|
The Great Austrian Ski Trip...and other Adventures
Lindy and I just returned from our spring break trip to St. Anton, Austria, where we had a lovely time skiing for six days and visiting with my old friend Claas Schulitz. Lindy and I flew from Dublin to Stuttgart, where Claas picked us up. We were one hour late arriving, but Claas had cookies waiting, the good wife and mother that he is. By the way, if anyone knows a nice girl, Claas would be a great catch! The poor guy has no idea how many people I'm promoting him to... After hopping on the autobahn and driving at a mere 170 km/h, we quickly arrived at Haus Kohlereck in St. Anton, Austria. St. Anton is famous for three things: (1) Steep runs, (2) crowded pistes, and (3) apres-ski. It should also be known for avalanches, which have taken the lives of 38 people so far this year. The avalanche danger was quite high while we were there, so we tended to stay on-piste. Honestly, we kept things quite safe, and I only took Lindy on one run that, unbeknownst to me prior to setting off on it, had a gaping crevasse at the top. Well, maybe not gaping, but still enough of a crack to concern me, only for Lindy’s sake, I’m sure. I provided Lindy, who was already questioning the wisdom of traveling down such a steep slope, some sound advice ("If you hear a rumbling sound, quickly ski to the side."), but somehow this did not provide the intended comfort. We quickly moved to a more stable slope, i.e. a mogul run through a rocky chute.
In addition to the avalanches, the first three points above were also true. There were plenty of long, steep runs, and some very nice intermediate cruisers as well. St. Anton is one of the large resorts in the Alps that dwarf nearly all North American areas. After a couple of warm-up days, Claas and I had Lindy skiing down some great runs. We actually had her skiing down them the first couple of days as well, but she enjoyed them more later in the week. Point (2) is clearly the biggest problem with St. Anton. Advances in chairlift technology means that, instead of waiting for a ride up the hill, skiers fight for space on the way down. Lindy is still wearing the bruises from a twenty-something who clobbered into her on the first day. We quickly learned that the other areas on our lift pass were less crowded, and also were more beautiful.
The apres-ski was, I'm entirely afraid to admit, delightful. I never thought of myself as an apres-ski kind of guy, but there is something charming in dancing on tables (okay, I'd had a few) with a couple hundred other people from all over (they'd had a few, too, especially the girl who had to crawl to find her skis) at the Mooserwirt, a famous Austrian bar, well known for people dancing on tables. Lindy, who had not had a few but who had been bribed with two Euro, Gummi bears, and an Almdudler (an Austrian soda to which she is now addicted), also joined in and had a great time. The pictures await development.  Around this same time, Dot was busy working, attempting to pay for my fun. I applaud her for that, long may it continue. She had planned on working late during the week and maybe taking a hiking trip to Northern Ireland with a friend from work on the weekend. However, she had a slight change of plans when her water broke on Thursday afternoon at work. She kept working another hour and a half. Daft, I say. Then she walked home 2 1/2 miles. Did I mention daft?  After letting me know what was happening and being admitted to the hospital, she had to turn her mobile phone off. Unfortunately, she didn't know the pin number to turn it back on, so I was out of the loop for a while. Labor was proceeding slowly, so Dot convinced the hospital to let her go home so she could call me and rest in a more comfortable place. The next morning, after doing a bit of shopping (and being called "daft" by some friends she ran into, anyone sense a theme?) she decided it was time to go to the hospital.  Nine hours and a very nice day of skiing later, Katherine Niamh Dillingham was welcomed into the world on Good Friday, 25 March, 2005 at 9:33 pm, weighing in at 7 lbs, 15 oz. She didn’t have a definite name for three days whilst we considered good advice from friends (no to E-Bay/Ailbe, etc., or anything sounding Greek). We were tempted by Chick’s (‘Ghbhdh, a traditional Irish name which literally means "ghbhdh," and is pronounced "ghbhdh."’) and Hal’s (‘As a recognized expert on the naming of children ... how could you not like a name that's spelled 'Caoimhe' and pronounced 'KEE . va'?’) suggestions, so Niamh now has a stuffed dog, a present from Lindy, named Caoimhe Maebhdh Ghbhdh.  Whilst she came a bit earlier than expected, she did pass the 37 week mark, which is when babies are considered full term. An overachiever like her mother, she waited just 2 days after the cut-point to get started. Lindy and I returned from our trip on Sunday and rushed to the hospital (we were in a hurry, as we were a bit late after all the skiing) to visit the new addition. Katie Niamh is the spitting image of her sister, and beautiful, of course, especially if you like turtles. Cheers, |
