An Austrian Adventure
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Someone I work with told me that Austria is her favourite place to visit. At the time I thought, Ok, that's a big call, given the multitude of countries across Europe shouldering each other out of the way to bag the tourist limelight. Yet, having spent a few days there, I can actually see why it's her favourite, and just maybe, it's my favourite too - for now.
We didn't spend time in the big cities like Salzberg or Vienna. Instead we booked a little ski holiday in a town nestled in the Zillertal Mountains called Mayrhofen (My-er-hof-fen). Think of all the images you've ever seen of the Austrian countryside...
This is exactly as it is - our view as we caught the little local train from the city of Innsbruck, to the small town of Mayrhofen. Have a look for yourself:
There was some good snowfall on the third and fourth days of our stay. Take a look at some of Glen's pictures:
We didn't spend time in the big cities like Salzberg or Vienna. Instead we booked a little ski holiday in a town nestled in the Zillertal Mountains called Mayrhofen (My-er-hof-fen). Think of all the images you've ever seen of the Austrian countryside...
The enormous peaks of snow topped mountains are ringed with cloud. High mountains covered in tall pine trees cradle a verdant green valley winding its way along a natural path between the mountains. Animals graze in paddocks of grass, enclosed by rustic timber beamed fences. Large square houses are dotted over the landscape, often two or three stories high with enormous sloping brown tile roofs and eaves that extend significantly. Fascia boards made of expensive looking timber are carved into intrcate circular and scalloped patterns. Many different types and cuts of timber make up the exterior of the homes along with an off-white render. These homes are nestled on the valley floor, or even perched up the steep slopes of the mountainside.
This is exactly as it is - our view as we caught the little local train from the city of Innsbruck, to the small town of Mayrhofen. Have a look for yourself:
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| Glen took this one from the cable car. The weather the day before had been sunny and really hot. Overnight it snowed in the mountains and became cold. Crazy! |
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| This one is a little blurry - taken from the train window. Wish we'd got a pic on the sunny day... |
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| For the life of me I can't get this image to rotate. So please tolerate my computer iliteracy and tilt your head. Take a look at the architecture, looks like a fancy pants restaurant or something. Pretty typically Austrian - quaint and folksy. |
The point of our little trip was to have a go at some wintersports. Glen was mad keen to try out snowboarding, and I was only mildly keen to flouder down the slopes on skis. To be honest, skiing scares me a little. You hear of so many injuries endured by people skiing, and lets face it, I am no good walking down a mountain at the best of times, let along sliding down a mountain on thin fibreglass boards that I have little control over!
Deceivingly, my day on the slopes started well. I was Queen of the nursery slopes (very light gradient and only about 30 metres long). I weaved in and out of the littlies, exploiting my snowplow skills like a pro (who'd only had 2 lessons last year at Mount Perisher). I didn't fall once! So the instuctor decided to take me on some blue (easy runs) in the afternoon (I was the only lucky duck who showed up for the afternoon session). Ok I thought, I can give these a go. Little did I know that they were at times a little steep and narrow, required 180 degree turns and that in places they dropped off at the edge steeply. All my worst fears rolled into one - a skiing accident waiting to happen. So I basically spent two hours with my calf and thigh muscles clenched in terror, frantically snowplowing my way down the mountain. I was trying to stay away from the far side of the run to avoid my nightmare of plunging over the edge as a result of my now inadequate snowplow skills. I had to stop to relieve my legs a number of times, my muscles were screaming and shaking in fear. I think the instructor thought I was lazy and unfit (I suppose the latter could be somewhat true), but really I was petrified! After 2 hours of downhill agony, about 10 falls and a failed red run (I got half way and then walked the bottom - it was almost horizontal!) I took off the skis and staggered over to Glen at our pre-arranged meeting point. He smiled and waved to me and I grimaced, as I dragged myself to the outdoor table. I focussed on lifting each leg one at a time for fear of collapsing in the muddy slush at the bottom of the slope. Utterly exhausted, I began to take off my ski boots, when my ears picked out a few words of a familiar voice - my ski instructor: 'she just didn't have the legs for it, she said they were hurting on the first run...' Yup, and they were buddy, because you took me out of my depth! The cheek of him! So, that was the end of my skiing for the trip. It wasn't long before UIMS set in (unbelievably intense muscle soreness -ha ha), and I spent the follwing 2 days limping and staggering around the place. I think I can say justly that skiing is just not my bag.
Well my terrifying experience was far from Glen's. He took to snowboarding pretty well. And can even do the snowboarder's handshake! He had three lessons and then did some red and blue runs (for the record, he said the blue runs I did were a nightmare, he'd done them too and hated them). He came down from the slopes each day smiling and keen to recount his runs. Here are a few pics of his first lesson, don't overlook him in the bright green!
There was some good snowfall on the third and fourth days of our stay. Take a look at some of Glen's pictures:
On the third day of our trip we headed up to the Hintertux Glacier for a look around. We had to take three cable cars to get to the top, being 3250m above sea level. The slopes were pretty impressive on this side of the mountain, and there were quite a few people out, considering visibility was not so great and the snow and the wind were intense. The snow here was literally like powder. If you can imagine those elite beaches we have in Oz where the sand is so fine it squeaks when you walk on it. Well that is the closest comparison I can draw to the consistency of this snow.
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| Check out the visibility here, it was just mad. The snow was absolutely billowing. |
At the top of the glacier the wind was fierce. You can see in the pictures above. the cold was biting. Guess who forgot to bring gloves? Have a look in the image above.
We visited the Snow Palace inside the glacier. It was pretty impressive. Our guide took us down a short slope to the entrance, where she shoveled away some snow to reveal a cave-like doorway. We went in and it was immediately much more bearable inside. the ice crystals were amazing! She led us down the ice passages and we were able to see a new crevasse forming in the glacier. Up and down ladders, in and out of chambers. It really could have been liveable. If you could bear the cold.
Leaving the ice palace and walking back up to slope to the cable car was crazy. Being at such a high altitude meant it was harder to breathe. Batting the snow being blown into my eyes and struggling up the hill in snow up to my knees, I found myself falling and then getting up again only to fall over once more. My breath was coming in short gasps, and all the liquids normally present in my nose had frozen solid. When we finally reached the station, the guide told us that it was about -30 degress at that point, given the wind chill. What a surreal experience! I could imagine how intense it must feel for some people climbing up Mount Everest, and I only walked 200 metres! How much more admirable do I find that feat, considering my experience, wowee.
All to soon our stay in Mayrhofen drew to a close. Yet, not before I quickly tell you about our hotel experience. It really can't be faulted but for one thing. You see, on first arrival to our room we were overpowered my a putrid smell, like manure. It was awful. Opening up the door to step out onto the balcony, the smell was overwhelming. Why? Because just below, three stories down, there was a huge pile of cow manure mixed with straw. Yep, a little timber barn, sitting alone in a paddock right next to our hotel....storing manure for the world to see and smell. Needless to say we requested a room change and promptly got away from the sight. Yet no matter where you walked outside the hotel, the smell was always in the air. How awful! And this wasn't a small hotel either, it was made up of about four buildings. Ah well, maybe that's the Austrian way!
