Monkey Flat Stanley in the Austrian Alps

Well, Stanley and I had another opportunity to see another part of Europe after my exams were finished in February; this time the north end of Austria.  We were joined by three other friends of mine, and we decided to go skiing at Kitzbühel, in the Tyrol region of northern Austria.  We were blessed with some amazing weather, and an enjoyable time overall after the stress of our semester exams!

As the pictures on the mountain show, however, Stanley didn't exactly like the cold.  So although he went skiing with us, he preferred to stay in my jacket pocket to stay warm.  We figured that it was better that way, as the ski rentals would not have worked for his skinny feet anyways.  With as light of a body as his, he would probably have been blown off the mountain when the wind picked up!

Here's a picture of the crew (again, Stanley refused to expose his face to the cold).

 Sometimes, we were able to just take a rest, and take in the beautiful view.  The frigid cold, clean air, breath-taking views of the mountains and valleys, and steep slopes of fresh snow and pine trees were good for all of us, and made us grateful for such amazing natural beauty.  Although he didn't get to see all of it, because he was in my coat pocket for much of it, Stanley agreed that the artist who made all of it sure knew what he was doing! 

 Eventually, I made Stanley get out and breathe the fresh air himself.  Here, we threw him in a snow bank outside where we stayed.  Even though he wouldn't stop yelling, I think he actually enjoyed it.

 We even got a close-up together afterward.

At the end of the trip, we were able to make a short trip to Innsbruck, before we returned to Rome.  Innsbruck is a beautiful city, right at the base of some of the many towering and majestic Austrian Alps.  Among other things, it's well-known for being a center for mountain sports, during both the summer and winter.  It ended being a great and refreshing trip for all of us, before we went back to the books!