Skiing at Kitzbuhel

26 February 2013

Kitzbühel old town

We drove to Kitzbuhel in Austria yesterday so Andre could go skiing. It's been three years since he's been skiing in Switzerland. We've been to Kitzbuhel before and like it because you can walk from the village to the ski slopes which means I can stand at the bottom of the slopes watching him or go for a stroll round the village and see the shops. It's an easy 1hr40min drive from my mom and Jurgens house, except that it was snowing all the way there and the roads were quite slushy so took a bit longer.

After renting the kit, Andre spent about two rounds on the beginners blue slope and then headed up a red slope which he enjoyed for the rest of the day. Both of these I can stand at the bottom watching him go up and down the slope. Or as I did later sit at a restaurant on this slope watching the skiers go past. He came skiing down to the restaurant for a lunch stop of goulash soup, one of our favourites in Germany, before heading off again.

The restaurant where we had lunch on the slopes to the right.

My view of Andre coming down the slope from the restaurant.

lunch break

We'd like to one year spent a few days there so he can explore some of the other slopes more, and I the village and shops!

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Sledging at Reit im Winkel

24 February 2013

We're in Bernhaupten for the weekend and yesterday drove to Reit im Winkel to go sledging. From the car park a mini bus takes you up the snowy mountain. They have chains on their wheels and it was quite interesting how easily they drove up the steep incline and around bends.

As the sledges would only be available for rent later in the day we did a scenic walk first, a 6km (about 2hrs) round trip through the snow. It was beautiful there. At times hard work walking through the snow but worth it.

After lunch on the mountain it was time for sledging! I decided to give it a miss as the sledging trail was actually the 4km road downhill all the way back to the car park. The very same road we came up in with the bus! Of course the busses wait for all the sledges to have gone ahead before driving again. Everyone jumps on their sledges at the same time so no one will get run over by a bus! It is rather steep and windy as I said before. So mom and I waved the guys off and then jumped in the bus to follow them down. They had great fun but did admit it might have been a bit much for us! Andre had filmed it all with the gopro so I'll post it here as soon as I'm done editing it.

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My first time skiing

We drove to Germany on Saturday to spend Christmas with my mom and Jürgen. Then yesterday Andre and I drove to Kitzbühel in Austria for a day skiing. I have never ever had skis on my feet or attempted any  other snow related sports. But I had to try since my husband was so excited about skiing.

We had a 3 hour private lesson in Kitzbühel with a great instructor. You'd think 3 hours is not a long time, but it was more than enough for me! I was really tired afterwards and by 9pm last night I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.

We started out learning how to stop which of course is very important and then how to do turns. Like going to the left or right to avoid other skiers. Also important! It was a very very gentle slope where we started.

We were just about alone there in the beginners area for about an hour and a half and then a whole group came with a trainer and I got really nervous. Silvia, our trainer, had just started taking me slightly higher up the slope so I was going just ever so slightly faster and I started feeling that I can't do this. We went for a lunch break at a cosy restaurant right there next to the beginner area.

After lunch I felt better and in the end managed to do 7 left/ right turns in one go. Andre had a great time since he's not scared like I am. There was a rope to hold onto which pulled you up the slope and Andre used this to go right to the top of our area and he did really well.

I thought I'd be falling all over the place but didn't fall once. It's actually not that easy to fall as the boots are quite tight around your ankles and keep you upright. I did have a few moments in the beginning where I thought, why on earth would anyone want to put these long uncomfortable things on their feet and then try and move on the snow?? But it was fun in the end :-)

More photos on facebook.