Kaiservilla Heiligenblut

Stayed at a beautiful spot in Austria (Saalbach) with Hilly, Stu's old friend and new Father..actually felt sorry for him, the poor sod was knee deep in relatives, in laws, newly purchased crib and nappies, etc.....we stayed for afew days and it was neatly timed with the arrival home of new born Frankie. Hilly's place is 3 feet from a field of horses so Lauren was easily kept busy with feeding duties.

Stu tried ...

Abfahrt von Poettelsdorf dann endlich gegen 1/2 7 abends. War ja nicht so einfach - alles einladen - dann noch diverse Besuche - zwecks Wohnmobilbesichtigung ;-)
Kurze Pause in Ilz - abendessen und gegen 1/2 12 dann Ankunft in Steinfeld - Frau Graf ist sogar noch wach ...

... off season so much was happening and there weren't any magnificant buildings to see. I didn't mind though, I've seen a lot of buildings sinec arriving in Europe.

Also, I had a real meal, since I couldn't afford food in Switzerland. It was thge most amazing and appreciated meal of my life.

Sorry for the boring entry, like I said I'm lazy right now.

... between the marked trails are far more fun - epic powder is awesome. I freely admit that I'm still not the fastest person on the slopes, but that's not really the issue - having fun is. And have fun is what I have done. I didn't go to the thermal baths last night, so maybe I'll go tonight. Or maybe not. Though after snowboarding through a white-out (lots of snow, and icicles forming on my face) it might be nice... We shall see.

And now for a brief recap of my second day trying this madcap sport involving strapping a board to your feet and pointing yourself down a steep, snow-covered hill. Times fallen: Less than the number of my fingers and toes that are not frostbitten (that's 20) Times gotten back up: Everytime Times cartwheeled: Twice Body parts that hurt: I'm currently having some ...

... of carving through fresh powder (and not falling over). I'm also completely buggered, so I'll sleep well the next couple of days. Hopefully the weather will clear up tomorrow - as awesome as it is to have fresh snow while you're boarding, the loss of visibility doesn't do me any favours. I've also been told that the average blue (easy) run here, is the equivalent of a intermediate run in Australia... Way to go through a tria by fire, James. Alright, that's it for now. Wish me luck.

Alrighty, yet another long story to tell since it's been 3 days since my last stint on this thing. I'll get today out of the way first, since today was a travel day, and not much happened... I caught the train out from Munich, transferred at Salzburg and got into town around 1:45 this afternoon. I ended up chatting to a couple of guys from Canberra, and we went wandering through town for a while to find the cheapest gear hire. The town is awesome, the train ...

... top pass in the road. The weather was perfect and the view spectacular. We took a diversion to the Franz-Hohn Glacier for an amazing view of Austrians highest mountain and the Glacier...and marmots!!! From the top of the highest point you could see over 30 mountains plus 3000m. The decent down started fine but Hans must have been feeling the heat! 16.0km at 12% grade down the other side the brakes started to cook, but not ...

... down, through tight turns and snowy tunnels.

Now, this is where things got a little more challenging. While the road was kept clear of snow and ice, it was still a steep descent..........very steep. OK for a 1 tonne family car, but a 3 tonne campervan plus all four of us and luggage..............mmm, very heavy. While we could slow down using the gears to an extent, the brakes were taking a hammering, despite trying to nurse them. 3/4 of the ...

... the views fantastic! Then we proceeded to drive down the other side of the mountain pass to the village of Heiligenblut. This picture postcard village is exactly what you imagine when you think of quaint alpine villages. We only stopped long enough to take a few pictures and visit the small church, and then we headed back up and over the pass back to Zell am See.