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SFO -> MUC

uhr-Oma

Arthurhaus Ritt

Zell Am Sea

Moßhammer

Salzburg

Klamme

falconry

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This is our morning view from the alpingasthaus Bergheimat to the alps above the town of Mühlbach am Hochkönig. What you don't see are the cows grazing in the pasture at right. The bells around their neck make a reassuring gentle sound, along with their lowing moos.

Although Isaac sleeps with us, in the family bed, the crib the hotel so thoughtfully provided to us comes in very handy when we're trying to get things together in the morning. Here you see Isaac relaxing with his toy mobile phone while I restock the backpack with diapers and wipes. Rose is selecting which baby food jars we're taking along with us today. There's the matter of being prepared for bright alpine sunlight, for cold winds, for rain, and for catastrophic diaper failure. Digital camera, batteries, empty storage card.

Rather than going back to Salzburg or visiting other spa towns, we're going to visit a restored castle in the nearby countryside to see a demonstration of Renaissance falconry. It's not a long drive, and before long several of our cars are parked at the foot of a hill, at the top of which is the castle. It's a long, slow uphill. We take it in groups, passing the digital camera back and forth between us.

Adam, Fel, Djamal

Uncle Daniel

Oma, Isaac, and me

We pass through beautiful canopies of trees which almost completely obscure the bright sunlight above; here it's almost too dark in spots. But it's cooler, a good quality when hiking uphill with a giggling baby. Soon we see the castle.