Zell Am See, Austria - A White Christmas!

With a list of legitimate excuses, this blog comes exceptionally delayed – our epic Christmas trip!! Ok, I admit, part of me has been procrastinating to write this one. I really want to do it justice, however, there literally are no words to be able to recreate the experience for you all. I will indeed do my best, as it cannot go unshared. But please, do forgive me if it is borderline novel length… it will be worth it (I hope).

 

Ah, my mind is just swimming with vivid memories, a montage of images and a flooding of words wanting to be descriptively arranged on the screen, excitedly wanting to relive my reminiscences. Firstly, I cannot go any further without paying attention to the fact that mid December, we had the long awaited arrival of some of our closest friends, Jonny and Lauren Higgins! These immensely missed faces arrived in cold London, ready to party and help us celebrate Christmas. It was such a blessing to have a piece of home and fellow kindred-spirits to help create a homely Christmas. When family, traditions and the comforts of home are thousands of miles away, it is easy to feel despondent. However, we truly did do our best to enjoy Christmas in the most enchanting way possible.

 

With a week of the hilarious Higgins residing in our Putney home, we frequented many a charming English pubs and started what became a holiday essential – card games! The end of the school term came with much relief and excitement, and we all prepared for our unbelievably amazing Christmas itinerary; our first destination being the post-card, scenic charms of Zell-Am-See, a small town in the Austrian Alps. We flew into Salzburg where we were meeting Tez who had already spent a week snowboarding in Austria (lucky duck). When we found her, my excitement tripled as I realised how blessed we were to be spending this festive time of year with four of our friends, in AUSTRIA!! We boarded the train to Zell-Am-See, unknowing of what this place would have in store for us.

 

Both Tim and I (but especially Tim) have discovered a deep love for train rides through countryside landscapes. I’m sure anyone would, really, when seeing the likes of snow-tipped mountains and cascading roads weaving through hills, fields and valleys. It has become a treat to travel via trains; even if it does take a little more time, it is definitely time well spent. Hence, the train ride to our snow-covered town was indeed an extravagant delicacy for our eyes! When we arrived at our station, we jumped out of the train station feeling the cold air but also gasping at the stunning sight. We accidently yet thankfully exited the station on the wrong side and popped out of the shadowed, dark station tunnels to see winter in all its glory. There was a large lake that was glistening under the morning sun and in the distance there were heavenly mountains framing the pool of diamonds. I couldn’t believe we were actually standing at the foot of this scene and shared a squeal of ecstasy with my fellow travellers.

 

So our next step was to get to our apartment, again unknowing what it was going to be like. It always feels like a lucky dip when going to find out what the accommodation is in reality; Internet pictures can be quite deceiving. But no. This place was breathtaking! I laugh still when I think about our first impressions. We met the host outside of a local restaurant and he took us to the house. We entered a huge, heavy and arched wooden door and ascended the steps to the top floor. When we stepped into the main room, we all let out a laugh of shock and admiration… through the large double glass doors to the balcony there was a display of surreal looking mountains, dusted in soft, white icing and flirting with hints of a shy sunshine. We got the jackpot with this lucky dip!!!

 

For sometime we sat and revered our surroundings. Whilst still getting over the view I realised that Tim had dumped the bags, pulled on his coat and shoes and was waiting by the entrance like an extremely excitable puppy. Now, I must highlight that Tim grew up snowboarding down the mountains in New Zealand, every winter. It had been years since he had felt the thrill of running the slopes (apart from a very short run in Poland). If you are a snowboarder, maybe you will understand more than I did the unshrinkable grin on his face and the tears in his eyes when he thought of the board between his booted feet and the powdered snow. Thus, there was no stopping him, despite the fact that we had just arrive and it was 4pm in the afternoon. It was actually the cutest thing to see, and it was such a delight watching him bubble up with such eagerness. With a flash, he was out the door. Mark, Terri and I decided to trail behind him, however, after hiring out our gear there was too little time left for us to venture up the slopes. So the next best thing to indulge in… snow fights! We played like young, wild kids, laughing until our stomachs hurt and making snow-angels until our bums were soaked.

 

The next two days were filled with the thrills and, at times, the tantrums that were evoked from the joys of snowboarding. I must admit I had envisioned myself absolutely shredding the slopes after one or two runs. Of course this was not the case. In fact, I unfortunately landed quite heavily on my arm, jarring my elbow. Defiantly, I was so determined to keep going, which I did despite the discomfort and pain. It was a slow and frustrating journey at times, but every time I looked up over the clouds that resided around the mountains below us, I was stunned with the beauty and serenity of where I was. There were more laughs than tears, and as always I was filled with thankfulness and happiness for the opportunity and the unforgettable moments.

 

As you might imagine, with the landscapes that surrounded us, enjoying a white Christmas here was only too easy! The night before Christmas gave us a feel for a traditional winter scene, with fairy lights adorning the streets and an enormous tree establishing the celebratory event. If the views weren’t enough to enthral us, the sounds of a traditional choir singing carols definitely did the job! With a crowd of admirers entranced by the music, we stood, also entranced and perhaps a little teary eyed.

 

Christmas morning we woke up and enjoyed a delicious breakfast together, swapping our secret Santa gifts and exchanging smiles and heartfelt embraces. After spending sometime on the mountain, we came home and began the preparation for our Christmas roast dinner! With a pull together of different family traditions, we managed to serve up an incredibly heart-warming roast, and did not forget to eat too much on Christmas day!

 

Christmas was not the same without family, especially when we were missing out on our beautiful niece’s first… it was incredibly heart-breaking not seeing Emi enjoy what will become one of her favourite family times. Yet, with the alternative that was at hand, I don’t think we could have achieved a better outcome! A small fear within me did begin to develop… nothing was going to be able to match the wonders of our first destination. Oh how wrong I was. After our love affair with Zell-Am-See, we boarded the train to Salzburg where we would depart for our next stop: Prague, Czech Republic. I didn’t think it was possible for my heart to be devoted to several different places. I learnt that the diversity of each place would tug on the strings of my heart, and I soon realised that beauty is discoverable in every destination.

 

I hope you were able to share in our love for Austria. Prague will get you, no doubt!

 

Love to you all. T&S x 

Poland Pt4 - Zakopane

Final destination for our Poland smorgasboard... the deliciously charming Zakopane. We arrived at our log cabin gasping with delight and awe as we made ourselves at home, instantly collecting wood for the fire, laying out the Polish cheese platter and pouring the red wine. Already reminiscing on the good memories created from our previous destinations, we couldn't be happier with cosy surroundings and the perfect company of our travel buddies and flat mates, Joel and Loz.

Our adventures continued and perhaps epitomised with our epic day on the ski fields. I invite you to imagine the four of us, completely suited up in our snow gear, I myself particularly excited to be wearing my new pants, beanie and gloves. Tim was just as excited however his anticipation came from putting on his familiar and trusty old snow pants, relieved to have them on once again after the long days of snow absence. He wouldn't admit it, but there were almost tears of joy when the rolling, frosty mountains became more than just a backdrop, and were now his play ground.

So, Tim the pro-snowboarder, gazes upon the fields when suddenly his day-dreams (soon to be reality) are interrupted with the sound of a slushing of snow underneath a trudger's foot. He feels a grab on his arm and turns around to see me stumbling through the snow holding a snowboard nearly the size of myself. In true Tim form, he graciously smiles and tells me how cute I look and I excitedly return an oversized grin and squeal I can't wait for him to teach me how to snow board.... it could be a very long day! Slowboarder was soon to be my new nickname, and I was happy to own it as I knew I was far  below par. After a good couple of hours of zig-zagging down the beginners slope I begged Tim to go to the top on his own to get a good chance to shred some snow. He unwillingly obliged (not really - I saw right through him and knew he was dying to go) and off he went. This is where the tale takes on a twist. I suddenly was overcome with a monstrous inner ability and determination to tackle this mountain (which, really was too oversized for us to be labelling it  "beginners", it was more like a borderline expert mountain - a feat for anyone, little own humble starters like myself).

We all met down the bottom and we were questioning whether to all go to the top, and I (playing it all down, of course) mentioned that I wasn't sure I was ready, but hey I will give it a go! We ascended the overcoming, overwhelming, over-towering mountain of achievement. As I strapped myself in I got up and without a flint of fear began my descent through the fluffy white snow. At this point in time the sun had disappeared and we were snowy under lamps with the view of the whole town lit up in night sky. It was stunning, but it did not distract me from my Mission Impossible assignment, which I chose to accept. There I was going down the almost vertical drop, when suddenly I could hear people behind me as I swooshed past them, "wow, she's doing alright", and then I could hear the cheers and cries of my name (ok, so it was Lauren, Joel and Tim). I quickly earned my official title, Shelley - The Shredder! I did it, with  minimal, but not absent stacks - a few crackers I might add - but I conquered it! I'll admit I was probably the slowest boarder the slopes had ever had, however the proud moment was entirely soaked up and we had the biggest laughs that day. We apologise that there are no photos of our skiing/boarder. We were just so busy carving up the snow that it was impossible to take a spare moment!

The next day, I felt like I was dying. Our limbs were hating us for our extreme sport attempts the day before, and our muscles were rebuking and harshly chastising us for the workout we'd given them. But, it did not stop us from our exploring. We rugged up and ventured out into the small touristed town to check out the markets and the shops. The ample stores of sheep skins, snow socks, wooden kitchen wares and fluffy hats kept us intrigued and entertained. We didn't know what was to come. And thank you Jesus that it came.... baked Polish cheese with a serving of cranberry jam on top. Oh my dear! The memory of the smell and taste is instantly recalled when thinking on such sweet times, however it could never be put into words just how wonderful it was. I continue to develop my belief that one of the best components about travel is the journey of the tastebuds. It cannot be separated from the history, the natural beauties discovered, the people met along the way... food is so intrinsically a part of it all, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

It eventually had to end, and to farewell us Poland put on a spectacular snow show with blizzard conditions that Joel had to contend with whilst driving us all to the airport. The entire trip was just unforgettable, each destination offering something unique and wonderfully intriguing. We hope you have loved taking the journey with us, as we truly feel grateful and blessed to have the amazing opportunity to discover, endeavour and grow on this trip!