A Week of Break
Ski Holiday - die Skiferien
In upstate New York we always had a week in February off when I was a kid. We continued with our daily snow activities and not much else. Not sure why we had a week-long break at that point, maybe it was in hopes the winter storms came that week so they didn't have to cancel school or perhaps it was to cut the heating costs - but in any case, it was a week of break. Moving to NC, it was a 3 (sometimes 4) day weekend in February. It was a quick little break.
Switzerland and Austria take it serious! Miriam got two weeks off for "ski holiday." (Most schools get one week). And depending on the region of the country you get a different week - mainly I think for the ski slopes and hotels to manage the numbers of people. Fun little fact we learned from a friend: During the energy crisis in the 1979, Austria closed schools for a week to save on energy. I am not really sure how much energy was saved as families turned it into holidays. It stuck around and in Austria the February break is still called, "energy break."
We split our holiday between city and slopes. We visited Vienna for a few days. Yes, we were suckers and saw Falco, das Musical. In summary - seeing it with a room full of Viennese, knowing they grew up with his music - and perhaps some even saw his first acts in the little clubs was the best part. The story of his life, as we already knew was sad: tortured artist lost too early. I think they did a good job in showing his flaws and weaknesses, along with his success. (Did you know he had perfect pitch? And he was offered a duo with Madonna at both their peaks - but he was homesick and would not stay in the US to do the duo?) The show was like a Vegas act, so ... yeah... but it was still a fun night.
Then we headed to slopes in upper Austria. First time for me on skiing in Europe. While Klara and Miriam got lessons, I went for a long run with Stephan. I am assuming this will not be our last, so I embraced it (albeit with a tear or two). I have never skied on such an amazing trail and the conditions were very different so I was not the most graceful, but I made it down.
And the ski protection has changed, helmets were not a regular on the slopes when I was younger, but now I don't think I saw anyone without a helmet. The newest form of safety gear - back braces. After watching the downhill racers on TV wear them - we decided it was time and we all wore them. I am guessing in a few years, the back braces will be like helmets. I was surprised how many we saw - and I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of young (teens and 20s) wearing them.
A few more practice runs and I think I will be someone that you might want to ski with - though I am never going on a black diamond again. Those days are long over. Stephan was able to do those on his own when we were heading down the mountain a little earlier than him to get ready to go to our next adventure.
After a successful time, we headed to Stephan's folks for the weekend. Had a great time with family and then headed back to Zürich. As I write this, Miriam is still with Oma and Opa as she has one more week of break. She returns tomorrow.