The last eight years Eric and I have been together, we have traveled the world and every time we’re in a different country, we talk about what it would be like to live in a different corner of the world. So when Eric’s job offered us the opportunity to move to Austria as expats for three years, we immediately said yes because when life presents you the opportunity to move abroad, you take it—even if it is in the middle of a pandemic.

When we imagined our expat adventure earlier this year, we pictured weekend getaways to surrounding cities, eating at all the local restaurants and experiencing all Europe has to offer. To gain new perspectives, learn about new cultures, go on long walks with the dogs, make a point to look at the mountain outside our window every single day, and to find a home away from home while living out another dream of ours.

However, because of Covid, Austria was put on a stricter lockdown this past Tuesday which goes until December 6. So instead of exploring all the surrounding cities, we’ll keep exploring all the nature that surrounds us.

Had lockdowns not been a factor in our adventures, we probably wouldn’t have gone on most of the hikes we’ve been to the last month. This week’s hike was a circular trail around ”Offensee”, just a 30 minute drive from our house. The higher up the mountain we went, the more the snow started to blanket the ground. Normally, this place would be filled with people, but because of lockdowns and the colder weather, we had this lake almost all to ourselves.

xoxo
The Pack Mama