Our first task was to escape the horrible London fog. With a bit of
luck and a couple of helpful British Airways employees, we managed
to make it.
The first thing we did upon arriving
into Innsbruck was to visit the
Burton factory store, one of only 4
in the world. Grant was happy.
Us grown-ups preferred the Christmas market in the city center.
Here's Don with the week's first
plate of rösti. Yum!!!
Innsbruck is a beautiful city, and one
of our favourite places to visit.
Enough urban life- off to the
slopes of Obergurgl!!!
A new bar was opened at the very
top of the mountain and we visited
it straightaway.
The 360 degree views were
absolutely stunning.
Its placement does not recommend
it for acrophobes, however!
We also skiied in Untergurgl, which is more fun to say than Hochgurgl, but
still not as fun as Obergurgl.
We joined a group of friends for our festive Christmas Eve dinner.
We spent a lot of time with 'Nigel' and 'Marie', whom we see every year.
Grant celebrated Christmas in the traditional Austrian way, with
sparklers and boxer shorts.
We spent a day on the glacier in
Sölden, it was much larger than
the Gurgls.
We posed on the panoramic
platform at the Tiefenbachkogl,
quite a scary view (check this link!)
When we said Sölden had glaciers,
we meant it, here's Grant next to a massive chunk of ice!
The main reason we went to Sölden
was to visit the board park. Click
here for a small movie of Grant catching some air.
Obergurgl has its high points too,
here we are at the Hohe Mut.
The speciality at the Mut is spare ribs. They were delicious! The fresh air and sunshine helped our appetites.
We hardly saw a cloud all week.
Grant demonstrates here the dangers
of wearing one's jeans too low!
Grant went night skiing with some friends; they went on a couple of runs while us oldsters went only once.
However, we had friends, too, as a group of us spent a day together.
One afternoon was spent at the Nederhutt, dancing on the tables and singing to DJ Ötzi songs. This is the least embarassing photo available.
Strangely, we tired of 5-course gourmet meals, and our last night was spent at a local pizzeria.
You can click here to see a very
similar photo from 2003...!
As much as we wanted to stay, we
had to depart; here's our last longing look at the Alps as we flew home.