By Dan Friesen
Those of you who’ve traveled with us any length of time have likely traveled under the tutelage of Hildrun, a supremely competent, passionate, knowledgeable, and good-humored guide who has been leading our trips in Central Europe for well over 10 years.
Louis is a tough old bird we met in a ski lift gondola above Kitzbühel, Austria. Hildrun, Jim, and I were mapping out walks in the Alpine meadows above Kitzbühel and ended up sharing a gondola with Louis on the way down. He took a shine to Hildrun and before long we were all well-acquainted.
Louis was over 90 years old when I snapped this photo, and he took up mountain biking as a new hobby at age 75. Hildrun considered him “a true mountain man”, and she should know. She grew up in a small mountain village in Austria as well and has summited several Alpine peaks (sometimes with her mountain man father), including the Grossglockner, Austria’s highest.
Hildrun is scheduled to lead this Alpine Mountain Magic trip again this fall. She’s out of work, like most of the travel industry, for several months, so fingers crossed that we will all be down the path of a new normal by this fall!!
