Another ski rep'ing trip to Austria was on the cards for me this Easter. This time I was assigned to
Bad Kleinkircheim in Carinthia.
Twenty seven hours on a coach load of 37 excited teenagers was a little tiring to say the least. We were extremely well looked after by Gordon and Mike the drivers though.
Upon arrival in resort things seemed a bit worrying for the kids as there was no snow in the valley at all. The hotel looked rather nice though and after spending a week in the wonderful
Sporthotel Mirnock in
Afritz am See I can honestly say that I have never, in my life, received such exceptional service. The hosts, Frau and Herr Mayer were exceptional and nothing was too much trouble for either of them. I highly recommend a stay there, I will certainly be returning.
On to the reason we were there - skiing! Well, there was no snow in the valley as I said and there was not a great amount on the beginners slopes either but I have to hand it to the kids and to the instructors, where there is a will there is a way.
It was Easter just after we left and so the hotel was beautifully decorated. I particularly like the way that the trees have painted eggs hung from them.
It is still traditional in Austria to give dyed hard boiled eggs. Imagine my surprise when I was presented with a dyed egg as a thank you from the owner of the bowling alley that we attended on the Tuesday evening.
So with little snow and a day of rain we headed into
Villach for some shopping in
Atrio shopping centre. I am not really a big fan of shopping and so the clothes stores, perfumeries and household stores didn't really attract me. I loved the bookstore and I even treated myself to a German translation of Harry Potter. Now I have never read Harry Potter so I am hoping that I can get along with this book.
And, as only I can do, I found the ice creams
and, of course, the cakes.
I love Austrian Konditories, so imagine my delight when I discovered that the
Hairy Bikers show was from Austria this week. Fantastic (as they say)
No visit to Austria would be complete without a short time by a lake for me so off I toddled to
Millstatter See where I sat in quiet solitude in an attempt to recharge those batteries before a long journey back to the UK the following day
Life is pretty special in Austria. I am really looking forward to making it my home. Hopefully it will happen soon. Plans are underway for an extended visit this summer if we can get ourselves sorted. Hopefully 2013 will be the year that we make it home.
So, where would you live if you could choose to be anywhere and why there?
