some heavy showers, which after a few days of really warm weather was a nice relief for some.
Luckily though this passed quite soon and by Thursday we were back to glorious weather which was just as well as we went to the 'Alpine Coaster', where you get a mini roller coaster each, and fly down the side of an alp after getting the cable car to the top of the run.
Some went once, some went twice, and some went until they were dizzy.
Friday came, and all too quickly we were at the end of the week. It was a fantastic week, but one that had gone too quickly.
We split into 2 groups on this final day with each half tackling a local peak, Jockelspitze, while the other group spent the time at the pool, swapping after lunch.
The time at the pool felt like the fitting way to end the trip as that's how it had started, rounding off what had been another fantastic week.
Saturday came all too soon it was time to depart.
We all spent the journey back chatting with the friends we'd made along the way and already looking ahead to the next one, which in our minds at the time was 'only a couple of years away'.
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