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Published: January 19th 2007
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Can you teach an old dog new tricks?
As I struggled to get my legs under control I told myself, "Barbara, you can do this!" It was my first attempt at skiing and we had just been fitted out with boots and skis. Now I had to negotiate the turnstyle along with dozens of other people and position myself to get onto the ski lift when it arrived behind me! Easier said than done! My skis had a mind of their own and I kept on getting them entwined with other people as we inched our way forward. With Joel and Clara on either side we managed to get through and miraculously onto the lift. What an incredible experience it was as we were taken to the top of the slope. As we neared the top I realised I was going to have to get off the lift and out of the way of the next chair! We managed without my falling flat on my face!
Six of us had set off on a skiing/snowboarding trip to Tauplitz in the Austrian Alps about 270 kms west of Vienna. Clara and her father Otto had taken us to stay in a
Off the road!
Clara goes over to give her dad a hard time! delightful little chalet in a small village called Purgg. There had been very little snow in Vienna and we wondered if there would be enough in the Alps. We had borrowed an extra car from friends of Clara's and as we neared our destination, it started to snow!! It was quite an experience driving in the snow and as we negotiated the windy road to the small village of Purgg where we were staying, Otto's car (with Michael and Justin on board) skidded off the road and ended up in some logs along an embankment! Thankfully no one was hurt and there was no damage to the car. We all tried to push the car out but had to call the equivalent of the RAC in Australia to get the car back on the road.
The chalet we stayed at belongs to Clara's aunt and we were very grateful to be able to go there for three days. The view over the village was amazing and when we woke up next day there was a blanket of snow everywhere. We lost no time in throwing snowballs and shovelling snow. It was only about ten minutes by car from there
View from the chalet
This was the view the first morning we got up! to the ski slopes and we were soon fitted up with gear; Clara and I with skis and Michael, Joel and Justin with snowboards.
After arriving at the top the real challenge started and Clara kindly gave me some tips. I was a bit of a slow learner and was grateful that there was lots of fresh snow around as I fell over many times! I even fell off the handheld lift that takes you up the individual slopes at each location! In the end I went for a much-needed coffee while the others perfected their skills. I wasn't much better on the second day but did manage to ski down one of the slopes. This was only because I was right behind Clara. (Thanks Clara!)
Our evenings in the cosy chalet were spent taking turns cooking, playing lots of games and laughing a lot. Phani, Clara's Bernese Mountain dog, who had come with us, had a wonderful time. We all loved her and were very impressed at how well behaved she was. She loved playing in the snow and then in the evenings sitting under the table and keeping our feet warm.
On the third day
Shovelling snow
Fun for a while but hard work! only Joel and Justin went snowboarding as it was still snowing a bit and visibility wasn't good. The rest of us spent the day reading, studying or going for walks in the village. One of the village churches was built in the twelth century and had some unusual frescoes on the walls. The village is like a picture postcard and I spent a most enjoyable afternoon wandering around taking photos. Packing up to leave was a bit different for the Aussies in the group; we had to secure all the outside shutters and the water pipes all had to be drained of water in case the water froze in them.
A Night at the Opera
We had heard that cheap tickets to the opera were available on the internet so decided to go one night. There were standing room tickets for only E2 and others for E9 so as none of us felt like standing for 4+ hours we went for the E9 tickets. We set off to see "The Marriage of Figaro"by Mozart which sounded fitting for Vienna. On arrival at the magnificent Opera House we were informed where our 'boxes' were! We were very impressed that we
had boxes until we saw them!! The 'boxes' were very small and we all had seats at the back. If you sat in your seat you actually couldn't even see the stage at all never mind the orchestra!! It seemed as though the people in the standing area could actually see more than we could so we left our boxes and made our way up higher to the standing area. It was much better there but it did take the ushers some convincing to let us stay. They kept saying, "This is not usual!" Standing wasn't as bad as we thought it would be. You do have a padded bar in front of you to lean on and there were little screens with an English translation so that you could try to understand what was going on. The singer who took the part of the Countess had an amazing voice and after one of her pieces the audience applauded loud and long with cries of "Bravo." It was very moving. So there we stood in our jeans and travel pants with our backpacks in one of the most famous opera houses in the world amongst others who were dressed up
in their finery. It certainly made for an interesting night out in Vienna.
A Day in Bratislava
Bratislava is one of the youngest capitals in Europe. In 1993 it became the capital city of the independent Slovak Republic. It stretches out on both sides of the Danube River and is only 65 km from Vienna so was ideal for a day visit. Michael, Joel, Joy (Joel's friend from New Zealand) and I set off on a train for a fun day. We explored the old town area and the parks where we took crazy photos of ourselves before heading for the famous Castle situated on the outskirts of the town. The four-tower majestic castle, dating from 1635-1649 rises 85 metres above the Danube River. We climbed to the top of the castle and were rewarded with great views of the city. Lunch was the most delicious meal of goulash and Slovac cuisine in The Slovac Pub which catered mainly for students. They offered an interesting drink called Sahara which tasted like a mixture of Coke and Sarsaparilla. They also offered discounts on meals and a free soup if you had achieved an A grade in your studies. We
weren't sure whether you had to bring in your exam paper or marked essay to show them! The trip back to Vienna passed quickly as we played cards using our knees as a table!
Next blog Prague and Krakow!
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anonymous
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From an anonymous Tauplitz ski instructor
Gruss gott Barbara! Having just stumbled across your blog and also remembering you from Tauplitz, (an amazing coincidence I know!), I feel compelled to set the record straight... I distinctly remember your easy grace and the confidence with which you skiied down the most precipitous of slopes - I simply can't fathom who this "slow learner" you speak of is?! Perhaps you were referring to your elder son - I also remember him - I always seemed to find him sprawled face-down in the snow, right in the middle of the easy slopes, getting in the way of the 4-6 year old's who also use that slope. Good luck with future skiing adventures, (and maybe you should suggest to your elder son that he search out other winter sport options - snowman-building perhaps?)