Blogs from Austria, Europe - page 8
January 6th 2012
We made it to Zell am See. Haven't yet been able to see the city since it hasn't stopped snowing I do hear there's supposed to be a pretty lake here somewhere. The snowing has made the ski conditions incredible... so much powder. I must say we haven't been too impressed with the people and city so far. The locals are much more business, definitely not as friendly and the hundreds of tourists are VERY aggressive and pushy. The idea of a line to wait for something has not made it to main land Europe yet. Saying that, the mountain has definitely made up for it. I took a ski lessson this morning and was put in a class way below my level. It was good to go over the basics which I've never learned but ... read more
January 4th 2012
We're sitting on top of a mountain after a glorious day snowshoeing and a wonderful evening with the other hutte guests and staff. I can't upload the video, but i must say this has been one of my favorite days over here.... read more
January 2nd 2012
Today I walked to the village and did a grocery shop, bought a new skiing jacket, and some ingredients for Apfel Strudl and a roast of some Fleish I thought was beef. Walked the five kilometres home, very slowly, the weight of the groceries was mental, and I had to walk through the snow and ice. Found my way home, and as most of you will know, I don't cook, so Alfred mostly made the strudl for me, and I acted as his assistant (well, I did the dishes). We didn't have the roast I was going to prepare, partly because it ended up being turkey, and secondly we went out on an excursion to the local Höhle (cave) open only once a year for visitors. This cave has a story to tell, a man went ... read more
January 1st 2012
Our first skiing lesson with the professionals on the baby slope. Two disappointing things - firstly, I had two women teaching me, and secondly, I was with a group of three and four year olds. I worked hard, but mostly helped the girls pick up the little people. Finally Thomas came to the rescue and taught me a whole lot and now I am ready for the Loser (a very steep alpine mountain in Alt Aussee. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duCbmgBbZUQ Loved every second and think I'll probably be in the next winter olympics, representing Australia. Had dinner at home with cousins, Reinhart, Sabine, Tobias and Laura.... read more
January 1st 2012
I'm sending all of you a message from the future... welcome to 2012! Happy New Year! We brought in the new year beside the Inn river watching PHENOMENAL fireworks to a waltz, 'nothing else matters', a german song and '21 guns'. We have a few videos to show. Enjoy the rest of 2011!... read more
January 1st 2012
We went downhill skiing today at Axamer Lizum. I had a very satisfying 4 runs (5 if you count the t-bar run). It took an entire run for me to figure out what I was doing, but by the end of the day I had a lot more confidence. The mountains are incredible! I did my last run looking at a limestone mountain range glowing in the setting sun! Sorry no pictures today-the playbooks had a quiet day in our room. Off to bed, we're going to push our muscles tomorrow and go skiing at Patscher Kofel. The ski area has over 1000m of vertical for a single run. Guten Abend!... read more
December 31st 2011
Departed from the hotel in Vienna this morning and had früstück (breakfast) at a traditional cafe. Great coffee, freshly baked cake, servings the size of a medium corgi. Oddly contemporary toilets however - clear glass cubicles and doors - completely transparent - until you lock the door and a sensor clouds the glass. Quite disconcerting but sehr fantastiche. Collected Isabella from her mother and grandmother who resides in an inner city apartment with the most stylish (and wealthy) taste in Persian rugs, carved mirrors, chandeliers and more. Wien chic. Drove home through the Danube Valley, and you know what!? It really was blue. Apparently quite an odd sight but the weather was perfect, clear skies and the blue was reflected on the water. Such a sight to behold. Passing by the Stift Melk (or Melk Abbey), ... read more
December 31st 2011
We arrived in Innsbruck last night. Unfortunately the internet coverage isn't great, so no videos for awhile. We were a bit nervous coming to Innsbruck as the weather forecast called for rain today, however since we got on the train at 4pm last night it hasn't stopped snowing! There's been something like 7-10" in the last day. The trees have big blobs of snow on their branches. It looks like a winter wonderland! We explored the altstadt (old city) today stopping at the market hall and a few coffeeshops to warm up and shake the snow off. The coffees, hot chocolate and apple strudal were great, but my favourite is the delicious soup everywhere. Food is one of the three things Austrians must really enjoy based on the stores we came across. The other 2 are ... read more
December 30th 2011
Today we drove to Vienna to spend some time in the city, stay overnight, and collect Thomas' daughter, Isabella in the morning. We made our way to a neat little hotel, settled in, then walked through this ancient, culturally rich city and visited the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the building itself on the Ringstrasse, an incredible piece of art in itself, crowned with an octagonal dome, marble staircase, frescoed ceiling. The gallery was opened in 1891 by Emperor Franz Josef and is filled with Rafael, Rubens, Velazquez, Rembrandt, to name but a few. I could have lived in this building for the rest of my years, and drawn life from the beauty of the art (kunst). The glory, the colour, the classics, the beauty, the betrayal, the religion, the battles, all giving me sustenance to view the next ... read more
