Blogs from Austria, Europe - page 255

It is a bit concerning when it is mid-January in Europe and the most common response to my comment ‘I am heading off for a week of skiing in Austria’ is ‘Is there any snow?’. A layer of stress is added when the planned ski holiday is with two Aussies who have traveled half way across the world for said ski trip. What is a girl to do? In my case: * obsessively check the snow reports for at least three weeks pre departure (including checking other resorts in Europe to see if an alternative destination would have been better - no, it was crap everywhere); *repeat like a mantra the phrase ‘I picked St Anton partly for the snow and partly because it is famous for its Après ski (some say the best in Europe). ... read more

Yay free internet! Rubbish space bar though... can't have it all I suppose :-( Time to re-cap what happened to me in the 10 days I had free; First things first, I sent the group of and after reassuring them I wouldn't see the ski instructors till feb bumped into one nearly straight away in town! (Sorry Maddy) Was tucked up happily in bed when I got summoned down to the bar in the hotel for drinks. Only a few spritzers I should add. Was too busy trying to deciper the zillertal dialect to drink heavily. And the cheek, one of the lift guys (not scary jumper man) told me whilst clearly battered that I don't know when to stop drinking. How very rude! Must be the hockey girl in me...hoooooo!! Spent sunday doing not very ... read more

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 ... read more

Hi Everyone Happy new year… This diary entry is well overdue. The fact that people are writing to me saying “Bella when are you going to update your blog” means to me that it is really time to write and that some people are actually reading this blog and getting some enjoyment out of it. Well December was an interesting month, as I reflect and read through my diary a lot happened in that month, some incredibly fantastic experiences and some damn bad and enlightening ones (well one anyways). I will start by saying that in December and up until the first week in January I caught over 15 trains, several busses, 5 planes, a couple of car rides, a few taxis & yes and ambulance which all in all took me to and through six ... read more

Who would’ve thought that I’d end the year of 2006 flying down the Austrian Alps with a Finnish Flask? To end my ‘whirlwind exchange year’ 6 exchangies and myself road tripped down to the Austrian Alps for Christmas week and made house in one of the cosy cabins up on the snowy hills. This was my first White Christmas- no thongs, bikinis, beaches or Santa wearing a Bonds singlet with a stubby in his hand- this was a true blue, fair-dinkum, fully legitimate White Christmas. We had the snow, the sleds, the fireplace, the personalised stockings, the Christmas carols including Jim Reeves, the presents (my KK got me a Pearl Jam DVD and a Dr Seuss Book- thanks Loz!) the “white” tree (a fresh one with fresh snow that was ripped out from the side of ... read more