Sunday, October 29, 2006
Summer Skiing
We're just back from a very cram-packed weekend, so I figured I'd better not fall any farther behind on my postings, otherwise I'll never catch up! Here's the latest update...only three months after-the-fact.
While the kids were back in the states, I set a goal of traveling somewhere every weekend...and I met that goal! After a hectic first week back at work working 12- to 13-hour days with the "assisted departure" of American citizens from Lebanon during the Lebanon-Israel war (it wasn’t an official NEO—Noncombatant Evacuation Operation), I was looking forward to my first such excursion. The destination: Hintertux Glacier in the Austrian Alps. You can see the glacier just to the right of center in this photo.
My friend Jaime from work made a different kind of New Year’s Resolution this year: to go snowboarding at least once a month for all of 2006. This was her July trip, and she invited me to go with her.
Two other acquaintances went as well, which worked out well. Stephanie ended up boarding with Jaime since they were both a bit more experienced, and Will and I took it a little easier. He was also boarding, but had only been once before, so it wasn’t an issue that I was on skis and he on a board.
It took us three different lifts to get to the top of the glacier. On the third lift we could hear the Alpine cow bells below us. What a beautiful sound!
And, yes, when we got to the top, there was snow on the ground! Here’s the obligatory pose just before my run. Yes, that’s snow, and it was July. I’m still amazed that I was able to go glacier skiing in the Alps in July! Never in a million years would I have dreamt that I would have done that!
Unfortunately, after one run, a storm started blowing through. We also didn’t realize that the lifts were scheduled to close shortly after our arrival (downside to summer skiing), so we called it quits and headed to the gift shop before heading down for a late lunch.
Since we still had daylight left, we decided to make a few sightseeing stops en route home. The first stop was to Kloster Ettal monastery. It was absolutely beautiful!
From there we set off for Schloss Linderhof. On the way, we saw this beautiful cloud formation slowly moving across the sky. We couldn’t have planned the symmetry between the clouds, the mountain and even that one tree any better. It didn’t last long, but it sure was majestic!
Linderhof is one of Mad King Ludwig II’s castles, and the only one where he regularly lived. It was closed when we got there, but the grounds were still open and worth the walk around at dusk. This is actually a relatively small castle, but very ornate.
This is the view from the residence across a pond to the memorial to his mother.
Here are the majority of the buildings on the grounds in a single view: the cascade leading from the Music Pavilion area down to the residence with the memorial in the background.
And a similar shot with me.
And one last shot from the opposite angle: from the memorial looking back up the hill.
While the kids were back in the states, I set a goal of traveling somewhere every weekend...and I met that goal! After a hectic first week back at work working 12- to 13-hour days with the "assisted departure" of American citizens from Lebanon during the Lebanon-Israel war (it wasn’t an official NEO—Noncombatant Evacuation Operation), I was looking forward to my first such excursion. The destination: Hintertux Glacier in the Austrian Alps. You can see the glacier just to the right of center in this photo.
My friend Jaime from work made a different kind of New Year’s Resolution this year: to go snowboarding at least once a month for all of 2006. This was her July trip, and she invited me to go with her.Two other acquaintances went as well, which worked out well. Stephanie ended up boarding with Jaime since they were both a bit more experienced, and Will and I took it a little easier. He was also boarding, but had only been once before, so it wasn’t an issue that I was on skis and he on a board.
It took us three different lifts to get to the top of the glacier. On the third lift we could hear the Alpine cow bells below us. What a beautiful sound!And, yes, when we got to the top, there was snow on the ground! Here’s the obligatory pose just before my run. Yes, that’s snow, and it was July. I’m still amazed that I was able to go glacier skiing in the Alps in July! Never in a million years would I have dreamt that I would have done that!
Unfortunately, after one run, a storm started blowing through. We also didn’t realize that the lifts were scheduled to close shortly after our arrival (downside to summer skiing), so we called it quits and headed to the gift shop before heading down for a late lunch.Since we still had daylight left, we decided to make a few sightseeing stops en route home. The first stop was to Kloster Ettal monastery. It was absolutely beautiful!
From there we set off for Schloss Linderhof. On the way, we saw this beautiful cloud formation slowly moving across the sky. We couldn’t have planned the symmetry between the clouds, the mountain and even that one tree any better. It didn’t last long, but it sure was majestic!Linderhof is one of Mad King Ludwig II’s castles, and the only one where he regularly lived. It was closed when we got there, but the grounds were still open and worth the walk around at dusk. This is actually a relatively small castle, but very ornate.
This is the view from the residence across a pond to the memorial to his mother.
Here are the majority of the buildings on the grounds in a single view: the cascade leading from the Music Pavilion area down to the residence with the memorial in the background.And a similar shot with me.
And one last shot from the opposite angle: from the memorial looking back up the hill.
