1 Jan - 4 Jan 2008
Loved Austria (again!) in spite of it being so cold that our waste-water tank outlet froze so we couldn't let the dishwater out (becomes a real exercise in low water usage dish-washing when you know you can't empty the tank!)
Innsbruck was an ideal place for the kids to try skiing and ice-skating, so we took advantage of the low-cost baby-lift to have a day of practising skiing, which Chris and James hadn't done since they were 6 and 4 years old and the others had never tried. Everyone enjoyed themselves in gorgeous weather and really short lift queues. The boys focused on speed, Breanna on technique and by the end of the day all were doing really well and were keen to go again next day.
However, the weather was slightly worse next day and very windy on the more advanced slopes, so in the end opted for a half day skiing for Breanna on the kiddy slope and the rest of us went ice-skating at the open-air rink right next to the ski slope. Breanna joined us in the afternoon for ice-skating, so got the best of both worlds. Don't know how she managed to find the energy to do both, but she certainly did and loved every minute of it, until the time when James' knee connected with her head trying to dodge her when gravity got the best of her. So this was a great excuse to get back to the van for a hot chocolate and get going to get down the mountain before it got too cold. Spent the next day travelling towards Germany crossing the border at Lake Constance (Bodensee), with fantastic scenery all the way. Have to say that Austria is definitely one of my favourite countries in the all-round scorecard of scenery, cleanliness, friendliness and liveability. Maybe being able to speak the language makes a difference to one's impression of a country, but Austria has always been such a pleasure to visit and things seem so easy there compared to travelling in other countries.
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