Hotel Sonnenhof Gran

... s LOADS of snow but conditions were awful with high winds and loads and loads of snow. The girls finished around 11ish (except Sophie who finished around 1) and me and Laurie finished around 2 after getting rather lost and coming home through the trees, putting a massive gash in the bottom of my board in the process (not too much of a problem, needs a service anyway!).

got an avalanche talk later today which should be fun.

that's all for now, hope everything ...

... economy. For those of us who do not work in the mining industry, we have been forced to pay these high prices which are, in my opinion, ridiculous.This is in no way any indictment on Perth iteslf as a city, however I do not feel that it offers much value for money and I believe that the above examples illustrate this clearly.

Other than analysing prices, we have been spending several hours riding the mountain this week. Wednesday was the best day yet after ...

... and the taste is so much more satisfying than the over-processed flavourless loaves of Australian 'bakers' (I use the term loosely). It's the kind of bread that you can just enjoy as a meal on its own with butter or cheese. I'm going to get me some now.

At the moment it is snowing outside so hopefully tomorrow I will have some new and exciting news and stories from on the mountain. Here are a few pictures for the time being.

... ble to find * ski store with * helpful clerk who fitted Tori out with new skis, boots, bindings *nd stocks me*ning th*t the trip to Innsbruck w*s not completely fruitless, but I decided th*t I would by ge*r in St Anton inste*d where there *ppe*red to be *n equ*l or better r*nge of products *nd much better service.

We're very much looking forw*rd to venturing up the mount*in *nd p*rt ...

... appeals) and it's easy to get caught up in it all and become a 'St Anton Worrier'..... but there's just no point in my opinion. Why should I stress when I look out the window at the sun-rising over the crisply snow-capped mountain peaks and ponder the possibilies of 150 day plus of unadulterated, unitnerrupted snowboarding and partying. This is what we've been waiting for - the beginning. This is it.

Edit: It's now snowing.

... free camping ahead :) We drove towards Munich and parked once again on the street in a small town, which has by far been our most common theme for free camping but is usually the safest choice for us. The best part about Fred is that he is small enough to park on the street and does not look like a campervan, so anyone who sees him most likely would think it was a mail truck or something…at least that is what we tell ourselves :)

... looking at with longing unless you pay extra. Would have been nice to know before but hey we roll with it. ie: I ***** till they turn it on for one night but we have to pay if we want it again. Oh and it only works between 8pm and 8am. Ok fine. All is well because we are more than willing to pay for the luxury the next night......... oh, but they cant find the key to open the locked room to physically hit the breaker to turn on our air ...

... too.
The rest of the tour took us to Linderhof castle and Neuschwanstein castle. What magical looking places they were. Neuschwanstein is the castle Walt Disney uses the sillohette of at the start of his movies. Anyway, after the trip it was back to Munich for a day or so and then on the plane home.

Another work conference for my parents brought us to Oberammergau for a week. We stayed in the cutest little wooden cottage - like the whole thing ceiling to floor and including flowering window boxes was made out of wood! Totally picturesque like you've read about in Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Aromatic town bakery. Absolutely enchanting.

Today we drove up into the mountains to see the fairy tale castle, Neuschwanstein. This is another of Ludwig's castles, this one unfinished, and served as the inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle. It ...