A few of our favorite things about Austria:
The scenery. The Alps were indescribably beautiful.
The food. See photos below.
The skiing. Chris literally woke up every morning super exited to be alive.
The friends. We had a whole crew there with us- and it was fabulous.
The birthdays. Austin turned 3 and I turned 31. Both of us met our next year in the Austrian Alps.
The fact that Austrians LOVE to sing "Country Roads" by John Denver. And they know all the verses. In English.
My one hour massage birthday present. That was Chris' get out of ski jail free pass.
Our landlady bringing us our bill the night before we left and taking a farewell shot of home distilled Peach Schnapps with us. Now THAT is hospitality.
All Austin needed for this trip was a chicken nugget and a banjo.
Chris likes driving on the Autobahn. Cough- cough. 104 MPH in a rental car.
Willkommen!
Everybody now- the hills are alive, with the sound of music...
Driving through the town of Lanersbach.
Our guesthouse. We had an AMAZING view.
See? I told you.
The village Church.
The Church had a cemetery decorated by Pier 1 Imports.
Austin woke up on his birthday ready for presents.
We three at Austin's birthday dinner.
Blowing out the candle.
That cake was made from a mix we brought with us from America, baked in Germany, and consumed in Austria.
Austin sharing his cake with a few lady friends.
For MY birthday I took a fabulous hike with a good friend...
rode a gondola for the first time ever...
stopped at a restaurant on the top of the mountain...
had Apple Strudel with a vanilla sauce for lunch...
and then had Apple Strudel with fresh whipped cream for dessert.
And then later that night I had some Weisswein Spritzers to celebrate 31.
Sweet AND Sour. I had to cover all my bases.
I'm guessing my total caloric intake for the day was about 5 billion.
Sweet friends helping me celebrate.
And an even sweeter bar tender who gave us all free shots!
Don't feel bad for Chris, he had a few guy's nights out.
And he even got to see Antonia live in concert.
(please note- no one outside of Austria knows who this artist is- but she was apparently quite hilariously serious about her success as a musical artist in 2009)
And here begin the skiing photos.
Chris had some great runs this week.
One of them being down the "steepest groomed piste in Europe".
That sign looks like some sort of warning to me...
like maybe he shouldn't be doing that.
See? A busted face. That sign was telling you to be careful!
Glacier 1
Chris 0
Skiing on an Austrian glacier in the Alps- check.
The last Austrian supper.
Chris was sad to be leaving, but happy to be eating those ribs!
My dinner wasn't too shabby either.
And before you leave Austrian bars, you have to hammer a nail into a huge log with a hollow hammer.
Who thinks of this stuff?
I may have cheated.
Yep. We loved Austria.
And I think she loved us back.
Except for the time she hit Chris in the face with a glacier.
