It was with some trepidation that I agreed to go skiing – after all I’m a beach holiday type of girl and I imagined dire scenarios of shivering in the snow, sliding down the mountains on my bottom in comedy Bridget Jones style.
However, when my husband showed me photographs of the Austrian apartment we’d be staying in, in Zwieselstein, perfectly placed between two major ski resorts, Hochgurgl and Sölden, in the Tirol region of Austria, I was halfway to being convinced.
The mountain views from the balcony were absolutely stunning. We arrived on Saturday evening and went to dinner at the Hotel Neue Post.
By the time I was tucking into the Wiener Schnitzel, one of many Austrian specialities and a glass of extremely palatable Grüner Veltliner, I was warming to this holiday.
We hit the slopes in Hochgurgl, on Sunday morning and by then I was converted. If nothing else, the wide blue skies and the awe inspiring views were incredible. I sat on the terrace of the Hotel Hochgurgl, sipping a fresh orange juice before girding my loins to put on my skis.
But I needn’t have worried at all, there are a plethora of wide blue runs in Hochgurgl and as I inched my way down, I realised that while skiing for the winter Olympics might be a little tricky, cruising down at your own speed is surprisingly easy to achieve.
I’m still no expert at skiing, but what with the mountain air, the sunshine and all that exercise (not just sliding down on my bottom), I’ve never returned from a trip abroad, with quite such a good post-holiday glow!
I’ll certainly be heading back to Tirol next year for more of the same.
by Melanie Fallowfield
