Office Ski Trips to Austria

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Every January it was a tradition for the office to take a weeklong all inclusive ski trip to Erpfendorf, Austria, near St Johann and Kitzbuhl.

On Saturday we would drive directly there and checked into the Larchenhof Hotel. Nan and Stacey, our neighbors from Glan Munchweiller, along with their kids Lowell and Allison, would convoy with us.

Sunday morning after breakfast we were divided into groups by level of experience. Linda and I were grouped with the beginners. We proceeded to the bunny slope to learn how to snow plow and schuss. That was pretty much how we spent the rest of the day.

The second day we were subdivided into slow beginners and fast beginners. This is when Linda and I were split up. The fast beginners then went to the top of the hill and tried to snow plow around gates.

By the third day we were learning to parallel ski, and from then on it was developing this proficiency. Meanwhile Linda was still practicing snow plows. She was with her girl friends so enjoyed the company if not the skiing.

The last day was the slalom races. I tripped on my ski pole, which I was using to go faster on the flat area just before the finish line, and swam the last several feet to cross the finish line for the silver medal. Linda crossed the finish line more gracefully.

So by the end of the week, Linda decided that downhill skiing was not her favorite sport; she preferred cross country skiing which we learned the next year in Erpfendorf.

The meals at the hotel were great. The evening entertainment was traditional with yodeling and dancing which ususally included a lot of leg slapping.

One evening we went sledding with Nan and Stacey and their kids.

Saturday we checked out of the hotel, but instead of going back home directly, we drove through St Johann and Kitzbuhl to Innsbruck where we walked around and had lunch. Then we drove northeast and crossed the border back into Germany near Mittenwald on the way to Garmisch. The snow was really deep and covered the mountains like icing on a cake. We staying in Garmisch at an AFRC hotel on Saturday night and drove the rest of the way home on Sunday.

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Photos

Our hotel in Erpfendorf, Austria
Ski slope in the background

Bob unloading our friends car at the hotel
Our car is the Volvo to the left. Not sure why I was in their car!

Bob crossing the finish line in grand style
Still enough to win silver

Dinner with friends
Bob, Linda, Stacey, and Nan with their kids, Lowell and Allison, and others from the office. Allison visited us in Brussels in 1985 while she did her study abroad at the University of Leuven. The next time we met was in 1999 at a pet store in Tysons Corner, Virginia when we were both looking to get a kitten...small world.