Normally you wouldn't hear from me during Winter because I'm too busy hibernating ... being miserable and moaning and groaning and whining about the weather and locking myself up inside eating chocolate and drinking red wine waiting for the sun to come out and for the temperatures to warm up .... but this year is a different story!!! I made a conscious decision during October that I had to do something - anything - to help me get through the horrendous winter weather here ... so I started running ... I am not by any means a 'runner' ... I'm not built like a runner, I know nothing about running, I am unbelievably slow, I have no running style and I am definitely not elegant or glamorous ... but I am doing it. I shuffle along and sing away to my fave tunes and I am thrilled to say that I am now, finally enjoying my running!! Yay!! I LOVE running in the snow through all the forests that surround our little village and over the Christmas break the kids and I have been out every day enjoying some laughs and fun times together (ok - the hail, gusty winds, thunder and lightening day wasn't much 'fun' but it was awesome when it over!!) ... the kids ride and I (& Nick when he was on holidays over the break) 'shuffle' along and it has helped me sooooooo much to enjoy being outside and enjoy the snow. With that said ... we have had a very, very mild winter ... there's only been one day that was worth pulling the sleds out - we've been lucky enough to have plenty of blue sky and sunshine and warmer (relatively speaking) temperatures! Yaya!! I still absolutely despise winter but I must say, this year was 100% improvement on last years disasterously depressing winter!!
December was the usual craziness ... Polly's 10th birthday, Henry's 7th birthday, Nick's 41st birthday and all the usual school holiday parties with the kids' classes asking kids to bring 'traditional food from your country to share' ... thank goodness for Vegemite sandwiches!! Christmas was wonderful - Santa spoiled the kids with a gorgeous 'grown up' tea set for Polly and Harry Potter lego for Henry...our days were spent drinking tea and buliding lego, playing on the wii, sleep in, watching movies ... lots of reading (& running) and napping... it was heaven to have a break from the regular routine and we all loved having some quiet, down time.
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| Ettal Monastey WAY below in the village |
On one of the blue sky days full of sunshine after Christmas we actually sought out some snow (!!) in a nearby village called Ettal, so we could try snow shoeing. Snow shoeing is really just hiking with these big frames on your feet to help you 'float' on the snow .... 'float' .... hmmmm... I didn't feel much floating going on but it was loads of fun and a fantastic workout too!! With plenty of water and snack breaks we made it to the hut and back to the car before dark and without incident!
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| At the summit of Jenner Mountain |
Our fun day of snow showing in Ettal encouraged us to book two nights away in a town called Berchtesgaden to do some more snow shoeing!! Berchtesgaden is a small German town, about a 2hour drive from us and there was PLENTY of snow there!! We checked in at our lovely little attic room at a bed and breakfast then set off for Mount Jenner. We took a 30 minute gondola ride to the summit at an elevation of 1.874m (6.150ft) where we could enjoy a breathtaking view over a hundred of German and Austrian peaks. As we stepped off the gondola into blinding sunshine and cobalt blue skies, we could see hundreds of worn out adventurers enjoying their liter of beer at the summit beergarden - what a spectacular sight!! While these Europeans love their skiing and other outdoor activities - they sure do know how to chill out, relax and enjoy good beer and good company and I love seeing that!! Such a wonderful sight always makes my heart smile!!
So ... on with the snow shoes and off we went for a quick snow shoe before the sun started to set and the temperatures dropped ... apart from almost losing Polly down a hole, it was a perfect afternoon!! Back down the mountain in the gondola, watching the last of the skiiers zip down the mountain enjoying the final run for the day. The kids enjoyed a few runs on the sledding hill before dark, then we loaded up the car and found a cozy Italian restaurant where we enjoyed a wonderfully scrumptious meal ... then home to bed to rest up so we can do it all again the next day!!
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| "Charlie" |
We decided to do some cross country snow showing on the next day. We travelled through dense woods, open fields and did a little climb to a hut where Nick built a snow cave and we had a snowball fight and Polly taught us how to make fabulously huge and round snow balls for our snow man ... we never stopped for too long because it was bitterly cold and we were aware we had to be back at the car by 4.30pm at the latest or we'd be hiking in the dark!! According to Nick this was to be a 3 hour hiking day. 5 hours later we returned to the car; exhausted, cold and hungry. Off to the nearest cafe for delicious home made goulash soup and crunchy bread followed by fabulously yummy sweet pastries....ahhhh!! Another wonderful day!!
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| In our miners gear ready for our adventure! |
On our last day in Berchtesgaden we explored the delightfully quaint downtown before heading to the Salt Mines. These mines have been in operation since 1517 and today this fascinating underground world can be explored by visitors. Dressed in our miner's gear we went on a train into the salt mine caves; we then went down long, steep wooden slides, a raft and finally a funicular as we learned about the mining history and techniques. This is a very touristy place and we normally steer well clear of places that accept bus loads of people and have gift shops, but this was a fun morning and it was a welcome break from endless hours of snowshoeing ;-) After our salt mine adventure we headed home - very happy and exhausted - a great trip.
New Year is amazing in our little village. Fireworks are for sale in the grocery store and around midnight there is at least an hour of a spectacular sky show. We had a lovely dinner and all went to bed then at midnight we all woke up and enjoyed the show. We don't set off any fireworks ourselves, the sound of the ambulance siren blaring reminds us why. We are not big New Year people but enjoyed the display then went back to bed ;-)
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| Snow shoe up the hill ... sled down!! Yay!! |
Words cannot fully describe our awesome Christmas break so here are some more photos for you to enjoy!
That's about it from us. Both Nick and I are working on planning our holidays for the year ... so watch this space for our 2012 adventure updates!! Wishing you all a laughter and adventure filled 2012!!
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| A well earned treat after 5hrs of snow shoeing!! |
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| Nick building a snow cave |
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| Polly showing us how to make snowballs |
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| Finally!! The top!! |
Normally you wouldn't hear from me during Winter because I'm too busy hibernating ... being miserable and moaning and groaning and whining about the weather and locking myself up inside eating chocolate and drinking red wine waiting for the sun to come out and for the temperatures to warm up .... but this year is a different story!!! I made a conscious decision during October that I had to do something - anything - to help me get through the horrendous winter weather here ... so I started running ... I am not by any means a 'runner' ... I'm not built like a runner, I know nothing about running, I am unbelievably slow, I have no running style and I am definitely not elegant or glamorous ... but I am doing it. I shuffle along and sing away to my fave tunes and I am thrilled to say that I am now, finally enjoying my running!! Yay!! I LOVE running in the snow through all the forests that surround our little village and over the Christmas break the kids and I have been out every day enjoying some laughs and fun times together (ok - the hail, gusty winds, thunder and lightening day wasn't much 'fun' but it was awesome when it over!!) ... the kids ride and I (& Nick when he was on holidays over the break) 'shuffle' along and it has helped me sooooooo much to enjoy being outside and enjoy the snow. With that said ... we have had a very, very mild winter ... there's only been one day that was worth pulling the sleds out - we've been lucky enough to have plenty of blue sky and sunshine and warmer (relatively speaking) temperatures! Yaya!! I still absolutely despise winter but I must say, this year was 100% improvement on last years disasterously depressing winter!!
December was the usual craziness ... Polly's 10th birthday, Henry's 7th birthday, Nick's 41st birthday and all the usual school holiday parties with the kids' classes asking kids to bring 'traditional food from your country to share' ... thank goodness for Vegemite sandwiches!! Christmas was wonderful - Santa spoiled the kids with a gorgeous 'grown up' tea set for Polly and Harry Potter lego for Henry...our days were spent drinking tea and buliding lego, playing on the wii, sleep in, watching movies ... lots of reading (& running) and napping... it was heaven to have a break from the regular routine and we all loved having some quiet, down time.
