Going back awhile, late in February, we finished our Munich/Prague trip with a few days in the gorgeous Austrian Alps. Getting from Prague to the mountains turned out to be quite the adventure. It was actually fine and dandy until we arrived in a small town outside the resort where we planned on staying before our first day on the slopes. The directions we had to our hostel were completely off track. It was dark on arrival and long story short, a ten minute walk ended up being an hour walk or so. It was miserable. Cold. Dark. Lost. Heavy luggage. You get it. Finally, we found a generous soul to help us out. It was fortunate that she did because most people would not get out of their car at night in a deserted parking lot and talk to two strangers like Dan and me. Her husband drove us to our hostel and told us about his daughter who studies in Utah. Let me just say that their act of kindness restored a little faith in humanity.
We were sort of delirious after 12 hours of travelling
Dinner. Yes, dinner. We were in the middle of nowhere.
Now to the good stuff, the skiing. St. Anton am Arlberg is a supposedly one of the best places to ski in the Alps and I now understand why. The place is absolutely amazing. Up above the clouds you can see for miles and miles. Bright blue skies, fresh powdery snow. Here's a picture that doesn't do it justice.
Three days of skiing in this weather was too good to be true. At St. Anton there is lots of skiing 'off-piste' which is basically an avalanche-free area that is not groomed. Thicker snow and tougher skiing was a thrill. It really put my average skills to the test. I noticed that on the tougher trails, everyone was very conscientious about keeping the runs free of traffic. Periodically down each run, people would stop and wait for it clear out. This kept things safe and more enjoyable than what I expected.
If you haven't been here, St. Anton is worthy of your bucket list.
Obligatory Texas Flag pic
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