Sunday, April 14, 2019

Roman Catholic Via Ferrata

Austrian Universities take their holidays seriously and the two-week mid-semester Easter Break begins this week at the University of Innsbruck.  This is the best opportunity we have to do a bit of traveling beyond the Tirol and we are currently in Florence, Italy attempting to get cultured. 

One of the major attractions is the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiora, known more widely as the "Duomo."  Pretty incredible place inside and out. 


One can climb up through the Duomo, which is a sort of Roman Catholic Via Ferrata.  No harness needed, but the 500 stairs and narrow passageways add to the medieval feel.





My idea of culture is weissbier and gröstl at a gasthaus in the Tirol, but I have to admit that Michelangelo's David is absolutely incredible to see in person. 


Florence is also well known for food and yesterday Andrea and I tested the hypothesis that you can't eat too much gelato or drink too much wine.  We stumbled across the shop below, which apparently is blissfully unaware of Utah's archaic liquor laws. 


It's not the high season here yet, but the crowds have been overwhelming.  People packed everywhere on the streets. 


Today we walked into the hills above town for a few miles to get away from it all.  It has been raining on and off all day, but we got a break as we returned to town with a beautiful view. 



It is my understanding that the Steenburgh effect continues to treat you well, with 50+ inches at Alta this week.  A GoFundMe account will be created soon to permanently fund my residence in Europe.

3 comments:

  1. Great title for this post. I had no idea what to expect!
    50 inches this week but it didn't feel like more than... 45. As long as you are back by late June, you'll still get some of the leftovers.
    The coverage is just insane here, feels a lot different than 2017. Lower and mid-elevations are still feeling like February (on a really good year!)

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  2. It's been an excellent year. Currently 183" at Alta collins!!! 60" more than 2017 on the same date and 3" higher than end of day 2011. SWE obviously was much higher in 2011, and we are at the tail end of another 2' storm so settling will occur. I also went down to the La Sals this week and found the choke on the NW face of Tuk to be completely filled in- usually there's a 15-20' rappel! Just an incredible winter for the state. I hope you find the willpower to write a post about it. Looks like your trip has been awesome.

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    1. Not sure if this is good or bad, but I haven't really thought much about Utah snow in a long time...

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