Day 9

Travel Day! We woke up early to tackle the trip to Hall and Innsbruck in Austria. Because of my carelessness in Bern, leaving my toiletry bag in the Hotel, we now had an extra degree of difficulty added to our itnerary. Our original plan was to take the Seilbahn to Mürren, then the train and Seilbahn to Lauterbrunnen and then the train to Interlaken where we could catch the train to Innsbruck via Zurich. Now we had to make a return trip to Bern, get my wayward things, then continue on to Zurich, Innsbruck then finally Hall im Tyrol. The times were all pretty tight to be able to get to Innsbruck early enough to enjoy a little time in the city before bed. As we were waiting for the Seilbahn out of Gimmelwald I was looking at the timetables for the various trains, and weighing possible alternatives if we should miss a connection along the way, We finally determined that the best way to go was to take the Seilbahn down to Stechelbach, and ride the bus back to Lauterbrunnen station. From there we would have about three minutes to catch the train to Interlaken. We made the train with about a minute to spare. The train to Bern was also a very tight connection with about five minutes between our scheduled arrival in Interlaken and the departure to Bern. We made that one as well with only a couple of minutes. We now had an hour to relax on the train and decide the best connection to Innsbruck.

After looking over the timetable we would have about thirty-five minutes between the time of our arrival in Bern and the departure of the first train to Innsbruck. The next train after that would leave about 3:30 pm giving us two hours in Bern, but not getting us to Innsbruck until 6:00 pm. I figured I would have just enough time to get to the hotel and back to collect my bag before the earlier train was due to leave. Cindi and the boys would stay in the station with the bags as I caught the bus to the hotel. At first glance, thirty-five minutes seemed like more than enough time to make this happen. The reality was that I was cutting it very close considering I had to find the right bus stop, wait for the bus to arrive, get off at the correct stop, run to the hotel, find someone for the desk to look for my bag, get back to the bus stop, wait again for the bus, ride to the Bahnhof stop, get back in to the station, and find the family on platform 3. Amazingly I made it with about two minutes to

spare.

We are now comfortably on the train to Innsbruck after one change in Zurich.* We had lunch and beer in the dining car and are about two hours from Innsbruck. Nice to be able to relax a bit. Back again from Hall and Innsbruck.

Editor's Note - Again, insanely crowded train! Fortunately we were first class this time.

The trains are all behind us for the day and we are settled into our hotel in Hall im Tyrol - Gasthof Badl. We knew that this was the hotel for us when we walked in the door and were greeted by the front desk staff and two beautiful Bernese mountain dogs.

Their names are Lucy and Emmy and they are absolutely adorable! The room is probably the best one we have had the entire trip with a balcony overlooking the Inns river. It is only a short walk into Hall and we received several dinner recommendations from the hotel desk person.

We settled into our room and sat on the balcony with a beer to enjoy the late afternoon views of the mountains. I decided to take a time lapse video of the mountains and the clouds with my phone. Tavis had done a great job in Gimmelwald setting up my phone on the railing for a previous shot, so he did so once again, propping it against a water glass. It seemed fairly secure as long as no one

jostled the railing. Now admittedly, in hindsight, this was not a smart arrangement given our room was on the third floor. All went according to plan until a gust of wind sent my phone tumbling to the concrete three floors below. I gazed forlornly over the rail to see my poor phone, its case completely separated from its body, lying on the cold wet concrete. I immediately hustled downstairs hoping by some miracle the damage would be minimal. To my absolute surprise, the phone was entirely unscathed! Not even a scratch. My Otterbox case however was a complete loss, but it had done its job and sacrificed itself for the good of my phone. I guess I will have to write Otterbox and let them use this incident in future advertising.

Soon we were all ready to get some dinner. We walked into Hall heading for the Gasthof Krippe, an Italian Restaurant the desk had recommended. Despite some wrong turns due to getting directions

from Apple Maps for driving instead of walking, we made our way there…only to find the restaurant closed. Second choice was the Goldener Löwe. This was another recommendation and a short walk away. The food was very good, especially Tavis’ roast beef. Dinner completed we topped it off with gelato and made our way back to the hotel to settle in for the evening. Bis Morgen!