Blogs from Zell am See, Salzburg, Austria, Europe
August 12th 2011
So after deciding not to go to the dam yesterday, I got up early today and went there again on my own, as I was the only one of us who wanted to see the dam, hopefully beating the queues. I was in luck as once I got there I was able to buy a ticket and get straight on the bus. The only downside of being there that early is that the buses go in pairs and they don’t set-off until both busses are full, so I had to wait on the bus for a while. I had a slight scare when I got there in the car as they directed me into the multi-storey car park and I realised just in time that the car park ceiling wasn’t high enough for the car and ... read more
Why Ski Down The Slopes When You Can Coast Down?
Published: August 12th 2011Europe » Austria » Salzburg » Zell am See
August 11th 2011
The plan for today was to visit Kaprun and Zell am See and unlike the week so far the weather was fantastic. The first stop was the Alpine Coaster in Kaprun. This is basically a roller-coaster on what I’m sure was the nursery slope when I came to Kaprun skiing about 20 years ago. We then decided to drive up to the Mooserboden Reservoir and Dam, which is near Kaprun. Since I missed out on a tour of the Hoover Dam and the Glen Canyon Dam last year , it was a good opportunity to finally visit one. However, I was to be disappointed again as the queues when we got there were out of this world, so we decided not to bother. On the way down we drove past a large series of car parks, ... read more
July 11th 2011
What! Its 7 AM, I know we need to get on the road. What! As I turn over I feel this foot up against my back. Get Up! Ok are we on vacation or not? We need to get up and load the car and get on the road. You want to see the Ice cave and ride on the Alpine Stratsse RIGHT? Ya Ya Ya. Kirsten and I walk to the bakery and she’s talking and talking, I’m just missing my nice bed. We get there and the lady is smiling and Kirsten is just as happy as can be. I’m looking at both of them thinking WHAT THE &#*@! We order our rolls and we‘re on our way back and Kirsten says you don’t have to be so grumpy. WHAT! I’ve been kicked out ... read more
Day 12 & 13 Hahnenkamm, Rain, Snow and the road to Innsbruck
Published: May 18th 2011Europe » Austria » Salzburg » Zell am See
May 14th 2011
Day 12 & 13 Hahnenkamm, Rain, Snow and the road to Innsbruck ‘The Hahnenkamm’ Mention that to any downhill skiing fan and they will instantly know it is one of the fastest, most terrifying courses on the skiing world cup circuit. I’ve (k) wanted to walk down it for some time. It seemed when we woke up that it wasn’t going to be. We had consistent rain for over 20 hours and even when we drove towards Kitzbuhel the town nearest to the Hahnenkamm, the cloud was low. As with the scenic road, the Sun came out. So we thought we go for it, but...the cable car wasn’t going to be operating until June. We thought we would go UP instead, boy was it steep, but managed about 95% of it until the threat of further ... read more
skiing in saalbach-hinterglemm-leogang
Published: February 18th 2010Europe » Austria » Salzburg » Zell am See
Adventure - The other side of disaster
Published: August 8th 2009Europe » Austria » Salzburg » Zell am See
June 1st 2009
Superman’s closet One of the good things about one of my recent business trips to Munich was that I knew about it ½ a year in advance so I could coordinate with my friend Ohad to join me at the end of the week for a few days in Austria. Clothes indeed make the man. At the end of the last day of the trade-show, with all the visitors already leaving the grounds and Ohad already on the way in the car, I went into a small closet. I took off my suit and tie and put on a worn out T-shirt. I replaced my dress pants with old travel pants. I changed my black shoes for hiking boots. I washed of the gel in my hair to let it expand in all directions. I ... read more
October 11th 2008
I'm back after the longest week I've had here up until now. Last friday at 10:00pm I left in a bus with a bunch of kids from the Ski Club and headed out to Kaprun Austria. It took about 8 hours or so we got there at 9 there next morning. The hotel was aweful for those who might have an idea of the conditions of most hotels in Hampton Beach N.H well it was bad. But I guess it was a youth hostile we where staying in it still wasn't the best. The whole place was freezing and it was grudgy and well not great. The food to tell you about it it was like the simpsons' cafiteria food. Just plaine gross. Fries and potatos with the box mixture everything fried and done up really ... read more
September 27th 2008
So we've been chilling (both literally in figuratively) in the Alps this past week. The actual place is St. Johann im Pongau, but they don't have the location on this blog, so I picked one close by. We've been staying in a nice hotel where, once again, we don't quite fit in, but everyone's been real nice and we've met a couple cool people (mostly much older than us). The view from our hotel room is incredible, with mist-shrouded mountains every morning that burn off by afternoon to show the snow-capped peaks beneath them. The other day we took a trip with this guy we met at the hotel (a bit of a Dead-head, but a real nice guy). He drove us out to the Liechtensteinklamm, which is a gorge cut straight through one of the ... read more
August 8th 2008
Wow!! What a beautiful country! We spent our longest time in one campsite in Fusch. Our surroundings were amazing. We hiked everyday and did one overnight hike. Hiking is different in Austria-it is acceptable to use cable cars, mountains are very steep-straight up and straight down usually 1000m with few countour paths! When we hiked overnight we stayed in a guest house(Gliewitzerhutte) at 2100m above sea level. We made friends with lovely Austrian couple - Barbara and Matthew. Matthew grew up in the area and told us a lot about the hiking in the region. The one thing we didn't know was that the whistling sound you hear when hiking down the mountain is not birds but Mermouteer or Manke (?sp) as the locals call them communicating with each other (Dassie like creatures with long tails). ... read more
July 17th 2008
We came to Zell am See on a whim and found mountain paradise. Having never heard of this lakeside Austrian town, the initial magical trainride deep into mountains blooming with Christmas trees, hidden castles & crumbling stone bridges over aweinspiring gorges was an adventure in itself. A personal pick-up at the station by our friendly Irish B&B hosts began 3 days of luxury. A room all to ourselves (devoid of snoring, drunk travellers), fluffy white doonas and free buffet breakfast. The afternoon of our arrival saw us accidentally hiking to the peak of Schmitten hohe, our 2000m high neighbour, after planning a lazy walk to a hillside pub a mere 40 minutes walk away. 5 hours later we were descending through alpine meadows with glaciers to the left of us and cows to the right, our ... read more
