Fall is a tough time for me. Mostly because I know winter is coming. Now don’t go telling me to go skiing or whatever. I don’t ski. I do have my own ways of coping with winter. But coping is not the same as liking. I don’t have to like winter, no one can make me like it, and that’s all she wrote!

This happens every year, of course. I may not like winter, but I am used to it. There is some other Foreign Service-related stuff that is bumming me out more right now. But I am not ready to blog about that yet. Oh wait, that happens almost every year, too! Funny thing!

AND I got a 72/100 on my second grammar assignment even though I studied really, really hard. Brain damage confirmed, sigh.

Anyway, nothing cheers me up like a day spent outdoors. Today, we pulled out the map and decided that a nature reserve about halfway between Vienna and Tulln looked like a place we could probably wander without getting lost. And we didn’t get lost. Well, only for about five minutes, anyway.

Hikes in Austria follow a pattern. First you go way, way up, then you walk along the top of a mountain or a ridge enjoying the view for a while, then you go way, way down. It’s great exercise, and the best part is that there is always a “gasthaus” near the end of the trail with tasty treats and/or a cold beer.

Attitude adjustment achieved!