Around Neustift

Olaf and I spent New Years in Austria, and had a wonderful week of skiing. We skied at the Stubai Gletscher, about an hour from Innsbruck. It was a great place for us to work on our skills, as the glacier is relatively flat.


Mom, this photo is for you. There was so much religious paraphernalia in the whole Stubai valley, which is mostly Catholic.


We stayed at the Stubaierhof in Neustift, about 30 minutes from the ski area. We did half board, so ate all of our breakfasts and most of our dinners at the hotel.

Recovery Day in Innsbruck

At the end of our third day of skiing, I nearly killed myself. I could hardly make it down a long run, and fell three times because my legs were so tired. Not a problem- we just took the next day off! We spent the afternoon in Innsbruck, Olaf's favorite city in Austria. He comes here on business sometimes, but this was my first visit.

There was a small Christmas market in the old town. We enjoyed plenty of glühwein (mulled wine), lebkuchen (gingerbread), and kaiserschmarn (pancakes with stewed plums).
The hotel where Olaf has stayed on business trips is in the photo above. It is the second building on the left, with painted bricks on the corner.

New Years in Neustift

Olaf's friend Mikel spent much of the week with us. He is an avid and excellent skier, but was kind enough to go down the easier pistes with us and to give us a few helpful pointers. We all spent New Years together, ringing in the new year in the little town center in Neustift. It was very exciting- lots of fireworks and rockets going off while the church bells tolled.

This is the view from the stop where we waited for the ski bus each morning.

Skiing Stubai

Olaf and I had a lot of fun skiing with Mikel, but I felt like I could benefit from a lesson. Olaf and I joined an afternoon class- it was an absolute disaster. We got put in a really slow group, so we left after 20 minutes. At the end of the day we had a long fight with the director of the ski school, who admitted he put us in the wrong class but refused to give us our money back :( Poo.

However, we did end up having an excellent afternoon skiing together! Midway through, we stopped at a little hütte (chalet/hut) for some mulled wine and German 'schlager musik' (silly drinking/skiing music).

Skiing from the Top of Tirol

This lady won for best outfit on the mountain. Her jumpsuit was even more neon and shimmery in person.

Olaf isn't at the top of Tirol, but he is at the bottom of the glacier! After a day of skiing, we were heading down to some hut for apres-ski, complete with plenty of cheesy music.

Now this is the top of Tirol. You can see Italy from here- it was wonderful and exciting to be on the peak.

Olaf and Mikel breaking with a beer on the top of Tirol.

Skiing Stubai Gletscher (Glacier)

The weather was much different than when we skied in California! The temperature was between -4 and 20 degrees, but luckily we were well equipped.

From the gondola up to the middle of the glacier.

Map of the Stubai valley and the glacier. Below is one of the lodges where we enjoyed many lunches of wiener schnitzel and dumpling soup.