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Endless Summer

Sunday, November 17th, 2013
It probably seems like my blogs about our summer just keep going, but the summers in southern Austria are really amazing.  The weather is warm, but except for about 1 week in August, not so hot that you can’t sleep without airconditioning.  The sunshine, lakes, and mountains mean that we get a lot of tourists, mostly from Germany and the Netherlands.  The tourists fill up the restaurants, cafes, and bars, but generally there are so many hiking and biking trails that they are not too crowded.

We spent nearly every weekend this summer on those trails and really got to explore a few new areas, like Saalbach, which is actually paradise for mountain bikers.   We also made two trips to the Dolomites which have the most spectacular scenery (see below for proof).  Every trip to this area leaves me with a feeling that I need to go back and see more.

Our town lies on both sides of the Drau river, which starts in Italy, flows across Austria and ends in Slovenia.  There is a bike trail along the whole length and we’ve ridden some short sections near Villach.  This year we did an overnight trip with some friends along a western section…  some year we’ll do the whole thing!

Eric also took up a new sport called “Klettersteig” or via ferrata. It seems to be unique to Europe, and very popular in Austria and Italy.  Basically it’s like rock climbing, but “assisted” with permanent cables and ladders in the really tricky parts.  You wear a special harness to clip onto these elements and it provides a bit of safety so you won’t end up splattered at the bottom of the valley.   Not my thing, but a lot of people here are really into it.  There are quite a few trails and passages which were created during WWI, complete with tunnels that are available for Klettersteig and they offer great views if you have the fortitude to climb.

Finally we finished off the summer with this year’s Kirchtag week – always a lot of fun, but by the end of the week we were exhausted and escaped to the mountains for some rest. I’ll wrap up with a few pictures of the Dolomites, but check the next post for some more hiking highlights.

Posted in Austria, Italy, Living Abroad, Travel | No Comments »

Off the tourist trail… and into the trees

Tuesday, July 30th, 2013

One of the great things about living in Europe is that we get to see and do things that locals take for granted and most tourists never get to experience.  I’ve written before about our town’s Kirchtag, which is the largest festival of it’s kind in Austria.  However, most towns, no matter how small, have one or something similar with music, food, and of course a beer tent.   While my parents were here, I heard about one in a town nearby and we went to see one of the old traditions that they still practice here… the Maibaum (a Maypole in English).  If you’ve ever wondered how they actually put them up, we found the answer…  a lot of people with long sticks, and a promise of a cold drink at the end.

In progress:

The finished product!

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If it’s Thursday it must be Switzerland

Sunday, July 28th, 2013

It’s been quite a while since my last blog, but I will be catching up over the next week!  Since my last post so much has happened, so I have some good trips to post.  First, my parents came to visit in May.  This year there were 4 long weekends in that month (I love all the holidays here!), so we took the opportunity to do some exploring with them.

We first headed to Innsbruck, and no matter how many times we go there, it’s always a nice experience.  In some cities you can ofter forget where you are, with such generic buildings and shops.  However in Innsbruck, the dramatic backdrop of the mountains is a constant and beautiful reminder.

The next stop was Schaffhausen in Switzerland, but not before a quick “country grab” detour through tiny Liechtenstein.  This was the first time any of us visited Schaffhausen and a stroll through the old town is definitely worthwhile.  The Munot fortress is unique, but the Rhine Falls are star attraction here.  We finished off the day with an overnight in a lovely guesthouse in Germany, complete with a perfect little beer garden.  The next day we planned to drive directly Strasbourg, France to bring our country total for the trip to 5.  However, I had a little talk with the owner of the guesthouse and she recommended a detour to see the “real Alsace” as she put it.  It was a fantastic idea and we spent the afternoon in a town called Keyserberg, where nearly all the houses  are still half-timbered and the whole village is surrounded by vineyards.  If it couldn’t get more picturesque, we topped it off with an Alsatian version of a pizza called Tarte Flambee and a stop at chocolate factory.  We eventually did make it to Strasbourg, which is actually quite a large city, but the old town area feels very comfortable and even small.

Stuttgart, German was our next stop and we spent a rainy day at the Mercedes museum. While you all know that I’m more of  BMW person, it’s pretty hard to leave this place without a feeling that you must get one for your next car. We finished off the trip with a stay in Tuebingen, a university town with ancient leaning buildings that make you wonder how they stay up.  Finally back home to Austria to re-charge and get ready for the next weekend!

Whitewater at the Rhine Falls:

My next car??  Only if it comes with a GPS!

I’m not sure what is keeping up these buildings in Tuebingen.

The most patient pups ever…  waiting for him to drop a bit of that bratwurst.

Posted in Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland | No Comments »

Schnee und Eis – Snow and Ice

Sunday, April 21st, 2013

It’s finally Spring in Austria!  Compared with our last 2 winters here, this one has been quite a change. It snowed at least once every week, with some storms lasting a few days. It once snowed for 4 days straight with almost a meter of snow. All this white stuff meant good skiing in the local mountains, and we finished the season with 18 ski days this year.

The weird thing for me is that unlike the US, nothing really changes or stops when it snows. Kids go to school – there are no snow days. I go to work, get groceries, and go out. They are much better about clearing the highways and everyone has snow tires, but otherwise everyone just goes about their daily lives as if the snow wasn’t there.

It has generally been a fun winter, but I’m really looking forward to some warmer, sunny days. Here’s a quick review of what we’ve been up to the last few cold, dark months.

We did a lot of skiing in the local mountains, but also enjoyed a few weekends away in Zell am See, Mayrhofen, and Sölden in Tirol. The weather, the conditions, and especially the après-ski were all great. The music they play usually consists of goofy party songs in German or old American songs from the 80s.  Anywhere else they would be terrible, but on the mountain with a beer, it’s perfect.

Unfortunately, the really cold weather started too late in the year for many of the lakes to freeze, so we didn’t have as many opportunities to skate. Instead we spent some time exploring the Christmas markets in December in Nuremburg, Munich, and of course Villach. We did manage to visit the Weissensee for the first time this year. It’s an 11 km long lake with several skating tracks, where the Dutch speed skating team (and tons of their fans) come to train and race.

We also decided to enjoy some winter sports as spectators for a change and attended a world cup giant slalom race in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. It´s only about a 30 minute drive and we got to cheer on Ted Ligety to a victory with a few other Americans in the crowd. We also went to a ski jumping event in Planica, Slovenia. Seeing the jump in person, I realized these guys are even crazier than I thought.

Here are a few photos of our Winter 2013…

At the Weissensee on one of several 6km long skating tracks.

The finish line at the Giant Slalom.

View of the ski jump at Planica.

Close up of one of the brave jumpers to give you some perspective on how big the hill is.

The beautiful Austrian Alps – ski heaven!

A photo opp at the top of the slope in Tirol.

Posted in Austria, Living Abroad, Travel | No Comments »

What I Did This Summer – Part 3

Friday, October 26th, 2012

For the last post on our summer travels I have to mention a long weekend that we spent in Budapest.  It’s about a 5 1/2 hour drive from our house.  The city is really lovely, reminding us of both Vienna and Prague, but unique as well.

We saw most of the “usual” sites – the castle hill, the cathedral, and of course took a boat down the river.  We also got to enjoy two special events that were happening while we were there.  The first was a weekend long series of horse races call the National Gallup.  Every little town in Hungary sends a horse and a rider, dressed in traditional uniforms and they race around the Hero’s Square in the city.  The races are fun to watch, but the food stalls that accompany it were a treat too.

The next day we day headed to the Castle which was hosting a national wine festival.  The entire area was filled with booths from all over Hungary offering up wines we had never tasted before.  Some of them were very good, but unfortunately not found very often outside of the country.   If you happen to find ones from Villanyi in your local stores, give them a try.

Here’s some of the famous Hungarian paprika in action:

It’s hard to believe, but this is the same Danube River that we cycled along the month before!

Posted in Austria, Hungary, Living Abroad, Travel | No Comments »

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