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| Family in Austria! |
Last Saturday, we dropped Rupert off at puppy camp for the week (that's what we like to call going to the kennel because it makes us feel like he will be having a lot of fun too and won't be cursing us everyday that he is away from his cozy bed in the corner of the living room) and loaded the car for the airport. Two airplanes and a car ride later and at about midnight we were pulling into the hotel about an hour south of Saltzburg in Austria. The "Kowar" in me felt like I was coming home (my great-grandfather emmigrated to the U.S. from Vienna).
We stayed at the Hagleitner kinderhotel near Zell Am See, Austria. The mini-apartment was perfect for our family: three rooms that included a king bed room for mom and dad, a bunk bedded room and a common room with a couch that folds out to a twin bed. The program included half board which meant a breakfast buffet was included. The hotel is only for families so the kitchen always has food available that the kids will enjoy. When we came in each afternoon from the slopes there were cakes, ice cream, bread, meat and cheese. Then dinner was a kids buffet and really great menu choices for the parents. Each morning we would select our Starter, Soup, Main and the Dessert! I hadn't really thought about the food before getting there, and ended up very impressed.
The kids had the option of going to ski school and joining the kids club groups, but we had decided to spend the week together as a family and spent six days on the slopes as our own group.
Sunday we had to stop and rent our ski equipment but were on the slopes before noon. I think Steve had misread the map as he lead us over to a Red or Intermediate slope as our first run of the day and actually our first ski run since our trip to Utah last year. It took us 1 hour and 45 minutes to get down the slope. Cameron spent a lot of time sitting on the mountain crying and even Katie was overwhelmed in some spots. It did not help that the snow was very icy in some spots and your skis would scrape down it, freaking out the novice skier. Surprisingly I spent quite a bit of time telling Cameron what he should do and that it would be all OK. If you know me, you know that I am NOT a skier! So this whole scene was comical to me. If I could have, I would have sat down and cried along with Cameron, but the reality was that the only we to get down was to ski it in little bits. Please note that by Friday, we could all ski down that same slope in less than 20 minutes!!!
After that experience we took the gondola back up and found that there were other slopes further up the mountain that were Blue or Beginner and perfectly suited to our first day on the slopes. On Monday, back on the slopes, we were able to explore other sides of the mountain and continue to regain our ski legs on blue slopes and challenge ourselves with a few intermediate runs. Feeling more confident, we retired from the slopes with enough time to enjoy the hotel pool as well.
Tuesday, we had a great sunny day and made it back to the slopes. By this time, we were all getting better, but at the end of the day, Jacob and Steve were the only ones to take the Red slope back to the bottom that had scared us the first day. Katie, Cameron and I had ridden the gondola back down to the bottom both times. This day we were all able to take it slowly and successfully made it to the bottom of the mountain.
Wednesday we woke to see snow coming down. We headed out later than usual to the mountain, but there was still a long line to get up the mountain and we could see from the signs that several lifts were closed due to the weather. Steve had to take a teleconference call, so the kids and I stayed to the beginner slope and skied a few runs before we were having trouble seeing. The crowds were also a bit more unbearable than before. It turns out that just about ALL of Europe was on school midterm break this past week and you could tell from the crowds that this was what we had already been told the busiest week of the season. When we found Steve again, with the weather deteriorating, we skied to the bottom and finished our day at 1pm. With a break for McDonald's for lunch we would have time to enjoy the pool and relax in the apartment for the afternoon. Truth be told, my legs were so sore, that I needed the day off to recover from three full days already on the slopes!!!
Thursday: by now the week seems to have slipped by too quickly! We head back up the mountain for some great skiing. We stop for lunch just after 1pm hoping the crowds have died down, but we still cannot find a seat at the place where we stop. I convince the family to ski through for a little longer so we had back to the lifts. The snow was still falling from the day before and the powder is deep. We manage to get our skis to click back on, but little do we know that Cameron's might not have been as secure as we thought. We make our way over to the lift. It's a 4 person chair and Jacob goes ahead with another group of three leaving the 4 of us to be together. We watch some people skiing off piste below the lift and laugh at some Brits "encouraging" their children to follow them down this somewhat treacherous bit. We are just about to the top when Cameron looks down and notices he only has ONE ski!!!! The tears are about to start. We look back but do not notice a thing. None of us can recall when it might have fallen off! We wave to the lift attendant at the top to slow it down so we can get him safely off of the lift. I wait with Cameron and Katie while Jacob and Steve go to see if they can find the ski. Almost 30 minutes later, they rejoin us at without the ski. Uggh, now we have to go to the rental place and explain! Steve, Jacob and Katie ski/snowboard down the mountain and fortunate that the gondola is right there, Cameron and I take the lift up to the top of the mountain and all the way to the bottom.
Everyone, I am making a plug for the ski renters insurance. What a lifesaver! I thought we might have a ski stolen. I had never thought about the perils of deep soft snow! The whole situation was fully taken care of and a match for his ski was found. By now it was almost three o'clock and the three who had managed a full day of skiing were ready to go back so happy hour it was!
Our best day of skiing was Friday. I think that there were fewer people on the slopes. Perhaps many of the school groups were starting their travels home, but we found fewer lines and more open slopes. We explored the far side of the mountain and even managed a Black or Expert slope. From my snow plowing, you would know I wasn't an expert, but I managed to not get injured, so that's a plus! We even had a great lunch at the one little spot on the mountain we had found on Tuesday that had food everyone enjoyed. With Umpah music from a keyboardist, we were getting in the Alpine spirit. I love Fridays on the ski slopes, everywhere it seems more relaxed and more like a party with more music everywhere. It was our longest day of skiing of the week and if our legs weren't so sore, we would have stayed out for the last hour that the slopes were open.
We had a great week. First of all we were able to spend a full week as a family having more great adventures and second, we all got to improve on our ski skills (well, all but Steve who had to ski down to my level!). I Loved skiing in Utah last year because we were there on an off week and with no crowds we skied the whole mountain freely. Skiing Schmittenhohe in Austria was good except for the crowds. I think the choice of the weeks was the problem there, but now that Jacob is in Junior High, we are stuck with the school holidays. So, overall, a good week! I would recommend Hagleitner kinderhotel and skiing Zell am See and Kaprun in Austria, it just might be better if it isn't the busiest school holiday week in all of Europe!
