After a great day of backcountry skiing in one of Austria's National Parks, which boasts the highest mountain in Austria (Grossglockner), we headed back to the village where Alex's mom was born and most of the family still lives: Assling. It is nestled along the border of Austria and Italy and is on the hillside facing the mighty Dolomites. I remember when I first got there last year, that it was dark and the next morning when the sun came up, I really thought that the mountains were right outside the window, the valley is so tight and the mountains so dramatic.
So, after freshening up a bit...we set off to Lienz for dinner and watched as a near full moon crept up over the jagged peaks and backlit them in a mysterious light (unfortunately though we tried, the photos didn't come out).
After a nice Italian dinner, we made our way back home and then I convinced Alex, as we were both pretty exhausted from the day's excursion, to take a little walk to work off some of the proscuitto, parmisan, and other lovely fatty foods that we had just consumed. There is an old church that sits on the hillside and we had visited last year in the winter and were dazzled by the millions of stars overhead. Again, we followed the curvy road up to the church that was lit by some outdoor lights, candles, and the moon.
After pouring 2 glasses of prosecco (like Champagne), I did the deed...in the same spot where we had stood the year before. It came as quite a surprise for Alex for though we had been talking about it for some time, of late, I had been brushing off the idea as something that we could do down the road.
I had actually had the design for the ring in my head in Alaska and had started sketching it out and sent it to a couple of goldsmiths in AK and Seattle to see what they thought, but waited until getting to Innsbruck to have it made. Found a wonderful artist (thanks to Sabbi...that had made 2 of our friends rings) who's small back ally shop is classic and he is a skilled metal worker and nice guy. Through a mix of Germ-glish, drawing, pantomiming, and grunts, I conveyed the idea to him.
Not to get too artsy-fartsy, but...It reminds me of the river and natural flow of life. There are two bands (engagement/wedding band) that overlap: one silver one white gold. At first we were going to go with a sapphire surrounded by 2 diamonds (asthetic reasons for the #) but I think that he said that it looked better this way, or that the sapphire didn't work out...or something. Regardless, we're both (all) pleased.
After the shock was over, we looked up and truth be told, there was a giant ring around the moon. From a meteorlogical perspective, it was an indicator that the weather was going to change for the worse the next day, but for us, it seemed like a nice touch to an already special day.
The next morning, we packed up and drove about 5 hours to Vienna to see the town, for me to have a meeting about possible work, and to pick up a friend who flew in for the week for a business meeting and with whom we'll spend a few days skiing before he returns to the States on Monday.
So, all in all, it's been a great couple of days. While raining today, we've enjoyed Vienna, but I must say, I could have stayed in Osttirol for a few more and been perfectly content.
Until next time...
nate
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