Waking up was a struggle this morning, that 7 hour time change had us sleepy until early afternoon. I hadn't been able to find a suitable hotel with breakfast, so our first job was to find some food. Three of us can't stomach eggs, which made our choices quite limited. In the end we resorted to McDonalds, something we usually avoid doing in foreign countries (and at home!). Winter in Hong…
Today was our last day in Zell am See. It was a repeat of yesterday with thick fog in the valley and blue skies up top. The kids took off together for their last ski day. We had plans for winter hiking, although weren't sure where we would hike. We called into the tourist office to get a few ideas, then set off on a short hike that went along the…
Today was the day none of us were looking forward to. It was time to pack up again and farewell Europe. It has been an incredible few weeks and the crazy amounts of snow have made the last week extra special. I never imagined that a low altitude Austrian resort would give us the amazing winter experience we've had. The skiing was great, but it was all the other Austrian experiences…
There is another ski field just a quick bus ride away, near the neighbouring village of Kaprun. It's a glacier ski area on the Kitzsteinhorn mountain. It's also a major tourist destination for non-skiers wanting to get a good taste of the mountains, with scenic gondola rides to 3029m at the top of the Kitzsteinhorn. We had been saving this adventure for a sunny day and that was the forecast for…
It's always exciting to wake and check what has happened in the night. This morning we found another fresh dumping of snow. The neighbouring roof that we had watched being cleared was buried again in a foot of new snow. All this snow is such a novelty for us, but I suspect you would get quite sick of shovelling over and over again. It's nice not to have to rush even…
Once again we woke to beautiful snow falling. Lying in bed looking out at the snow gently falling is so beautiful. We had hoped for lots of snow, but knew it was in no way guaranteed. Somehow we have ended up in the middle of the biggest Austrian snowfall in thirty years. The kids headed up the mountain again. Anna went off to ski school but Matt decided to do his…