Photoblog - Vienna (Ice Skating)

Hopefully you saw the post about skiing in downtown Munich!  Siemens built a mini slope for skiing and sledding right in front of their world headquarters and it was a lot of fun.  We were in for another surprise on our weekend getaway to Vienna.

In Vienna we found something similar.  It was built by the city (rather than a corporate sponsor) and sat in front of the Rathaus (City Hall).  It's called the Wiener Eistraum (Vienna Ice Dream).

Instead of sledding and skiing, this is for ice skating.  When you think of ice skating, you might think of an oval rink, but Vienna added a twist -- skating routes.  They feel a bit like a lazy river at a water park.  Check out the map below and you'll see the ice skating paths on the left side.  

Here's a view from the front, taken from the sidewalk.  You see the giant Rathaus looming in the background and notice lights that ensure people can skate until 20:00 in the evening.  It looks like a typical ice skating rink...

...but now in this photo, we zoomed out a bit and you can just barely see the entrance to the skiing route on the front left.  The guy with the backpack is just starting onto the path, and the guy in the green jacket looks like he will follow.

Now we panned left so you can see the path.  It's wide enough for maybe four across, and the skating pace was quite leisurely.  A couple teen guys were moving pretty fast (as usual), but in general it looked like a relaxed way to go.  It's hard to see in the photo, but if you look at the ice skates of the woman with the blue jeans and hat (foreground, right side) on top they look almost like ski boots.  I think the child behind her has the same thing.  That's because the rental skates that were available had ski-boot like buckles on them!  Those quick-lock mechanisms work fast, are familiar, and much more convenient than long laces.  Very cool.  They should have those in the U.S..

Now we're moving further left in the scene, and the photo below (shot from the sidewalk again) shows the people skating by on the ice path.  With the Rathaus in the background it was a really pleasant atmosphere.  The had music playing...

 

... and of course tents with food and drink available.  Frau and I had some glühwein and it really warms you up on a cold day.

Now we're even further left and looking back down the sidewalk to where we started.  You get a better feel for how long the path is -- you can't see the entrance from the rink anymore.  And this is just the first leg of the path going across the front (check the map again)!  We thought about renting skates and giving it a whirl, but had other things to see.  Just another reason to go back to Vienna.

 

Ski Trips - St. Jakob in Defereggental (the slopes)

Skiing is so incredibly convenient in Munich.  You can be at the foot of excellent slopes in 90 minutes within Germany, and if you open up to a 2-3 hour perimeter you get hundreds of options in Austria.

One trip I especially liked was to St. Jakob in Defereggental, in the famous area of Tirol, Austria (also spelled Tyrol).  It's a little farther to drive than most Müncheners will venture -- a little more than 3 hours with a car.  You can see that it is near the narrow stretch of eastern Austria, close to Italy! (Brunico is in Italy on the map.)  Yes, Munich rocks -- you can get to Northern Italy in 3.5 hours.  

Defereggental is smaller than a lot of ski destinations, with "only" 52km of slopes.  Most of them are blue (17km are easy) or red (32km are medium difficulty) rather than black too.  The slopes are a little shorter than the "best" destinations, which is why the far eastern and western lifts are t-bars -- you can do that if it's not too long.  The ski map is below. 

When you factor in the remoteness, size, and the less-than-completely-new lifts, you get two advantages:  it costs less for the day pass, and fewer people are on the slopes with you.  Obviously it's not a fancy schmancy as St. Anton, but check out the photo below.  I took that from the chairlift, at about 9:30 in the morning.  On a Saturday.  Look at the empty piste on the right!

Here's another shot I took from the lift, this time looking back down the mountain.  You see some fellow skiiers, but nobody on the slopes.  I did see a lot of locals that came to ski for an hour our two -- it must be incredible to live in the area.  Get an annual pass, and "stop by" for a couple runs maybe after work, or even at lunch!  Again, this is Saturday in the middle of ski season!  And with less ski traffic, the fresh snow stays longer... almost no ice patches to be found.

The mountains are not quite as majestic as the best in Tirol, but the view is still great.  That Saturday was relatively clear, and you got a good glimpse of the entire valley and surrounding peaks.  And yes, the ski huts had outdoor seating to enjoy your glühwein with the view.  This pic was again taken from a ski lift.  Just a brilliant ride up each time.

Here's a view from one of the huts - the highest one in the area.  It was really cold up here, but there was a good 6 inches of fresh snow, so nobody was complaining.  Because the runs are a bit shorter than usual, if you really motor downhill you'll have a bit of a different pace than other destinations.  Shorter trips down, but shorter intervals on the lifts.  And no waiting in line.  Also, the crowd seems a bit friendlier.  Can you tell I liked this place?

The one gondola was great when the wind started whipping up strongly.  This photo was taken on the way up, and you get a great picture of a local mountain top with fresh show.  You can also see that the village is pretty small -- it doesn't stretch for kilometers like the large resorts.  There are nice (and inexpensive) hotels and pensions in the area, and a handful of restaurants/bars.  not a lot, but just enough.

So Defereggental is NOT the place for socialite skiing, apres ski bunnies, nor for the wannabe racers in the family or those dying for the blackest of the black runs across car-sized moguls.  However, for what it is, it's great:  an inexpensive, relaxed, uncrowded destination that let's you enjoy skiing more than waiting in line.