We received an invitation from the Steens to go and join them at their holiday home in Austria for the mid-term school holidays and we jumped at the chance. They have some close family friends that live in Broadstairs, Kent nicknamed ‘Mr and Mrs Rock’ who offered to take us with them as they were driving there for a holiday too. The plan was that we get the train out to their place and stay with them the night before our trip and then we would get up and catch the 6am ferry from Dover over to France. There was an incident at Romford train station that evening but we eventually made it and were welcomed with open arms, a scrumptious roast chicken dinner and glass of New Zealand wine. They were the most generous people and made us feel right at home straight away. We were all up bright and early the next morning and ‘Mr Rock’ packed up his chilly bins with meals he had prepared and frozen for the holiday and we stored many bottles of wine in the roof rack with our gear and were off to the ferry. Once through customs we parked the car on our assigned deck and went upstairs and had breakfast with ‘tea’ in a rather posh restaurant. It truly hit the spot and prepared us well for the long drive ahead.
When we reached Calais the temperature was a balmy 3 degrees celsius and as we continued across Europe it continued to drop. We made a few coffees and toilet stops along the way and felt the air getting colder almost by the km.Many hours later as night fell we crossed into Austria and the cars thermometer told us that it was -4 degrees and falling still. There was more and more snow visible and as we got deeper into the Lechtal valley it covered the ground and trees. When we finally got to the Steen’s house it was completely dark and it was -12 degrees – OUCH! Olivia had told me how beautiful it was there but being so dark I could only make out the outlines of the house etc and was very much looking forward to the next morning. The house hadn’t been heated properly that winter yet and it was like a fridge and we wore our poly-props, beanies, hoodies and winter socks to bed to keep us warm.
The next morning after a hearty breakfast and getting our ski gears on I went outside to see Bach in all its winter glory. It was literally one of those postcard moments with snow everywhere and a bright blue-sky overhead.
Daf and I went up the road so that I could hire a snowboard and then we all went up to the local lift for our first day skiing of the trip. This was about 10 minutes drive away and the snow was in amazing condition considering there hadn’t been any new snow for almost 3 and half months. I was so excited as I hadn’t been snowboarding for 5 years and couldn’t wait to get up there. Olivia had only even been skiing twice and was very apprehensive about being able to get the hang of it at all. The best thing was that Martin, Anna and Mikey Steen and Daf all ski instructors and she ended up having one on one lessons throughout our stay there. We left Anna and her star pupil on the learner’s slopes.
The rest of us headed up the lift, which took you about 300 metres vertical and hit the snow. 
I got the rust out at the top of the hill with a couple of silly falls but after that was tearing down the hill, it was so much fun.
I went and checked on Liv after a couple of runs and she had made great progress that morning. 
We all stopped for a ‘drinks’ break, which was a Weiss beer, gluvein (mulled wine), jaegar tea or the favourite or ‘Hot Chocolate mit (with) Rum’ and then got back to the skiing. 
A couple of hours later we all met up again at the bottom for another break for lunch and more beer, gluvein, jaegar tea and hot chocolate mit rum. We could tell that we were going to like this kind of skiing.That night we had more aperitifs and nibbles before an amazing meal (which would prove to be the case every night) of jacket potatoes that Olivia helped cook and more New Zealand wines.
Charlotte also made a point (which she did every night) of getting people to come upstairs to the loft and play some table tennis in the freezing cold before the first of our nightly games of ‘TP’ or Trivial Pursuit.
Day two saw more of the same. Up early, good breakfast and then up to the local lift again. Mikey and Martin joined us as they had been ski touring in the back country the day before and Liv then had the pleasure of two instructors with Martin and Anna sharing the honours so that one or the other could ski. It was decided after the first drinks break as called by Charlotte after an hour or so skiing, that we should have lunch at the restaurant at the top of the mountain. So at lunch time we picked Olivia up and rode up the chair. We had an amazing meal overlooking the valley floor 
and finished off with a sampling of Daf’s local desert called ‘germ keneurdel’ which was pretty much a jam filled bun (a lot like a chinese steam bun) covered in custard and sesame seeds and Charlotte’s apple strudel - YUM! 
Then it was back to more skiing and ski lessons and we wrapped what was an amazing day off with some après ski aperitifs at the bar by the car park in the setting sun. 
Martin introduced us to a local game where you try to hammer a nail into a log of wood using the blade end of a hammer. The winner was the one who drove his nail completely into the wood first. Whoever lost shouted the others a round of schnapps. Martin, the barman and I played and I won the first round much to the surprise of the barman. He got us some schnapps and asked for a re-match that I won again. I liked that game!
Once we had finished our drinks Olivia, Mikey, Daf and I got into Martins car and prepared to drive home. All of a sudden there was a horrendous noise and the car lurched to a halt. We jumped out to find that the bumper of the car had been pretty much ripped off by the snow bank and was only hanging on by a couple of screws. Daf was horrified but Mikey assured him that it would be ok. He rang Martin with the news and we left the bumper at the side of the road and drove back to the house amidst many strange looks. Poor Daf didn’t get to live that down at all as everyone took any chance that they could to give him a bit of cheek about it at every opportunity. 
Dinner was a special treat as Anna cooked as local and Austrian speciality called ‘schpetzle’ which is sort of like macaroni but better.Daf had to go back to London the next day so after we had finished breakfast we bid our farewells and then Anna, Charlotte, Mrs Rock and I caught the bus to the big ski field at the end of the valley called Warth. (Martin, Olivia and Mr Rock were driving there.) In New Zealand terms it was huge. There were so many chair lifts that it made me giddy.
There were even two six-seater chairs that had heated seats. Awesome! Each chair had its own bubble that you could pull down if the weather got to bad to keep the elements at bay. We had a few runs before we met up with the rest of our crew for the first ‘drinks break’ of the day and we saw Olivia skiing on the slope and I got a great clip of her on video!She had been skiing with Martin on the learners slope and then graduated onto the bottom of a blue run. After some more great skiing we all met up to have a picnic that Martin had prepared and carried up the mountain in a daypack. It was so surreal to be sitting on the side of a mountain in the sunshine complete with bread, cheese, pickles, speck (smoked ham), sausages, and sparkling wine! Talk about classy.
The skiing was even better after that and of course another drinks break that afternoon. On our last run Martin asked that Mr Rock and Olivia pick us up part way down the mountain as he was going to take me on down a back way that would meet up with the road so that we could find some fresh snow. It was such a great run and true to his word we found lots of pockets of untouched snow that capped off an amazing day, or so I thought. 
After we were picked up Martin asked Mr Rock if he would mind driving us up to a village that overlooked the road back to Bach. 
There was a place he had wanted to ski on all his life that he had never seen anyone skiing on that he wished to do. So Mr Rock and Olivia dropped us off and Martin and I skied off down a virgin slope. 
The snow was amazing and so was skiing in an area with just one other person. When we reached the bottom I thanked Martin for sharing that experience with me and it will remain one of my fondest skiing memories.That night we were treated to more New Zealand wines and an amazing casserole that Mr Rock had brought with him. Now that man can cook.
Martin packed another amazing picnic for the next day and took Olivia under his wing that morning so that Anna could go skiing with the rest of us. As per usual after some amazing runs Charlotte said we MUST stop for a drinks break and who were we to argue. Charlotte, Anna and the Rocks took me to some other parts of the mountain that I had yet to see which were awesome and then we all met up at the pre-ordained spot for lunch. Of course it was delicious and Martin even went so far as having champagne with real glasses this time. 
After lunch Olivia went skiing with the Rocks and Charlotte whilst I went off with Martin and Anna for some fun. We organised for another pick up from down the mountain and we took Anna down the run we had done the day before. It was just as good with some fresh stuff still around.The following day it was just the Rocks, Olivia and I that went to Warth as Anna decided to stay home to do some study and Martin and Charlotte had gone to visit Mikey who had gone back to St Anton to work. Mr and Mrs Rock were so awesome that day as they took turns Skiing with Olivia and showed endless patience as they helped her around the mountain. She even managed her first blue run and part of a red run that day which was quite an achievement considering she was on the learners slopes only a few days earlier. We stopped for lunch at one of the restaurants on the mountain and sat out in the sun on some deck chairs whilst sipping on a cold beer and hot chocolate mit rum (again!). We had some great skiing for the rest of the day and Olivia made some excellent progress no thanks to the Rocks and all their help that day too.
On the way back to the Steens we got zapped by a speed camera (stink) and Mrs Rock was most annoyed as she was the one driving that day and had been warning Mr Rock all that week about speeding – ironic aye. That night we all chipped in and made wiener schnitzel which was a lot of fun and well worth the effort once we were done (accompanied of course with NZ Wine etc).
The next day we had a day off skiing as the weather wasn’t all the flash and so Martin took us on a hike instead. It was a really beautiful and scenic walk that ended at a mountainside inn, which overlooked the valley and the Steen’s house.
We had lunch there and then walked back down to the village where Martin met us in the car and took us back to the house. That afternoon we all went to the local bowling alley and played the local version of ten pin bowling with skittles and little wooden balls. It was very old fashioned and we had a great time even though we had no idea how it was scored or who won in the end.Martin’s brother Ed and his wife arrived that evening to stay and he certainly added character to the mix.
Our final day’s skiing was eventful to say the least. We had all agreed to meet up for another of Martin’s famous picnics later on that afternoon and set off on our various ways. Olivia, the Rocks and I were skiing on a run that she liked and we all agreed to meet at the top so we could start heading over to find the Steens. However in the process Olivia got lost and as we waited and waited for her at the bottom of the chairlift there was still no sign of her. So Mr Rock and I decided that we should go and look for her around the mountain, but alas to no avail. She was nowhere to be found. Unbeknownst to us she had managed to ski all the way down the mountain along a run she had never done and then did her own search for us as well. She covered almost the whole mountain whilst looking for everyone and she did it all by herself – pretty amazing aye! After the rest of us had lunch we finally saw her pretty much at the end of the day on our way up the mountain as she skied under our chair. Mr Rock and I called out and then we all waited for her at the top. She was so relieved to see us and understandably a bit shook up by the whole ordeal and we left her there to eat her picnic whilst we got in a few more runs. We all made it down the hill in one piece (eventually) and had an après ski drink at the bar at the bottom to cap off a memorable week.
We had a really delicious home made chicken soup that Ed had been fussing over along with dinner that night and the last of the New Zealand wine and a couple of beers. The final game of TP was a tight contest with the boys winning (YAY!) before heading off to bed.
After an early breakfast we said our thanks and goodbyes and set off with the Rocks on our return journey back to their place in Kent. We had a great drive back to Calais and on the ferry home Olivia and I got them a little thank you present for all that they had done for us and helping make this holiday so special.The next day Mr Rock dropped us at the train station and we caught our return train back to Romford and of course back to reality.
Lots of love
Olivia and Tama x
