Skiing in Rauris

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After Epernay it was back to Paris for the day. We had decided for the sake of adventure, to take the overnight train through to Salzburg. Embarked relatively late in the evening and then into a carriage cabin no larger than a bathroom. The bunks were stacked three high. Its not that we were carrying a lot of gear but we felt like sardines once finally ensconced in our room. The steward was particularly germanic in providing us with the manditory briefing prior to departure. We were confident that morning coffee would arrive exactly on time.

We sped through the stations in France during the evening, but dawdled to meet the schedules once in Germany.

We arrived in Austria and through to Salzburg station. There we met up with Magda - once our exchange student, now like a daughter to us. We hired a van and made our way down to Rauris in the mountains. The biggest challenge of the trip was getting the van's state-of-the-art audio system to recognise my ageing iPod. Oh, the challenges of western existence.

We found our apartment in a West Rauris complex and set ourselves up for a week's skiing. Snow was a bit thin and over-groomed at the start of the week, but some heavier falls during the week really improved things. Greg spent one day further up the valley cross-country skiiing in absolutely perfect conditions.

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