In “The Valley of Histories”

We have an 8:55 bus to catch to make our way out to the “Freilichtmuseum” in nearby Stübing. This destination is an outdoor exhibit that demonstrates how people used to live several hundred years ago. They have the actual houses and barns that they have moved to this location. They include all the areas of Austria starting with the far east – flat marshland to the far west, mountainous. I guess Austria is a bit like North Carolina with its topography.

Lorena is thrilled with anticipation but I feel a bit more blasé about the experience. I must admit, it was a lot of fun. The day is beautiful and the temp is predicted to be 71 degrees. They are dry and missing the rain here “summerlike weather continues….”

The bus driver is kind and even stops the bus and comes back to show me how to buckle my seatbelt. It takes about an hour and the drive is rural along a river with the road often narrowing down to one lane. The park itself is up what I would call a “holler” and they call it “the valley of histories.” They have over 90 buildings including houses, barns (often combined in one building), ovens, gardens and outbuildings. The insides of the buildings are dark and the ceilings low. You quickly understand how hard life was and how much work it took to sustain your family.

We come upon a restaurant straight out of Brothers Grimm. We stop and have a lunch of “Käse Spaetle” (cheese on noodles/pasta) and a green salad with beans I would call “big ass beans.” I think they are a variety of fava beans that I have seen in Spain but not at home. The salad was beautifully dressed with the pumpkin seed oil that is so popular here. A group of school children arrive outside. They squeal, scream with glee and run with abandon in the yard. I enjoy it for a while, but then I am glad to leave and continue our hike up the valley. Luckily, the group of children did not follow.

We continue exploring for another hour and then head to the bus stop. We get so anxious about the bus coming as scheduled and then it appears! We catch a train for part of the trip and it is much faster.

We return to our abode to find it surrounded by workmen. The outside of our apartment building is being painted. We are such “rehab addicts” that we find work being done as pleasing – then not. We do get a kick out of watching them open big 5-gallon buckets of yellow paint and having to decide it does not match well enough to use. Construction drama is fun to watch when it is not your own.