Austria

August 7 to 29, 2010

ellmi's zauberwelt

Back to the Playground and Panning for Gold

Eventually we made it back to the main playground where we were just in time to pan for gold. The kids were delighted to find their little nuggets and Samantha exclaimed several times "Wow! We're really rich now!" At the end they got to keep their "gold" and received gold panning certificates and a special rock. We decided we wanted to stick around to paint wands before heading home so we had our snack lunch and played a bit more at Ellmi's playground.

Some alpine poppies.

Alpine cranberries.

A balance play structure.

Christopher and Samantha run the circuit several times.

Having a little rest at one of the herbal stations along the "alm" trail.

Samantha and Christopher discover the herbal kitchen.

As they explored the old fashioned stove and the various pots "cooking" on the stove,
another little boy joined Samantha and Christopher in the fun.

Back at Ellmi's playground it's time to pan for gold.

The kids have fun picking out not just the (fool's) gold but also lots of other little pretty stones.

Samantha wants to try swishing the pan herself.

Christopher proudly shows his little collection of gold.

The kids bring back their pan but they got to keep the gold.

And they got certificates from Ellmi to commemorate their "gold rush" experience.

On a quick pit stop inside the lift station restaurant we take note of the beautiful "Kachelofen"...
a type of wood stove that produces radiant heat which heats a house very efficiently.