Edelweiss and Lederhosen

No Mr Snowman!  Don't jump!

Pretty napkin arrangments!

 The first time I heard this word was in the Sound of Music and I never knew what it meant.  But now I know it’s the name of a white flower native to these parts, so there you go!  It’s also the (former) name of the hotel where Maciek is a waiter. It was changed just before this winter season.  I told you I’d include some pics of him in Lederhosen so here you are, although if you were expecting the short ones with long socks and braces you’ll be sorely disappointed – perhaps if he was to keep the job through summer we might be entertained by that look but it’s not to be.

There have been some busy times but mostly it’s been quiet which means most of the time he’s standing around twiddling his thumbs, and practicing his knee slapping and yodeling (not!)  He’s been struggling with the language.  For example, there’ll be 5 customers at the bar having banter with the other barman, and Maciek just standing there like a pratt.  Wouldn’t be too bad if there was work to do, but there wasn’t.  And groups of people standing together laughing and talking while Maciek is tidying a table and when he looks up at them they are all looking at him smiling, so he’s not sure if they were having a joke at his expense or what, but I’ve experienced that myself and it doesn’t feel very nice.

There’s a little hut outside, a small bar, where he’s been stationed a couple of times, and a group of mostly German tourists are gathered drinking the evening away after their ski.  He’s doing his best to look like he’s enjoying the Deutsch Discotheque even though he knows none of the songs nevermind the words, and all the while making up prices for the drinks as no-one has given him a price list and when he’s asked no-one knows anyway!  Apparently it’s 3 euro for a beer, and 3.80 for pint of coke! 

It’s holiday season, so lots of tourists from all over – mostly Deutschland, then Nederlands, Slovakia, Italien, some car rego’s with a European Union ‘B’ on them (what’s that – Bulgaria?  Is that still a country?  Or has it been changed to something like Bulgavian Democratic Republik of Bogsdanodan, or maybe it’s just ‘Britain’ by itself because it’s not as Great as it once thought it was?), one or two Frenchies, and lots from all over Austria, and of course UK.  It kind of gives us free reign to speak English as we can just pass as tourists and we have an excuse!  There have been a couple of bus loads of English school kids staying at the hotel on ski trips which at least gives Maciek people to chat to!  One 14 year old lad approached the bar and asked for a packet of cigarettes.  Maciek looked at him and said “how old are you?”   “14,” replied the boy.  “I don’t think we sell cigarettes,” replied Maciek.  “You do” said the lad “coz I bought some yesterday!”  Maciek looked at his boss and asked “Do we sell cigarettes?”  “Erm, yeah, I suppose” replied the boss shrugging his shoulders.  “But do we sell cigarettes to him?”  asked Maciek.  “hmmm” replied the boss nodding his head.  “ok, how much are they?” asked Maciek.  “They’re a fiver, that’s what they were yesterday” said the boy, at the same time as the boss shrugged his shoulders again and began walking away.  And so Maciek sold a 14 year old boy a packet of cigarettes, thinking, if this was Australia I’d be arrested for this!  On another night a group of 16 year olds were sitting around the bar drinking beers.  It’s legal here, to drink beer at 16.  Not spirits, although if they want one no-one’s going to batter an eyelid!

Maciek shouldn’t feel that bad really.  The head chef is Iranian, the assistant chef Greek (not a word of English or German), the chamber maids are Hungarian, the receptionist is from Stuttgart and most of the others are German or Austrian too.  Quite a multicultural workplace!  And on the upside, at least he’s not as knackered as he was when he was tiling, and he gets fed, so I don’t have to cook!

...and a Happy New Year!

Sparkly Noah

After Peach and Monika left us the B & B was very busy preparing for its next guests – Aunty Sue and Uncle Frank with little Curly!  They arrived later than expected due to snow and traffic (busiest week of the year for tourists – I like them, they make me feel less of a foreigner!) but were able to relax and unwind when they got here after a long day of driving.  They brought some lovely pressies for Noah and Milly (clothes) and for me (junk food!) and we enjoyed a couple of schnapps after dinner and after a good night’s rest at the Inn they were on their way again, along the snowy roads back to Italy.

Noah has been very ill with tonsillitis and then Amelia woke up with conjunctivitis (lovely!) the day before New Years eve, but thankfully all was well in time for the party at a friend’s place in Going.  A kid friendly bash on New Years Eve is always a welcome event and gave us a rare chance to get out and socialize, and Paul and Analissa have a beautiful traditional style Austrian house right next to a Lift!  They can ski down right into their back yard!  We had a great evening, champagne and yummy food and fireworks out the back (it’s not so much a back yard as it is the bottom of a hill that stretches up as far as you can see and keeps going up the mountain).  Yes, fireworks.  All sorts.  You can just buy them from your local shops, as many as you want, and set them off wherever you like!  From our fellow Aussies we hear Shock! Gasp! Horror! As this is illegal in Oz.  Probably because it would cause too many bushfires.  Not to say that it’s not equally as dangerous here as all the buildings are made of WOOD!!  Unfortunately couldn’t get any good pics, it was too dark.  It was nice too to catch up with friends who moved back to the UK a couple of months ago and Amelia had a fab evening running around and playing with her friend Lilly who she can actually talk to!

Way passed bedtime for Noah Milly and Lilly

Normally on nights out Maciek and I share the driving – he drives there and I drive back (hang on a minute???).  But there was no way I was going to be negotiating those roads with the heavy snowfall we were having.  So Maciek lucked out, and I enjoyed my fair share of Champagne and Quality Streets (I’d forgotten about them!) hoping it would numb my nerves for the drive home but I was still white knuckled clutching my seat as we slid about not unlike four wheel driving on the beach at Lancelin.

Curlys winter best

We arrived home about 11pm, put the kids to bed, and enjoyed a 180 degree panoramic fireworks display from the balcony at midnight.  With the sound bouncing off the mountains it could have been mistaken for an air raid!  It was a great way to end the night.  Best wishes to everyone for a fantastic 2012!!

Meerrry Christmas!



Against all odds due to this time of year being the busiest for the tourism industry Maciek managed to get both Christmas Day and Boxing Day off work!  We were very grateful for this.  Our friends Peach, Monika and their little boy arrived Christmas Eve in the afternoon, and after collecting Maciek from work in the evening we enjoyed a meal together and a few drinks.  The evening of the 24th is when Austrians celebrate Christmas (we were used to this as this is also tradition in Poland, and our friends also celebrate this way too), and Christkind comes to decorate the tree (oops – we did ours a month too early!) and leave presents for the children.  We know he’s been as he tinkles a bell as he leaves to let you know you can bring the children in from their “evening stroll” or in our case “little play in the playroom with the door closed”!  Amelia and Noah are especially lucky as they get Christkind AND Santa!  Apparently there is a bit of debate going on here at the moment as things are becoming more commercialized and Santa is making more of an appearance, about who brings the best gifts – Christkind or Santa? – and not many an Austrian is too happy about it!  Not really sure who Christkind is actually (apart from translating to Christ Child), my questions have been met with looks of confusion and shrugging of shoulders and ums and ahhs.  A star or an angel maybe?  But nevertheless I think this is where our Kris Kringle/Kriss Kindle/Kiss Kringle/Secret Santa comes from!!

Christmas morning, after a delicious omelette courtesy of the Lady of the Manor (me) we took to the beginner slopes for some sledding and mucking about with the kids, and then Maciek and Peach took off for a long awaited (11 years) snowboarding session together. 

The Grander Schupf

I need a weeee!!!..Sam

In the evening we took the advice of a friend and had dinner at a beautiful place on the mountain called the Grander Shupf, a traditional Austrian chalet style restaurant, even more magical with Christmas decorations and lights.  Situated 1km up the mountain, it made for a scary drive up especially since the snow had turned icy and the road was steep and winding.  Luckily we didn’t cross with another car coming down, as if we’d have stopped we would have been stuck, and would have had to reverse all the way back to the bottom.  Driving up a road like that is one thing, reversing down one is another!  We were shown to a quiet table tucked away opposite a lovely open fire, and being Christmas I had the duck (no turkey to be seen) with dumplings and blue cabbage.  Maciek and Gordon had it too and we couldn’t believe our eyes when our plates came out filled with what looked like a whole duck, sitting beside 3 little dumplings and a blob of cabbage!  Tasty though, got my fill of protein that’s for sure!  Another fun thing about the place was the fact that you can slide to the loo!  Yes, there’s a slide down to the loo’s, and small kids playroom!  My friend Sam was very close to laddering her stockings as she had about 5 goes (her excuse is that she had to show her daughter that it wasn’t scary!)  Then it was back to our place for desert and Bailey’s coffees, and musical statues played by the grown men with Amelia controlling the music which came from her new ballerina jewelry box that played Swan Lake when it was opened!  Very amusing.  And they weren’t even drunk!

P.S  Pics are not so great due to Maciek breaking our camera a week before Christmas (he won’t admit to it) and us having to buy a cheapy one to replace it and not having time to work it out yet!

In town

Peach, Monika & Yannik