Happy New Year!

First of all, I’d like to wish everyone Alles Gute zum neuen Jahr! I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year. Like I said in my last post, I would be normally celebrating these holidays with many of you who read this blog. I miss all of you so much and I can’t wait to see you all again in June!

As you know, my host family and I were in Zillertal, Austria for Christmas and New Year. We had so many great experiences and I know I will remember each and every one of them my entire life.

One of my greatest experiences was skiing five days-four of them in the sun! Normally, I ski at Brundage Mountain Resort in McCall, Idaho every year during Christmas. We ski most of the time six or seven days and we’re lucky when at least two are sunny! I’ve been skiing ever since I was 4 years old, and it has always been a dream of mine (far back in the depths of my brain because I never figured it could come true) to ski in the Alps. Back in May or June, as I was emailing my host family, I soon realized my dream would come true. Ralf, Meike, and Sven took me to Hoch Zillertal/Hoch Fügen for four days and I went with Ralf and Sven to Zillertal Arena one day. Links to the websites are here: ski-optimal.at (Hoch Zillertal/Hoch Fügen and zillertalarena.com (Zillertal Arena).

While there could have been more snow (there was a lot of ice and brown spots), the runs were great. The crowds were huge (15,000 people skied at Hoch Zillertal on the day after Christmas), but I always found my sweet little patch of corduroy lol.

What were really to die for however, were the views. From the top of Hoch Zillertal, the Austrian Alps went as far as the eye could see. From Zillertal Arena, we could look in the distance and see the Dolomites in Italy. The bright sun made the views even more memorable and it is my greatest wish to go back and ski there with my real family.

My new ski boots (that I bought in Innsbruck in the Fall break) served my extremely well. They are so comfy and warm inside. Those who have ever been skiing with me know that I have problems with cold hands and cold feet, but my feet were toasty warm (though that could also have something to do with the new ski socks-Thanks Mom and Dad).

Everything with my gear worked out as well. I had brought over my ski pants, long underwear, jacket, helmet, and gloves when I came here in August. Then I bought the ski boots in Herbst Ferien in Innsbruck. All I had to borrow from the Windhorsts were skis and poles. It worked out really well because the poles they had were my size and Sven’s old skis that I used are 159cm (the same as my K2 Misbehaved skis at home).

Christmas in the Wohnwagen was also an experience I will never forget. First of all, the whole gift exchange took place on Christmas Eve, known as Heilig Abend (Holy Night) auf Deutsch. After we did raclette (cooking your own meat and veggies on a hot stone), Meike and I showered and when we got back, all the gifts were piled up around the Wohnwagen. It made me feel almost as if I were sitting in McCall on the couch with the rabbit blanket. I received a couple very personal gifts from my host family that I will cherish for the rest of my life, as well as many thoughtful and beautiful presents from my family in America.

On January 1, we drove to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany to see the round of the Vier Chanzen Tournee that took place over three weeks in Germany and Austria. Basically, it is a ski jumping tournament where the best ski jumpers in the world come together and have four chances to win the entire tournament. The jumpers acquire points according to how far they jump and how good the landings are. Sometimes it can be very exciting because while one person could win 3 out of the 4 rounds, it is possible that they do not win the tournament. Although a German did not win the whole tournament, an Austrian, Andreas Kofler, ended up winning. I can’t wait to see how well he does in the Olympics next month! What amazed me the most was that the youngest jumper was a 16 year old! The best German jumper during the tournament was Pascal Bodmer and he is only 18 years old! Crazy! Another highlight to the day was that I got to wave my American flag around (although the two Americans in the tournament hadn’t qualified the day before) and Meike and I got free Milka hats (They are purple with white cow spots and cow horns). I know what you’re thinking and I know you’re jealous.

We had a great vacation, but I’m glad to be back in the Eifel. It’s supposed to snow like crazy on the weekend and apparently Aachen doesn’t have any salt left for the roads…so Aachen will be a mess. I’m prepared to hang out at home this weekend!

I miss you guys and I’ll post again soon because I have lots left to say!

Love,
Carrie