Let me start by saying that I missed you too. It has been too long since I have posted a blog and even longer since a decent, remotely entertaining blog post has been published. But have no fear, I actually have done something in my life worth reporting about: I went to Austria. And more importantly, I went
skiing in Austria!
 |
| Lech am Arlberg |
On Friday, we (being my host family and yours truly) packed the car and drove a mere 2.5 hours to the neighboring country of Austria. I would love to share about the amazing sights I saw on the road, but I fell asleep in the back seat of the car next to the kid and didn't wake up until Leichtenstein.
Leichtenstein is tiny. You blink and it's over. There are more students at the University of Colorado than there are people in the entire country of Leichtenstein. In fact, in the last winter Olympics, they estimated that in order for the USA to send the same percentage of people to the games as Leichtenstein, the USA would need to have over 25,000 qualifying athletes.
 |
| Hotel Plattenhof |
Upon arriving at our destination in Lech, Austria, we unpacked the car and got settled into our hotel. This is where things got really exciting: I got my own private room on a different floor from my host family. Such a luxury is a rarity among au pairs and I took advantage of every second. Long showers, lounging around in whatever I felt like wearing (or not wearing), and listening to music while singing and dancing around became daily habits.
One thing I have learned about traveling with the financially blessed is that no detail is forgotten. Both breakfast and dinner at the hotel were included in price of the rooms, and I am not talking about the skimpy assorted toast breakfasts and buffet dinners. I am talking bacon, eggs, crossoints, and fresh fruit every morning and 5 course meals every night. And you bet I savored every moment of someone else's 5 star cooking (and when it is free it tastes
that much better). Veal? Duck? Pork?
Yes please!
What I found surprising about Lech was that the town didn't look that much different than a ski town you might find in Switzerland. It wasn't until my good friend Wikipedia told me that Lech was founded in the fourtheenth century by Walser migrants (people from the Canton of Wallis in western Switzerland) that it all made sense.
 |
| Lech, Austria |
On Saturday, it snowed near blizzard status. It made for a semi-miserable walk in the mountains, but a
fantastic ski Sunday. Sunday morning I rented skis (courtesy of my host family) and hit the mountain with my host mom for the day. I wasn't planning on skiing hard, but I put the pedal to the metal and shot down the mountain like I did when I was 7:
fearless. At about 2pm my host mom decided to meet up with the dad and kid so for the next 2 1/2 hours I was a "fast machine" with my good friends AC/DC and Guns N' Roses.
 |
| Saturday Blizzard |
 |
| Lech am Arlberg |
 |
| Lech am Arlberg |
Unfortunately, it is pretty late in the ski season and the snow got pretty wet by the afternoon. The powder from the blizzard the previous day melted by lunch time and left behind heavy slush. The only way I can describe the texture of the snow is to say that it was like if you poured a packet of sugar into your mouth and waited until it all got a little moist. The only time I fell was 50 meters from the bottom of the hill at the very end of the day because my ski literally got stuck in the weight of the snow. But nevertheless, the top of the mountain was great and I had a absolute
blast.
On Monday my host parents hit the mountain while I took the little tyke sledding and swimming. The day went by quickly and I was rewarded with a super fancy 6 course pork dinner with wine included. Tuesday, my last day in Austria, I spent shopping in the town and only bought the most touristy things I could find...naturally. All in all Austria isn't that much different from Switzerland, but it was great to see another foreign country and experience a vacation at a calibur that I am not so accustomed to in my line of work. Sign me up for the next family vacation please!
