I took some time off this week, and on Thursday, we decided to drive to the Grüner See, a small but very charming lake in Styria, southwest of Vienna.

We’ll have to visit again next May or June, as the lake’s primary water source is snow melting in the spring, reaching up to 12 meters in depth. This week, after the hot summer we just had, it was barely two to three meters, and the waters had receded enough to split the lake into two separate bodies of water.

This is a view of the Messnerin, a 1,835-meter-tall mountain behind the lake. I hear the view from the top is incredible. I’ll have to get in better shape if I want to experience it, though, as there’s a 1,100-meter altitude gap between the last parking spot and the peak.