Wow! We just noticed that time flies when you are having fun with special people from around the world. It is already Friday and we cannot believe that we have learnt so many interesting things. So this is how our awesome Friday went:
At 8:00 a.m. we enjoyed a very delicious Austrian breakfast this was followed by our 3 hour hike at 9:00 a.m. that showed us the great scenery of the region we are currently staying in. We went to the glacier tongue at the Gepatschferner with Kay Helfricht, a glacier expert from the university of Innsbruck.
Ölgrubenjoch
We learnt a lot from Kay and the glacier was very beautiful, it was a very breathtaking moment for us! The walk back was very peaceful as we separated and some of our group members engaged in another journey to see a rock at the Ölgrubenjoch, we believe it was a wonderful sight.
The whole hike took approximately 6 hours. Then we all took a nap before our great dinner. This was followed by the simulation game which brewed a lot of excitement as we all gave life to our differenz characters, the simulation game has helped us think more about the importance of political, economical and social understanding when it comes to world decisions.
3rd day of our I.C.E. camp began in remote Anton-Renk-Lodge. Yesterday we found out that near the lodge was supposed to be a lake. Unfortunately yesterday's rain und thunderstorm had stopped our search for the lake just five minutes from here. So we planned to wake up at 5.30. But sleep in our amazing home was just too good to get up that early. We all simply turned off out alarms and finally we got out of bed at 6.00 a.m. and just ten minutes later hit the mountains again in hope to find that lake. Our hike took us up the rocks, beside the river and finally to the long expected lake. Then it was already past seven and breakfast started at 7.30. As you can see we were hopelessly late to our breakfast. For breakfast we had bread and toast with jam or jelly or marmelade, as we could not agree what it was called, we also had cheese and salami. Then we had to make some bread for our hike back from Anton-renk to Gepatschhaus.
Under discussion were several questions connected to the safety of marine life
But before we could leave we had to clean the lodge. At 10.00 a.m. we left our home for a night and headed back down from the mountain. Still on a mountain we all had really tasty ice creams at Fendler Alm. Afterwards we reached a playground where Merlin and Kamil found trampolines and went crazy. Then it was time to go back to Gepatschhaus. At 16 hours we had our first serious meeting of COSPRED 2015 (our simulation game). Under discussion were several questions connected to the safety of marine life and oil-rig workers. For example what kind of equipment was necessary for rescue missions and who was actually going to pay for the damage caused and the upkeeping of the rescue facilities. We agreed to make some changes to the first proposal by "StarOil".
Gepatschferner
After the conference we had a little free time. Boys went out and found a slackline. However they had to pratice it much more even to be able to stand on the line, but since they were really confident they promised to walk across the whole line at the end of the camp. Then it was time for our next great dinner. Today we were served with soup with baked peas then spaghetti with schnitzel and for desert we had apricot cake. When everyone was full we had a presentation by Ph.D. Kay Helfricht about glaciers. It was called "Glaciers - a part of the Global Cryosphere". We learned how glaciers are formed, and which types of glaciers are there. We can even see part of a real glacier from our windows, called Gepatschferner. This is the second largest glacier in Austria. This presentation was in part a preparation for a hike tomorrow.
Then everyone was tired but our evening wasn't done yet. For today we had planned a movie night. We watched "The Girl Next Door" and when it finally ended everyone simply fell asleep waiting for the next day with a hike to the glacier.
We arose to a beautiful, chilly morning at 7 o'clock. Over breakfast, we bonded by making up funny nicknames for each other, which included "Lightbulb", "Curry", "Veggie" or "Stone". We also named our leaders: "Father Arne", "Mother Kristin", "Sister Annelie", "Brother Justus" and "Grandfather Ulrich". After packing delicious sandwiches for lunch, we walked to a bus station where we took a 1 hour bus ride to Prutz, then another short ride to Ried. From there, we rode on cable cars up a mountain. The breathtaking views left us in awe. From the cable car, we took a nerve-wracking ski lift further up the mountain. It was terrifying yet breathtaking to watch our feet dangle high above the trees.
Storm
Finally, when we reached our destination, we proceeded on a three-hour hike to the Anton-Renk-Lodge. The faster hikers were able to complete their hike within the estimated 3 hours, however some of us decided to amble slowly and enjoy the view. Finally, with our muscles aching, we reached the hut. When we gazed out into the scenery, the magnificent view was worth all the pain. We stretched our muscles and engaged in a group yoga session led by Olivia in order to relax and rejuvenate. After a delicious spaghetti dinner prepared by Brother Justus and Sister Annelie, we had a short meeting of the simulation game. A storm passed over the area, which scared us but caused thick clouds to form over the mountains, creating an amazing scene. Thoroughly tired out, all of us relaxed in the girl's room, telling ghost stories and sharing chocolate and nuts. Ayanda, Merlin, Olivia and Kamil petrified us with their tales. Finally, after the strenuous day, we fell asleep...
The day started with breakfast at 8 o'clock. After the jetlag from yesterday it was early for some participants. The next point of our program was the simulation game, which was a kind of mystery for us. Followed by some general advice concerning the rules of the Gepatschhaus (which was built in 1873 and is 1928m above sealevel) and fire alarm rules which were given by Ulrich. For example it wasn't always a good idea to jump out of the window. Kristin then gave us some idea about what was happening as regards climate change during the past billion years and what will happen in the future. The whole presentation was visually very impressive.
Simulation Game
Equipped with some self-made sandwiches we started the hike to Fernergarten where we met some stray cows with bells. Furthermore we discovered a great waterfall in the rock faces, which was surrounded by a wonderful landscape. The sun burned consistantly down on us, which made us feel good and absolutely happy at our return. After a short break we noticed the different types of visitors at the house. At the one hand we have the fanatical and untiring hikers and on the other hand we have cake eating pensioners. At 3 o'clock everybody had the chance to let us know how global warming is effecting his or her home country. The shady side of the church near the Gepatschhaus was an ideal place for these presentations. At about 4 o'clock we all came together in order to continue the simulation game: we were supposed to select a role of a company, which takes a positive or negative position as regards the safety agreement on oil platforms in the arctic waters. Finally we got the dinner at half past 6. Enjoying onion soup and fries we could exchange information concerning our hoem countries.
When Merlin and Ulrich arrived at Munich airport in the morning, some of the other participants had already flown in or arrived within minutes. Ayanda from South Africa could be located and guided to the meeting point by means of repeated cell-phone calls. Then Kaius from Estonia, Leda from Cyprus and Olivia from Bangladesh showed up at the S-Bahn box office, our first meeting point. Soon afterwards Kamil from Poland and Esra from Turkey arrived and we were ready to travel by S-Bahn, the airport commuter train, to the next meeting point which was the railway station Munich-East. There we would meet Annelie and Justus who were already in the train from Berlin to Innsbruck, the train that would take the entire group to Austria. While we were waiting on the platform of Munich-East, Lucia arrived and then we received a panic-call from Astrid who was sitting in a train heading to Munich and her train was late. She would probably miss our train to Innsbruck. There were some moments of tension indeed, but with the Innsbruck train visibly approaching our station we saw Astrid jumping up staircases and the group was finally complete.
Gepatschhaus
Travelling through the beautiful landscape of Bavaria and then Austria Annelie and Justus met us in our compartment and at Innsbruck-station we were met by Kristin. The next train took us all to Landeck where a bus was already waiting for us. It took us up the winding mountain road towards Gepatschhaus (Photo). While passing the huge dam that closes the northern end of the Gepatsch-Lake we could already see the glacier blinking in the distance. Just before 8.00 pm we arrived at our destination, the beautiful Gepatschhaus and were met by Arne the I.C.E. camp leader who had already arrived by car. Soon we settled into our rooms and then enjoyed a tasty evening meal. Then everybody went to bed after an exhausting but also very exciting day. Ulrich (Germany)
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