Here we are in the beautiful Austrian Tyrol on our ski holiday. We are in the Almhof Hotel in Galtur, which is near Ischgl. Heather and Ewan have stayed here before and the hotel is absolutely lovely; decorated in modern Tyrolean style, light and bright with a moss-green carpet which has a pattern of wee white Edelweiss flowers. It is situated right on the slopes in the Virl area of Galtur, which is where the ski slopes are (The larger village of Galtur proper, about 25 minutes walk away, has no ski slopes.) We can ski straight from the hotel to the main gondola which is but moments away, or ski a couple of minutes down to the road where an extremely frequent bus service will whisk us to the much larger resort of Ischgl, twenty minutes away by bus.
After the usual surprisingly lengthy journey that a ski holiday entails, we arrived yesterday evening and were very happy with the high standard and friendly staff of the hotel. This morning we woke to lots of snow and sun which was just what we had hoped for. It didn’t take long to collect our hired skis, after which James, Heather and Ewan set off to explore the Galtur ski area and I went for my private lesson. My instructor was called Gregor and he didn’t speak much English but then I don’t speak much German! The two hour lesson was exactly what I needed after two years without skiing, we went right back to basics and soon I was turning and side-slipping down blue and then red runs, with my confidence gradually rebuilding. It helped that the snow is in great condition. Gregor pointed to the Adventure Park, a roped off area with mounds of snow where you can practise jumps, and suggested that we go there. I was absolutely horrified until I realised that he was joking!
Later James and I walked along to Galtur and went to the supermarket for drinks and snacks, then got the bus back to Virl before a delicious dinner and a lovely evening in great company.
After the usual surprisingly lengthy journey that a ski holiday entails, we arrived yesterday evening and were very happy with the high standard and friendly staff of the hotel. This morning we woke to lots of snow and sun which was just what we had hoped for. It didn’t take long to collect our hired skis, after which James, Heather and Ewan set off to explore the Galtur ski area and I went for my private lesson. My instructor was called Gregor and he didn’t speak much English but then I don’t speak much German! The two hour lesson was exactly what I needed after two years without skiing, we went right back to basics and soon I was turning and side-slipping down blue and then red runs, with my confidence gradually rebuilding. It helped that the snow is in great condition. Gregor pointed to the Adventure Park, a roped off area with mounds of snow where you can practise jumps, and suggested that we go there. I was absolutely horrified until I realised that he was joking!
Later James and I walked along to Galtur and went to the supermarket for drinks and snacks, then got the bus back to Virl before a delicious dinner and a lovely evening in great company.
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