Ski Trainingswoche in Österreich

I recently returned from my most recent adventure of my year abroad in Germany. This adventure with my two host brothers and 47 other students in the 7th through 11th grade however wasn't in Germany, but rather Austria. This was actually the second time that I've been to Austria since I've been here, but this trip was very different than visiting the city of Vienna back a few months ago. This trip consisted of seven full days of amazing skiing in the Alps.

View from top of one lift in Obertaurn

The Alps were absolutely breathtaking in and around the Obertaurn ski resort, just about 45 minutes from Salzburg. The monstrous mountains here can't compare to the tiny hills that make up our ski areas back in Vermont. Although the actual snow conditions weren't very different from what is typically found in Vermont, the size and sights made this my most memorable and favorite ski experience I've had. The weather didn't always cooperate; two or three days were either extremely foggy and/or flesh-freezing cold, but that made the beautiful days even better.

Early Friday morning we all boarded a coach bus loaded to capacity at 5:30am. The crowded bus chugged along for a little over 11 hours until I was interrupted from my viewing of Modern Family by the bus driver pulling over to put chains on the wheels. That's never a good sign for a driver, but a great sign for a skier. We arrived shortly at out hostel.

First day skiing

Our hostel, called Felseralm was for the most part better than I expected. The room, shared with three others, was surprisingly large and was well thought out. Separating the toilet and the shower in two rooms is truly a great idea. The only problem was the belligerent group of pre-pubescent teens who decided that it was okay for them to literally scream and squeal outside of our door until late at night. This unfortunate experience did however bring about a milestone. This was the first time I lectured someone in German. My German must be getting better!

We split off into groups the next day with chaperones and were off. My new Burton snow pants that look like normal jeans received many comments and surprised glances. They were a big hit. Thanks mom! Speaking of Burton, I cannot believe how much I saw. Vermont represent! Every day we skied from around 9:30am to 3:30pm with a break for lunch in the middle at a restaurant plopped at the intersection of several ski trails up on the mountain. Kaiserschmarrn, a sweet pancake/egg/fried dough thing served with either apple sauce or plum jam, was my choice for lunch at least three of the days there.

Kaiserschmarrn

My skiing was surprisingly good for admittedly being quite rusty. I fell twice my first day, once rolling down the hill for at least 30 meters and losing booth skis. But after a day I was back into the swing of things; I didn't fall at all in the next six days. My group and I were able to ski many trails and explore practically the whole ski resort. I had an absolute great time in Austria.

Enjoying a meal at the Hochalm

Now comes a three day week of school, then two days off that mark the halfway point of the school year. After the short break my classmates are doing internships for two weeks and I will be taking an intensive German course, the second of my time here in Germany. I'll update this blog post when I ]'m finished with my course.