Cows by Our Campsite, 5 AM!

Late yesterday afternoon thunderheads built up after the hot day and it started to rain. We went to bed about 9PM to the pleasant beat of rain on the tent roof. It was a special time together, and we slept soundly. We were awakened at 5 AM sharp, not by a cuckoo as yesterday but by the tremendous din of the bells of a herd of dairy cattle going right by our tent. We had pitched our tent close to a small road which turned out to be the road by which the farmers drove their cattle to pasture early in the morning. In one string I counted 70 cattle and there must have been at least 10 such strings which came by between 5 and 8 AM. They all wore bells which ranged in size from tiny tinklers to monstrous bells on the lead cows which could have served as church bells. Some of the bells were of thin brass and sounded more or less like our cowbells at home, only louder. There were some of these which were a full foot across at the widest point, but there were only one or two of these. Other bells were cast brass and had a very nice sound. It was really hard to see how the cows could carry some of the heavy bells, and hard to see how they could stand the noise right under their ears. June 19, 1967

Early Morning by Achensee

After breaking camp we decided to drive down the east side of the lake bank. This turned out to be one of the most outstanding and moving moments of the entire trip. The sun was shining brightly ont he mountians with their snow trim and upon the village of Pertisau. The water was calm and quiet and made almost a perfect mirror, reflecting the mountains and the green, tree-covered hills. The countryside was almost completely quiet except for bird calls and the now-distant cow bells across the lake. The scene created was really almost unbelievable. It was so awe inspiring that we were moved to sit down on the lake bank and pray together. We had a difficult time leaving the lake. I am sitting on the bank writing this, and I wish I were a better word artist to describe the scene. June 19, 1967

Pertisau on the Achensee

After breaking camp we decided to drive down the east side of the lake bank. This turned out to be one of the most outstanding and moving moments of the entire trip. The sun was shining brightly ont he mountians with their snow trim and upon the village of Pertisau. The water was calm and quiet and made almost a perfect mirror, reflecting the mountains and the green, tree-covered hills. The countryside was almost completely quiet except for bird calls and the now-distant cow bells across the lake. The scene created was really almost unbelievable. It was so awe inspiring that we were moved to sit down on the lake bank and pray together. We had a difficult time leaving the lake. I am sitting on the bank writing this, and I wish I were a better word artist to describe the scene. June 19, 1967

Zell-am-Ziller

Zell-am-Ziller ( town of Zell on the Ziller River) is a village on the road south of the main highway on the way to Mayrhofen at the end of the road in the mountains. We drove from Zell an Ziller to Mayrhofen because Mayrhofen is very highly rated by all the tourist books. We didn't get to see much because we drove around for 30 minutes and couldn't find a place to park. The open country yielded no parking because the farmers had built their high wooden fences right at the edge of the paving, not yielding an inch of pastureland - and the roads themselves were quite narrow. In the town of Mayrhofen, crowded and hectic, there were a few parking lots - but at hotels and marked "Parking - nur fur Gaste". So we gave up Mayrhofen and the Zillertal as overrated and went back to Zell to eat lunch.

After lunch our outlook was perhaps less critical, but we found the drive east of Zell am Ziller very nice - much more scenic than the Zillertal itself. On the way up the mountain road you get excellent views of Zell-am-Ziller and the valley. The road was steep and we had to watch the temperature gauge, but old MO made it over OK. June 19, 1967

The Zillertal

The Valley of the Krimml Falls