[2006-05-22]
Biking through landscapes lavishly teeming with blooming lavender. Hills with country roads winding through vineyards full of climbing vines with grapes that will eventually be sold as full-bodied French wines.
That will be my goal in July when I will make a bike tour in Provence in France. This is an assignment for a travel agency. Stay tuned for photos.
[2006-03-09]
Ever dreamt that you have your own mountain with your own ski lift just for you and your friends? To test what it's like to get as close as possible to that dream, I went to Blue River in British Columbia, Canada, together with some friends.
Mike Wiegele and Hans G. Moser came from Austria to Canada in the sixties to start a ski school in Lake Louise. After a few years they split up and each started a heliski operation, MW and CMH.
We checked in with MW in Blue River. Our group of 8 were assigned an A-star helicopter and two guides, the chief guide, Manfred Agerer and Chris.
At 8.30 am daily we loaded up for a long day of skiing in the vast Cariboos and Monashees mountain ranges. Blue River lies in a narrow valley dividing the two ranges so we easily had access to both of them. We could literally point to whatever peak we wanted to ski and ask the pilot to set us down there, provided our guides considered it safe from an avalanche point of view. And so we did!
Read more on www.wiegele.com
[2006-01-26]
The ski area of Ski Amad in Salzburgerland in Austria is not only about skiing. The area has also developed a taste of afterski, spa and not the least, surprisingly good local wines. Our idea was to start in Bad Gastein in STS headquarter Salzburger Hof, test the thermal bath and ski to Grossarl. Ski the area of Grossarl and ski to Flachau, stay two nights and then go on to Flachau, stay two nights and then on to Pichl. We also included a day trip to Ramsau for snow shoeing and to see the view from Dachstein, the glacier on 2 700 m.
We discovered a huge ski area, with numerous ski resorts and an overall ski pass. Most areas offered good intermediate skiing opportunities with a lot of variety and good cross country trails, many cozy "on the mountain restaurants". Most afterski places may at first seem a bit "too much" but after a few beers and shots it feels quite ok.
But what struck me the most, is the number of spa facilities in every little village. From public thermal baths to saunas and pools within the hotel. Add various forms of body treatments such as massage, radium baths and mud masks.
Read more on www.skiamade.com
