Ski Happy

Just like every year during spring break, we returned to Radstadt and Obertauern, Austria, for skiing and hiking. One of the highlights from this year's trip was skiing a Schwarz Piste (black diamond ski run in the US). It was the first time for the boys, and my first time since before Philip was born. There weren't a lot of moguls, but it was steep.


Both boys had orange helmets, so they were easy to follow. Philip was a little more cautious than Alex, and therefore, closer to Bob when he took the photo. Alex is closer to the bottom of the hill.


The boys also discovered something new to eat--the Germknödel. The Germknödel is a large ball of sweet dough filled with plum jam and covered with vanilla sauce, powdered sugar and poppy seeds. The boys each ate one everyday of our holiday. The best place for Germknödel was the Heu Stadl (hay barn?) in Obertauern, where the music, played loudly, was a mixture of local folk, yodeling and variations of popular songs, such as Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry." In the Heu Stadl version it's "Don't Worry, Ski Happy," but in German, ski is pronounced "shē," so "Don't Worry, Shē Happy."


We also did some hiking, through the forest, up a steep hill to the Bürgerbergalm. Hiking in Europe is very different than in the US. If you want solitude, the US is much better. But if you like the convenience of a warm meal and a beer in the middle of a forest or on top of a mountain, than Europe is the place to be. In Europe, the hiking trails are sprinkled with Hütten, which are cabins with a restaurant and sometimes rooms for overnight. The Bürgerbergalm, overlooking Radstadt, is a small Hütte with a restaurant only. The food was great and cheap, and we met the family that runs it. The daughter told us to come back in January or February, when there's lots of snow, so that we can go sledding down the access road to Radstadt. "At night it's better, because than you can see the cars coming."

Bob suggested that we try someplace new to ski next year, but I think I like having a "second home" in Radstadt.

NOTE: Oscar, as always, traveled with us--click on the link to his blog.