Bear with me for a while because we’re going back in time for a bit. As part of this Illinois Program, participants can choose to go on a weeklong ski week in the Alps. Of course, I was going to agree to that, never mind that I’ve only skied in Wisconsin twice. I would quickly learn that Wisconsin doesn’t really count much for skiing. Our arrival in Wien was early in the morning on a Friday. Our train to the ski resort left at 7:30 the next morning. It was a pretty quick turnaround, not to mention the jet lag, which made everything worse. Fortunately, I, and a few other people from my program who live in the same building, navigated our way to the train station without any problems. The first few hours of the ride to Zell am See (our first stop) are pretty boring. Most of the train ride to Linz and Salzburg is along high-speed lines. While high-speed lines go really fast (and are pretty cool for an American used to 50 mph trains!), you can’t see too much. Lots of viaducts, tunnels, and sound walls. After Salzburg, however, the train slowed down, and the scenery became more wondrous. The scenery vividly reminded me of something out of the Grand Budapest Hotel. Spectacular snowed-covered mountains with semi-frozen waterfalls, cascading their way into the valleys below.
Upon arrival at Zell am See, we transferred to a bus that took us to the base of the mountain. Then to a gondola, and then by foot all the way to the hotel. Our hotel was the Berghotel Seidlalm. When they say “Berghotel” (mountain hotel) they really mean it! The hotel is all the way at the top of the mountain above the village of Saalbach. They even have their own lift to get food to the top! It’s a pretty isolating place at the top of the mountain. Not much to do other than ski! But don’t worry, there was plenty of that!
So here’s the backstory behind that. I had met another Illinois student at O’Hare and found out he lived at the same building I was going to. We talked on the train more on the way to Zell am See, and when the question came up of whom to room with, we chose each other since we didn’t know anyone else. I’ve got to preface that he’s a genuinely nice guy. But since you’re in the same room with a stranger, you’ve got to ask the question. “Do you snore?” His response was,
“No, don’t worry about me! I’m not a snorer. I do talk in my sleep sometimes, but really rarely, so you’ll be fine.”
I was like, “Oh great! I don’t either, so we’ll be all good”.
Oh, how wrong I was.
No, he snored. LOUD.
Oh- and that talking in his sleep thing. That happened too. A lot. And in Polish (he’s Polish). I don’t know if he dreamt he was at a party in Poland, or something because he talked so loudly he could’ve been shouting over music. Not ideal.
Anyway, after the first night of horrible sleep, we hit the bunny slope next to our hotel with our wonderful ski instructor, Lisa. Lisa was immensely patient with the bunch of bumbling flatlanders she had just taken under her wing. At the end of the second day of the trip came arguably the most pivotal moment of the entire week, the one-run ski trial. The two ski instructors for the beginners lined us up in two lines and created a mini ski run for us to ski down. The goal of the test was to see who was apt enough at skiing to hit the slopes the next day. The other group would remain in the practice phase. I wouldn’t know how much of a big deal this was until later in the week, but I’ll explain that later. Fortunately, I nailed my single practice run and was bumped up to the higher group. Bright and early the next morning, we did our first real run. Let me tell you, I was terrified. The skiing was beyond intense and a massive jump up for me, but unbelievably fun at the same time.
As an aside (Skip this if you're not interested in infrastructure, but who wouldn't, it's a riveting topic! Get it. . . riveting. . . I'll see myself out thank you very much. ) I’ve never seen better infrastructure for a recreational sport in my life. The Austrians certainly take skiing seriously. The lifts and gondolas were essentially train stations, with entrance and exit platforms, electronic signage, and ticket gates. The lifts even had automatic treadmills that pushed you perfectly into position to go up the slope. No more of that terrifyingly scary moment of getting onto a ski lift. No, everything here was automatic, even the bar over your head. Unbelievably clean and bright (and run jointly by four municipal governments, I might add).
Here’s where the ski test comes in. The following day, Lisa announced to our “advanced-beginner” group that if we all felt good enough, we could ski down to the quaint village of Saalbach on our last day. That was all the motivation I needed to stay healthy and improve as best I could. Being stuck on the mountain the entire week seemed like an endlessly boring experience. To cut the story a bit short, I did make it down to Saalbach at the end of the week. A truly Alpine picture-perfect village to end what was an unforgettably beautiful adventure. We were incredibly lucky to have skied on the slopes in spectacular weather for almost the entire week. December had been unseasonably warm, and there was only about a foot or two of snow on the ground when we were there. But it was enough to create lasting memories. I think pictures will do this week more justice than my words alone, so here are a bunch of photos of the spectacular Austrian Alps.
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