Take a hat

First Day on Snow - 2nd December 2015 Webcam views from home over the previous few days engendered real optimism that the conditions would be the best for several years and that the slopes would be opening on time. Unhappily, Tuesday 1st December was wet and warm so, next day,our first day of skiing was on slippery and crusty snow. On the positive side the rain had disappeared and there was no wind. There were also enough runs open to keep us interested. It was one of those glorious days when the lift took us up through the ceiling of cloud into bright warm sunshine. Sitting outside for Lunch at the Gipfel Restaurant was exceedingly pleasant and the first Weiss Beer of the trip was well earned and very refreshing. TW's first Strudel on the hill also hit the spot. Just a few dozen skiers were out and about. The Scandinavians were out and about. Their yellow topped Alpresor guides, usually followed by a horde of competent skiers, are easy to spot. Most of them st...

Walking on the Schlossalm in October TW in the frame The early snow has melted and it looks a bit bare on the Schlossalm. The cows have gone, the wild flowers have ceased to bloom and the tourists are now few and far between. A nice time for a circular walk.

September in Austria A cold friend on the hill A bit of snow is not unusual in September but it came as a bit of a shock to us. We were told before we came that it had been wonderful weather all Summer. When we turned up the weather turned as well. No matter though, the cows don't mind the cold. Even so, they have to be taken down the mountain because with 40cm of snow they cannot get at the grass. TW gets into ski gear A really cold and wintry scene presented itself at the top of the Cable Car. No matter, it soon warmed up. Wintry scene in the Park Get stuffed - Short of staff at the Alte Post? There are some pretty elaborate Autumn displays outside Hostelries and Farms.  Imagine that people have a lot of fun making up their Herbst displays. Pedalling upwards at Dorfgastein on my 29er. A favourite ride in Dorfgastein takes me up to the Grubner Alm. Ham and Eggs with a beer is a welcome reward for a hard climb. Always a good welcome the most fav...

Trips to Austria in the Summer of 2015.  Walking on Graukogel Walking Rule 1 - never look at a map The first trip was in June/July and involved the usual mix of walking, cycling and eating. The most memorable walk was to the Palfner See. A lovely sunny day made for a pleasant ride up on Graukogel chair-lift and then a wander on a fairly level track to Palfner See. We planned to head back on the same path to the lift for a bit of lunch but AG consulted a map! An alternative lower path proved to much lower than it looked on the map and was probably only appropriate for Mountain Goats. So the rest of the day was spent walking downhill to the village. Walking Rule 2 - take food if you are not going to pass a Hut We walked on in an advanced state of famine. Walking Rule 3 - don't walk downhill it ruins your knees. Walking Rule 4 - take water - at least we got that right. Not always Summer

The Easy Life in the Canaries Nice black sand at Playa La Arena Bit of a last minute booking found us on the way to Tenerife. To be honest, neither of us could quite understand why. I suppose the reasoning included the fact that our little Apartment in Bad Hofgastein was rented out, Bournemouth airport is only 15 minutes from our new home, we benefited from a bit of a discount and it was my Birthday. I always like to be away on my Birthday. Anyway the climate in Southern Tenerife is lovely and the food superb. We had a delightful self-catering apartment in the, not so nice, Playa De Las Americas courtesy of Thomson Holidays. It is some time since we have been on a package holiday but they have not changed! We went to the welcome party where they try to sell excursions but I fell asleep. We did ask the chap if we could hire bikes but the price he quoted was far more than if we booked through the hotel. I do remember him saying that he wanted us to give him full marks in the post ho...

Castleman Trailway The Castleman Trailway is based upon a disused Railway Line that originally linked Southampton with Dorchester. It is well worth a day in anyone's cycling life. We started in Poole and ended up in Brockenhurst, ready for a beer and the train back to Bournemouth. On the way we passed through Broadstone, Wimborne and Ringwood plus The New Forest.

Back to Work again! Somehow we managed to successfully move house between the ski holidays so the final ski tripof the winter was a bit more relaxed than usual. Bad Hofgastein had its best winter coat on. Plenty of friends were around and TBIL was over for the week that coincided with TW's birthday. First Beer of the trip - on the train from Salzburg Happy Days at the Aeoplanstadl A smart snowman above Angertal TW lunching in Grossarl

Irving in London A trip to London and a visit to the Royal Festival Hall beckoned in February. A quick trip to the Tate Modern and a coffee at the top was a good way to fill in time. The concert was good too - from Rags to Ritzes - the Irving Berlin Songbook. Lots of interesting biographical details between the songs. Amazingly Irving could not read music or play the piano properly. Did pretty well regardless. Thames from the Tate Modern I was probably reading the Sports pages TW ready for Dinner In the Royal Festival Hall

Back to Work After the Christmas trip home it was back on BA to Salzburg. The snow conditions were much improved and the sun was shining. Not much snow in the valley so only the man-made langlauf was open. TW ready to go A lot of the Langlauf was still closed in the valley - time for a stretch Balls without snow in the village The Haitzingalm open for business