Hotel Yscla Ischgl

... in some skiing *nd snowbo*rding. It *ctu*lly feels like we've been here for longer th*n * few d*ys now th*t we h*ve our be*rings *nd *re f*mili*r with the town *nd some of its intric*cies. I've posted some photos showing l*st nights shen*****ns, the St Anton town *re* *nd Innsbruck City to give you *n ide* of the spect*cul*r views *nd scen*ry *nd there will be more to follow soon.

... lies nestled within the Tyrolean region of Austria (St Anton am Arlberg) which is normally accessed most easily from Zurich (3hrs by rail) or Munich (5hrs by rail). Tori (my girlfriend) and I have a rented apartment for the 2009/2010 winter season. Having organised the rental using the internet, we were a little uncertain of what exactly to expect, but having seen some photos and liased frequently with the owner/manager Silvia ...

After leaving Cortina in the morning, we drove into Austria and made a stop for a couple of hours in Imst to ride the alpine coaster there. Unlike the summer slide near the Salzberg Lakes that we rode, this one was on rails and was the longest in Europe at 3.5km or 2.1m. All of us rode it once ...

... road or the sights. Part way up we ran into some light rain and cooler temperatures so we stopped at a small Gasthaus so Connie could get her rain suit on. I was surprised to see so many motorcyclists going up and down the pass, especially BMWs.

Once we reached the top we stopped for the obligatory photos, spoons, and keychains. Okay, while we were here I thought I also would try a beer and ...

... speak in German with Bianca and Carmen translating for me). He has an absolutely fascinating family history and is very well versed in history, art and culture. He loves to talk about anything and everything. He was very interested in our visit to Turkey and we had many discussions about the Ottomans and Hapsburg empires. He also is quite the coffee connoisseur (as they drink more coffee in this household than I've ever seen in my life) and we were happy ...

I flew into St Anton Austria on March 20th and for a few days skiing with my old college friend, Mike, and a few other mates from Ireland who also happened to be in town.

The weather was outstanding, the day we arrived it was forecast to snow about 4ft of snow ...

... tsooni: punane - täielik ehituskeeld, kollane - väga suure tugevusvaruga betoonehitised ja roheline - vaba ehitus, kuna laviinid nii kaugele ei jõua. Paraku oli see laviin võimsam, kui arvutid olid mudelite järgi suutnud ette näha. Tulemuseks oli, et laviin mattis suure osa rohelisest tsoonist (11 maja), sealhulgas ka mitu hotelli. 57 inimest jäi lume alla. Paljud õnnestus päästa, kuid 31 sai siiski surma. Alpinaarium on väärt külastamist ja kuigi on see peaasjalikult saksakeele ...

... Michelini tähte. Saime igatahes väga hea õhtusöögi ja loputasime selle alla heade austria õlledega. Kui juba hoog sees, siis oli vaja minna edasi. Sasha on üks tuntud ööklubi, kusme maandusime. Tibid tantsisid äärtes ümber posti. Muidugi oli selge meeste ülekaal ja ega meiegi oma meestekambaga seda vahekorda ei parandanud :) Rentisime esimesel mäepäeval suusad ja mäele. Ilm oli suht kobe ja poolpilves. Paaril elukunstnikul oli tervis tiba käest ära ja nad ...

... irivalt s*tt, mistõttu tuli päev varem õhtusse lasta. Viimasel päeval aga hakkas päike jälle elumärke näitama ja loomulikult ärasõidul siras täiega. Külma oli mäe peal kohati -10C, aga muidu suhteliselt talutav. Lumesajuga on suusamask vajalik, selgus viimasel päeval!

After Ski või Après Ski oli päris võimas. Kui suusaliftid suleti kell 16, algas kohe pidu. Musa tümpsus, tüdrukud tantsisid vallatult baarilettidel ning inimesed vihtusid suusasaabastes tantsu ...

... in clouds, so we were unable to see the valley below during dinner...too bad. Dinner was excellent. It consisted of appetizers (I’m not a big fan); the main course, which was beef & gravy with noodles and potatoes in a cream sauce, green beans and ham... and (the best part) DESSERT! The dessert table was out of this world...cheeses, plum cake, walnut & shortcake pie, warm plums with ice cream, and (yes!) warm STRUDEL with a cream topping. WOW! Europeans ...