Spa Day

We made it to Austria! It only took us 2 days and 2 taxi rides, 2 flights, 1 long layover, another shorter layover, an s-bahn ride (commuter train), a train ride, and a drive in the rental car. Someone asked, "What can I do now?" quite a few times, and it was muggy in NYC so we skipped any attempt at leaving the airport. 

 [Zurich, from above]

 [Switzerland, or maybe Austria, from the train]

We are staying in the Oetztal, (as in Oetzi, the ice man) just a walk down the road from Aquadome Therme. So today, we spent the entire day (from 10 am till 9 pm) at the spa and enjoyed almost every minute (there were some tense negotiations that involved a certain person's refusal to eat his chicken). We've decided that this spa is on the top 3 all-time best spas.

 

 Today we had perfect weather - sunny, warm, but not too hot, and the there were very few people - we were told the season actually starts mid-July. It has 3 bowl shaped special bubbly pools you reach by going up steps in a tent-shaped building, 2 indoor pools connected to 2 outdoor pools, a childrens' area with a ship, 3 playrooms, pool toys to borrow, and 3 childrens' pools, a giant slide, a nice restaurant, and beautiful views of the mountains.

They even had activities for the kids and free babysitting. JT actually stayed with the helper and played games while Mr. Burli, Tiny and I took a nap! JT was up this morning around 6 and so was Mr. Burli. They went on a long hike along the river Inn, and then we had breakfast at our Pension (bed-and-breakfast). The breakfast is served in the basement - which is decorated like a old-fashioned dark Alpine cabin, so the picture is dark, but it was delicious. It is so fun to come back and eat Semmel (hard rolls with soft white insides) slathered in our favorite toppings - pate, cheese, butter and jam, nutella, various meats, etc. We didn't have room for the muesli or the breakfast cake, but we are staying here 3 more nights before heading to Mr. Burli's family home.