WHEN you're on top of the world and free as a bird, nothing can stop you making a fool of yourself.
That's why I was doing the Eagle Rock at a mountain summit in Innsbruck. And I didn't care who saw me.
Hubbie was off playing mountain goat for the moment, heading to another ridge to take yet another amazing photographic panorama.
The Asian and German tourists nearby were more concerned with capturing their own Kodak moments and didn't see me do my little dance of joy (with any apologies for embarrassing Aussie band Daddy Cool, which penned the Eagle Rock classic in my childhood).
And why not? I was probably at the highest altitude I have ever been (outside a plane) so there was cause for celebration.
Mountains are in good supply in Innsbruck, Austria.
They dominate the scenery on all sides. They put a smile on you face as you marvel at the wonders of nature.
Even in summer when they are covered in a green blanket rather than a white one, the mountains are a real novelty for a beach babe.
I want to stare at them for hours, squinting to make out probable ski runs, mountaineering tracks, cable cars and lonely snow huts.
The camera runs riot snapping jagged outlies and ranges in silhouette.
We arrived by train before lunch on a hot and sunny autumn day, so dropped our unopened backpacks at the Best Western Plus Goldener Adler reception and headed through the Altstadt (Old Town) to Station Congress for the Nordkette Innsbruck funicular and cable cars.
The route consists of three different funicular (the Hungerburgbahn opened in 1906) or cable-car sectors (Hungerburg-Seegrube and Seegrube-Hafelekar both opening in July, 1928) up the Nordkette Mountain Range that take in stops at Lowenhaus, the Alpine Zoo, Hungerburg, Seegrube and Hafelekar. At Hafelekar (2256m above sea level), visitors also can take a short walk to the summit.
Depending on the day, season and numbers waiting, you could be at the top of the mountain in 20 minutes if you time it right. Obviously the cableways are very popular during the ski season.
The Innsbrucker Nordketten Bahnen publicity brochure says that nowhere else in the world but Innsbruck is the mountain terrain so close to the built-up city centre.
Certainly, our five hours of easy mountain "climbing" - with a stop for a cold sauvignon blanc and beer on the outdoor terrace of the Alpenlounge at Seegrube (1905m above sea level) to look back over the capital and Inn and Wipp (Wipptal) valleys - was as exhilarating as it was majestic.
Lesson of the day: More things I need to get used to -
* The high prices for just about everything in Austria and Switzerland
* A very limited variety of vegetables that are cooked or available in salads. Fries come with everything, it seems, and carrot appears to be considered a delicacy.
* Sandwiches that have only one or two fillings.
* Pork or ham dishes in abundance. Usually few steak or chicken options.
* On arrival in any main city, you will first see a McDonald's, then an Italian pizzeria or ristorante.
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