Hiking Mittagskogel!

What a sportif weekend!

After the cycling on Friday and the great Mountainbike-Tour yesterday - there´s been a good hiking-tour on my schedule today! - Together with my friends Peter and Brigitte (knowing each other since years & now being a couple since February....) we started late morning to the "Mittagskogel" - one of the most wellknown mountains in our area - standing exactly on the border-line of Austria and Slovenia (2.146 m high / 7.040 feet).

The start of our tour has not been perfect at all: on our way up (we choosed the west-flank today) we didn´t find the right signposts - and we got lost in the middle of the steep forest... - when we decided to walk further up on one of the newer forest-roads we reached a small plateau (still not knowing where exactly we´ve been) - and surprisingly we found a lot of fresh mushrooms (approx. 2 kg of chanterelles). After a sunny rest at a cabin-terasse we decided to try another track (last chance for mountain-guide "Ombre"....) - and thanks-to-god after 20 more minutes we reached the right track (finally! - after two hours being lost.....).

From now on we´ve found new motivations - and while walking up we had fantastic views - really breath-taking! - After a total walking time of 4 hours we reached the peak - and as a kind of reparation of my poor orientation in the morning I had to act now: as a surprise I took two chilled bottles of wheat-beer out of my backpack - and everbody has forgotten about wrong tracks, lost moments and giving-up-thaughts....

The track down on the east-flank has been very steep and power-robbing - but we reached the "Bertahuette" (cabin) after another hour - at 1.567 m (5.140 feet) - for a final rest in the late-afternoon-sun. - Very happy, very satiesfied and full of wonderful impressions!

30 more minutes walking and we reached the car-parking - rushing home to prepare a nice dinner with our fresh mushrooms....

Another perfect day in my happy life - thanks a lot for it!

Gerlitzen - Mountainbiketour

A full weekend at home (quite rare for "Ombre" the last months....) with no particular plans - lots of time for sports (Yeahh!!!).

Friday afternoon my friend Horst and I we did a cycling-tour (63 km / quite good speed) - and for today, Saturday, I did organise a Mountainbike-Tour together with Guido (you know him already from the tour-report two weeks ago) to one of our home-area-mountains called "Gerlitze" - not to the peak but to one of the nice alpine cabins at around 1.500 m altitude (4.900 feet).

The weather has been perfect (sunshine and +28° C) - and we climbed up in a medium speed (still have been feeling my heavy legs from cycling yesterday and from running the day before) - and one more time Guido and I have been realising in what a fantastic and beautiful nature-area we´re living in! Lucky we!!!

We reached the "Steinwender-Huette" (alpine cabin) after 2: 20 hours and had a good rest there (see picture.....).

The downhill has been great - 1.000 m just riding down on forest-roads - with regular views down to the wonderful turquoise-blue-coloured "Ossiacher See" (Lake of Ossiach)!

Another superb Mountainbike-day this summer - finished with a refreshing swim in my top-favourite lake here in our region called "Faaker See" (Lake of Faak).....

Total statistics: 1.230 m altitude (approx. 4.000 feet), 3:40 hours, approx. 45 km

Round Table Worldmeeting in Thailand

This year´s Round Table International Worldmeeting has been moving us all to far east Thailand!

About 230 tablers / partners from 35 different countries have been travelling to Pattaya - to meet up with lots of old friends and also a couple of new members on this "international stage"!

The evening before the official start most of us met in Bangkok - Thailand´s capital city - to be witnesses at the Charter of the first ever Round Table Club in Thailand - RT 1 Bangkok! Their 12 new members have been introduced one by one - and I´m quite sure they all had a real blast - in the center of more than 100 international "RT-maniacs"...... - We all gave them a great welcome to the RT International Family - and at the end of the night all of their jackets have been full of RT-pins from all over.....

Me I´ve been flying via Munich to Bangkok - straight to this Charter-Ceremony - where I met already most of my Austrian delegation´s friends. This year at the Worldmeeting our delegation has been one of the biggest: 8 tablers, 5 tablettes (wifes) and 5 kids!

After the party we´ve been transfered to Pattaya - where we have been guests in a brandnew wonderful hotel - called "The Zign"!

The Worldmeeting for me this year has been much more relaxing compared to the last couple of years! First time not beeing an official Association´s delegate you could find me most of the time either at the pool-side, in the gym, at the pool-bar or hanging around with tabler-friends - what we call "tabling" (and some short moments even in the delegate´s meeting.......)! I really, really enjoyed this so much - can´t tell you!!!

The evening-events have been organised in a very nice and wonderful way: Welcome-Party (incl. Nation´s Night), Fisherman´s Party, Gala-Night and Beach-party (incl. Beachvolley-Night-Tournament)!

The tablers of Sri Lanka - this year´s convenors - did a real great job!

My personal highlights have been the Nation´s Night (as always) - and this special moment at the Gala-Night when my National Association Round Table Austria has been awarded for the "Best International Service-Project Of The Year"! In this moments I really felt very very proud - my team an me have been working really hard in the last year when I´ve been National President.... - therefore the Austrian delegation have been celebrating "toooo looooooong" (last men standing......)....

After the meeting I stayed two more days in Pattaya (even more relaxing! - including a nice day-trip to Kho Lang-Island) - and on my way back I stayed for one more evening in Bangkok to meet up with the new tabler-friends of RT 1! Together with 5 friends from RT in Kenya and one Sri Lankian tabler we had a fantastic Thai-dinner with "Joe" and Somporn!

A fantastic conclusion for a fantastic trip.....

Bike alp-kermis!

Each year August, 15th (holiday "Assumption of The Blessed Virgin") the people of my home-town Villach are celebrating an alp-kermis on top of our "home-mountain" called Dobratsch!

Some friends from our Mountainbike-Team we´ve been planing to ride up there this year again - from 500 m above sea-level to 1.730 m.

The weather-forecast has been really bad - but early morning 8.00 a.m. three of us - Guido, Wolfi and me - we risked it and we started to climb up in light rain.

During our fantastic ride through forests, alps and rocks we had almost all parts of weather-possibilities: rain, sun, clouds, fog and some wind.... - but we reached the alp after 3 hours.

At the moment of our arrival the folcloric-festival should get to be started - but we only saw some guys closing down all the outdoor-party-places. - The weather-conditions turned really bad - and the first thunders and lightnings started....

But indoor! - The party moved into the alpine hut - and we had some beers and the traditional kermis-soup!

Two hours later - it was raining cats and dogs! - we climbed on our bikes again and did a two minutes ride down to the next alpine hut. - There we had more beer (what mountainbikers call an isotonic drink....) - and a typical folcloric music-band has been playing for us ("Misemamoradi" - a folcoric song for cyclists....) - see picture.

After all - 4 hours after arrival to the top - we started the downhill! - One of the craziest ever in my life! - Raining even more cats and dogs - we did a 1.200 m-altitude-downhill in real pure rain!!!

Wet like fishes - but totally happy about this fantastic day with lots of natures and lots of fun - we reached home safely!

HAPPY 40, Brigitte....

If you´re having working-colleagues like us - then you´re in real troubles...!!!... :-)
Imagine, you´re having your 40th birthday - and the whole bank-team is coming to your home at 4.20 a.m. to throw fire-crackers outside your sleeping-room-window....
...what is a "nice" and old tradition here in Austria - especially in the small villages outside the towns...

We met at 4 a.m. - "armed" with baskets full of breakfast for 10 persons (2 bottles of sparkling wine, fresh bread & rolls, jam, butter, ham, cheese, coffee and a cake) - drove out to the small village called Selpritsch - and then we tried to wake her up with about 12 - 15 fire-crackers. - But it did not work perfectly - only about 4 crackers did explode - but she has already heared us walking towards the house...
Then - after a more-or-less nice "Happy Birthday-Song" - we had a nice and extended breakfast - with lot of laughs and big fun! - At 7 a.m. we left her home to return to town and open the bank - hopefully not too much tired this working-day....

First Post ever!

Motivated by my new friend from Phoenix, AZ - Shelly - I´m starting my own blog right now!

I´m trying to express myself in English (mother-language of mine is German / Austrian dialect) - just to give all my international friends out there the possibility to follow my activities in life....

Hoping to find interesting moments to post - right words to write - and good friends to share!

Welcome to "Ombre´s blog"!!!