Day 12: May 25th, The Charming Town of Dorfgastein

When I imagined this trip to Austria I thought we would be running around trying to do as much as possible and experience as much as we could before our time in Europe was up. That image was soon shattered by my first weekend here, and by my day today in Dorfgastein. Dorfgastein is a sleepy little skiing village in a valley in the alps. A place where all the shops shut down for tow hours for lunch and the loudest the town gets is on it's one main road. The view are incredible and the people are some of the kindest I have ever meet. When we first got there I was concerned what exactly I would do in such a sleepy town, but Dorfgatsein held many wonderful surprises for me. As a group we decided to take the gondola up to the top of the mountain. I was reluctant at first due to my disappointment of something else I had hoped to do, but then I though why not I am sure the views are worth it. The views from the top were beyond anything I could describe in words in beauty. While Hallstatt was seeing a valley, Dorfgastein was seeing a whole mountain range. I lived for every moment on top of that mountain. I was even bale to read a few pages from my book the Hobbit which made the adventure seem a little more real in such a fanatical place. The highlight of my day was soon to come however. The previous day Dr. Demers had old me how her and her kids were going to go paragliding in Dorfgastein, and instantly tried to book myself an appointment. Unfortunately was unable to contact them and thought all hope was lost for my dream of flying in the Alps. However I decided to go ahead and put myself out there and ask the man flying tandem with them if he could squeeze me in. At first he seemed quite sure he wouldn't have time for me after Dr. Demers's family went but I was persistent and stayed close to the peak so I could be there at a moments notice if he said I could. I received the great news right before Dr. Demers flew that he had time for one more. I jumped at the chance and anxiously awaited my turn to fly. We decided that he would fly me to the bottom due to the limits of my gondola ticket. An hour passed and then he said I could join him on a flight. At this point a little crowd of hikers had gathered around to see the parasail launch which made me feel a little pressure about looking good, but in all honesty I was more focused that I was actually going to go flying in the Alps. I must be honest and say that I don't think I will be able to accurately describe just how amazing it was to fly through the Alps. It was all I could dream of and more. The view were stunning the feeling was unbelievable. Our flight was gentle and peaceful with a few exciting parts where Louis (my tandem flyer) let me steer and do some deep turns which were a lot fun. I also enjoyed flying over the village nearly brushing the tops of roofs with my feet. The landing was just as exciting as the rest of the ride, it was a lot like a movie where the grass flies up to hit you. Overall I couldn't have imagined a better way to spend my day in Dorfgastein and this experience will definitely be a highlight of my trip. The rest of the day was spent walking around the village enjoying to peace the village had to offer. I have to admit I was sad to see Dorfgastein go and I honestly want to return someday whether it be with family, honeymoon, or really an excuse to see those mountains again. Today was one fr the books, but I still hold excitement for the rest of the trip. Until next time!