OK, c’mon, you all knew it was just a matter of time before
we succumbed! After a week of eating and drinking too much, we decided it is
time for some physical activity before we hit the road and what better to do in
central Europe, but to go skiing? Beautiful glaciers of Austria, here we come!
After serious consideration we decided on Hintertux, Pitztal
and Stubai (nicknamed the Lady glacier). Austrian Tyrol glaciers now offer
10-day pass and you can ski on any of them. Like they had us in mind. So, plan
is set, three days Hitertux for start, three Pitztal, three Stubai and then
Hitertux for the last one. They look close on the map, but nope, they are not.
It takes hours to drive between any one of them. But well worth it, we want to ski
them all.
After three glorious days in Hintertux we moved to Pitztal.
Wake up at 6 am, as per usual, and drive from our room to the funicular and
stand in the queue until it opens (yeah, we know…). After nice 30 mins wait we
are ecstatic to be on the first car of the day. Life is good… Until the machine
bleeps red instead of green. Few tries later we turn and still alive (not if
the looks of people behind us could kill) go talk to the staff. Yup, you got it.
We f*cked-up – bought the wrong ticket and the only solution is to drive 3
hours each way to Hintertux where we bought the tickets in the first place. Picture
and no sound is the norm during the drive. Luckily we have our ticket
exchanged. In normal circumstances we would not have been that angry as they
made a mistake and gave us a fresh new ticket for 10 days. But in this case, we
have our flights booked. Damn!
It felt so good to be on skies again, just admiring mesmerizing views over the Austrian Alps. We think these are one of the most
beautiful views in the world (regardless of what NZ tourism board will try to
tell you about Southern Alps; or any other part of NZ for that fact; as Nives probably
have told you already…repeatedly…). Warmed up by log fires and good
hazelnuss-snaps (nectar of gods, for sure) we had some of the best skiing ever.
Singing Tux, Tux, Hintertux (helped by jaeger-bombs) we were saying goodbye
(some of us with tears in our eyes… no naming names, but it was the male part
of this duo) to the snow and carving for the season. Or so we thought …
Anyway, after a quick, but lovely reunion with family, Matej
and Sanja, in Vienna, we were ready to go. Woke up at 4 am, schlepped 50kg or
so of luggage to the airport to have a proper shock. Lovely ladies at the
Quatar desk told two wide eyed stupefied speechless morons that they need a
visa for South Africa. Yup, we f*cked-up. Again. But this one was truly and
really one of best. Ever! Anyway, we were absolutely sure that previous time we
went to SA we got visas at the airport, but seems the economical and
geo-strategic position and importance of Slovenia (we are in EU and NATO now, people!)
warrants a visa for all African countries these days. They probably can’t find
us on the map (remember, not same as Slovakia!), so to be on the safe side
decided that visa is a good option… Shell-shocked and aghast we went back to
Vienna to South African consulate. It is going to be up to ten working days to
get a visa!!! Luckily, the consul took pity on two eejits and we got it in a
day. But out flight was gone and as we were unable to reschedule we needed to
buy another ticket (do NOT go there! EVER!) a week later. So, what can one do
in Austria in November in the midst of snow storms?
Yup, got it – we hit the ski slopes. Remember those three
extra days of skiing that we thought we would not be able to use? Seems now was as good time as any. Hintertux,
here we come again! And it definitely was the best skiing in Tuxer ever – fresh
real snow (not that artificial stuff), ideal temperatures and mid-week (i.e.
empty pistes!). Just perfect!
After three days of pure pleasure we also had some extra
time to spend in Vienna with Matej and Sanja who showed us the real beat of the
town. We even managed to go to the Viennese Christmas market (just opened!). Like
a fairy tale…
Click here, but only after you tone down the brightness of your screen or put on some snow glare eye protection.
No comments:
Post a Comment