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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 »

Searching for the sun

Friday, August 2nd, 2013

We had a very snowy winter in Austria which turned into a very rainy spring.  By the end of May nearly everyone was totally depressed by the constant bad weather.  You may have seen the terrible flooding in Austria and Germany on the news that was eventually a result of this.  We finally couldn’t take it anymore and decided we needed to go somewhere sunny and warm, even for just a day.  After spending half a night searching the weather websites, we realized that there was no place nearby which would be any better.  Spontaneously we started searching airline websites looking for anything.  There it was… a cheap ticket from a nearby airport to Catania in Sicily.

We left on Friday night and after some delays eventually arrived.  The next morning we were greeted with bright sun, a blue ocean, and great food.  Catania turned out to be a pretty interesting destination, with Roman ruins and a side trip to the most active volcano in Europe, Mt. Etna.  Sadly Sunday night came too quickly and it was back to reality and rain again.

The Mediterranean isn’t just beautiful, it also yields some great fish, seen here at the famous fish market.  At night these stands are cleared away and great restaurants open up to serve up the seafood.

Mt. Etna – still smoldering…

Posted in Italy, Living Abroad, Travel | 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.

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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 »

What I Did This Summer – Part 2

Friday, October 26th, 2012

This is the second part of my attempt to quickly catch up on what we did in the last 2 months.  Just across the border in Italy there is a region called Süd Tirol (South Tyrol).  It used to be part of Austria and they still speak a lot of German there.  However, the big attraction is the mountains,  an extension of the Alps called the Dolomites.

The rock formations are very unique and, for me, rival Yosemite or the Torres del Pine.  It’s become one of our new favorite spots, especially because it’s so accessible, just a 2 hour drive from home.

Last year we visited the area for a couple of quick hikes and couldn’t wait to get back there this year to explore the region more.  On my last trip to London I managed to find an English version of a book called “Short Walks in the Dolomites”.  Equipped with this, a map, and our backpacks we took off into the mountains.  There might be something missing in the translation because 9 hours and 1300m of elevation later we finally made it back to the start.  I would hate to see one of the “long” walks.

The hike may have taken all day, but I can’t think of a better way to spend the time.  If the beautiful views weren’t enough, the hardy food at the huts along the way might alone be worth it.

Here’s the first of the 3 huts we stopped at:

And another view along the way:

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

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