We had a short day after yesterday’s long haul, but it was mostly in a light rain.

But the morning mist made for some pretty scenes.

Our shoes were soaked through and our toes were doing the dog-paddle in our wet socks not long after our start. But as a pilgrim you take these things in stride (pun intended). It is just part of the pilgrimage and not everyday can be full of highs.

We’ve finally rejoined our original route near Tännesberg. The route on the section is called the Burgenweg (Castle Way).

We reached our destination of Traunitz early (shortly after noon) and since it was too early to check in to our first Jugendherberge (Youth Hostel) we searched for some lunch. Asking a kind lady on the street, she directed us to a cafe. This was the type of place where you can order a sandwich from the deli bar. We didn’t know what we wanted so I asked the owner if she would just make us a platter of sample meats and cheeses.

After a few minutes she brought out this huge platter. It was wonderful and we polished the whole thing off before the rain started again. Nadine was also to happy to find some proper black tea and Allison and I had a wheat beer which I enjoyed.

After lunch, it began to pour, and we took shelter under the archway of the youth hostel where we will spend the night. After a while we were able to check in, have a shower and get out of our wet clothes. That was a relief.

One of the fun things about this hostel is that it is also a castle. We were given the key to the tower and climbed to the top. Along the way we found some Medieval garb. How the medieval knight could march and fight carrying all that weight is a mystery.

I made this video for our granddaughters but you all might enjoy it too.

The view from the top was pretty.

As a final note: here was our dinner graciously provided by Brigitte. She and her coworker Bergette (sp) were very kind to us during our stay.

So much for having looser clothes when we get home!  

A few photos from Nadine’s eyes!