Author Archives: Elizabeth & Gary's Magic Bus Tour

From Kitz to Kidz…

Kitzbuehel and the races – the weather finally improved enough to run the famous Hahnenkamm (albeit, a shortened start gate).  The ‘fly over’ here was quite different from the one in Wengen by the Swiss Air Force!!

Kitzbuehel’s version of the opening flyover.

While the US skiers did not fare well in the Kitz races – one of our favorites, Didier Cuche from Switzerland, who announced his retirement at the end of this WC year, won the downhill!!  A GREAT way to end his ‘run’ and the highlight of our race experience here.

The crowd at the Downhill awards ceremony was larger than the crowds we get in Park City at the actual competitions.  YEAH for Dedier!!

 The action on the ‘streets’ in Kitz was something to see also –

More fan club action.
Downtown Kitzbuehel before the crowds arrived.

We even got a little blue ski on Sunday for the Slalom.  Again, the US guys did not get the results they wanted;-(

Slalom finish area.

Monday we said good bye to Judy and Tim and headed for Stuttgart to stay with our cousins, Cindy, Brett, Barrett and Harrison;-)  One little side trip – to Baden Baden – an elegant spa resort known as the “Summer Capital of Europe”.  A wonderful little town with lots of good restaurants, great pedestrian areas and ‘the baths’.

Downtown Baden-Baden.
Street entertainers on Langestrasse in Baden-Baden

We are so lucky to have wonderful friends and family that open their homes and welcome us with open arms.  We spent several days with cousins Brett and Cindy and their sons Barrett and Harrison.  (Harrison even gave up his bedroom so we had a place to sleep!!)  Saturday we all ventured to Rothenberg ob der Tauber – a really charming little village.  Brett really had his hands full here with all of us!!

The main square in Rothenberg ob der Tauber.
The kids are having a ball.
Street scene from the old walled city of Rothenburg.

 We really enjoyed our visit – and had a GREAT time with the boys;-)

Barrett took a bear hug break.
Soooo, what does an Elephant sound like?
Mmmmmm…..great pizza!

It has been a wonderful trip from the Kaiserball to the World Cup events to visits with friends and family.
But, all good things must come to an end – and it is time for us to return to the States and put all these wonderful events into our memory banks.

It is hoped that you have all enjoyed sharing our trip – see you in a few weeks when we begin our spring trip in Magic!!

Love to all – Elizabeth & Gary

Kitz in motion

Well, as we mentioned earlier, today’s Super G race was canceled due to weather.  So we headed off to town to wander, have lunch, sample some of the street vendors offerings and enjoy the show.

The Racer Fan Clubs go all out over here, as you might remember from Wengen.  Seems that bands in costume are BIG!!  Note to Cyndi.. perhaps we can get something like this ready for rollout at Beaver Creek next year.

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fv8.nonxt8.googlevideo.com%2Fvideoplayback%3Fid%3D5dd9cdf5cee8121a%26itag%3D18%26source%3Dpicasa%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1327094852%26sparams%3Did%2Citag%2Csource%2Cip%2Cipbits%2Cexpire%26signature%3D6570B50BAE2FA4D9B8F104A286C6B50079D166A6.27CFAE4D3DA27C9867D980985041FABD50B89C43%26key%3Dlh1

Hopefully tomorrow’s downhill race will go as planned.

Until then.. E&G.

Our New Village – Kitzbuhel

Hello Kitzbuhel!!  Our friends from Verona, Judy & Tim, rejoined us for this new experience for all.  The newly renovated rooms in the Christophorus awaited – and Judy once again outdid herself on accommodations.  Our two bedroom/two bath apartment – with sitting room and kitchen – was perfect. AND only a couple of blocks from the old, main part of Kitz and a couple of blocks from the race finish area!!  NO more 30-40 minute walks to the races.

A very comfortable apartment awaited us at the Christophorus Hotel in Kitzbuhel, Austria.
Thanks Judy for once again finding great accomodations.

These race runs can be seen from our hotel balcony.
Bottom of the Downhill on the left and the Slalom on the right.

Tuesday we all walked to the finish area to get the lay of the land and stayed to watch the first of the downhill practice runs.

Tim and Judy contemplating another day of skiing.

Waiting for the downhill practice run to start.

Ted just finished his successful practice run.

Wednesday and Thursday were spent ‘nosing’ around town and a little side trip to nearby Zell am See, where Gary had his most interesting Club sandwich for lunch – it included an EGG!!, and a couple of mystery flavors.

We took a day trip to Zell am see.  We appreciated Kitzbuhel even more when we returned.

Friday is race day.  OH NO!!  The weather finally turned ugly – the sun went into hiding – snow moved in – AND the Super G was cancelled today;-(  How disappointing.  Don’t know how much more shopping we can do?!?!?  But, guess we will have to try some more.

Will also pick up a few pictures of our little village and post some of those a little later.

So – until we have something more (and interesting) to post – E & G

FINALLY…THE RACES!!

It’s Friday the 13th – and the races are finally here!  Today is the Super Combined (one ‘shortened’ downhill and one slalom run).  So – we are off to Canadian Corner (the place where everyone has told us to watch the downhill) to see the downhill portion of this race.  Being in our typical fashion, we are very early – so, we have our choice of spots on “the hill”.  Just need to be sure we can see the famous JUMP and the big screen for all the rest of the run.  
It really isn’t dark thirty!  But, have our sights on that BIG screen. 
AND – THE JUMP!!!!!
(The jump is BETWEEN the rock and the netting – coming down on the blue lines!!) 
Still early – just wait. 
As the excitement builds – ‘the hill’ fills.  
These people have a birds eye view of THAT JUMP! 

The race begins – and here comes TED –

 SHRED IT TED!!!

After the downhill portion, Ted was 19th and Bode Miller was 2nd.  Off to the train to get us back to Wengen – then our 30 minute walk to the finish area for the afternoon Slalom run.

Just like ‘the hill’ – the finish area is packed. 
Too many Swiss flags.
As part of the beginning ceremonies for the afternoon sessions on both Friday and Saturday, we were treated to the Swiss Air Force ‘show’.  Their equivalent of the Blue Angels – and quite a show;-) 
Sure these fireworks were for E!

Time for the Slalom run and we were quite hopeful for the US – and were not disappointed.  Ted moved from 19th to 6th and Bode finished 3rd!!  This meant we had TWO in the awards ceremony that evening.

Ted approaches the finish line.
Bode and Ted compare notes.

Ted is ALWAYS signing autographs!! 
MOOOOO!!  We even have the cow bells. 

The award ceremonies were back in Wengen in the newly built village in the square.  What a zoo!  Every restaurant/grocery store/bakery had a street-side stand selling food and drink.  There were people shoulder to shoulder and you could hardly move.  BUT, it was all worth it to see Bode and Ted on stage.

It is early, crowd is still pouring in to Wengen.
Believe it or not, the next night, Saturday was even more jammed this Friday crowd.

Way to go Ted and Bode.
Aren’t those US boys cute?!?!  (Bode on right next to Ted) 

Unfortunately, Friday was the best day for the US.  Saturday was the BIG downhill race and Bode took 5th for the US.  The Swiss were really happy as they took 1st.  This meant that Wengen was even more packed on Saturday night – and the last of the partying we heard was at 4AM!!  Even though we like to take in the local excitement – it was soooo packed, we retreated to our room and hit the pizza parlor in the lobby of our hotel;-(  Sunday brought on the Slalom and more support from interesting ‘fan clubs’ –

These guys could give the USC Marching Band a run for their money.

Again, the US did not fare so well.  No US representatives in the second run.  This meant we again retreated to town and had a VERY nice lunch while everyone else was at the venue for the finals.  We even found a ‘launder mat’ (had two washers and one dryer) to deal with those dirty clothes.

Now we are ready for an early exit from Wengen tomorrow (Monday) morning and head to the next race adventure in Kitzbuhel.

More soon – Elizabeth & Gary

Creating a ‘Party City’ for the World Cup Races

Thought it might be interesting to show you all how a little village up in the mountains prepares for a world famous event like the Lauberhornrennen. A little village was built, within the village, on the main plaza to be used for the evening bib draws and nightly prize ceremonies.  AND, all of this has been done since we arrived – which means in FOUR days!!  (Remember – this is a village without cars sitting on the side of a mountain.)  Also, this plaza is about a block away from our hotel – so to say we are in the middle of things is putting it mildly!!

This preparation – like our daily outings – has utilized various forms of transportation.  Trucks (OK, so they have a FEW motor vehicles up here), trains and helicopters!

Trucking the food up to the Finish Area.
Training up the always important Toi Toi’s.
Choppering up the ‘houses’ to be built on the plaza.

Craning it up.  Notice the log house being ‘built’ on the right.
The stage is on the left rear with the white roof beams.

Almost ready – at least the stage is done.
The substantial ‘tent’ on the left with the BIG windows is the athletes/special people lounge.

And here is the completed log house.
Lights, Camera, Action!!  Time for the SHOW!

Well – this is the progression we have observed every day as we walked from our hotel to the train station.  It was fun to track the progress and to see the transformed plaza last night – JAMMED with people.  It might also be noted that all the white tents you see in the pictures are food and drink tents.  One of which serves the BEST thin crust pizza – another of which serves a great raclette – and another for Gluwein!  We know because this was dinner last night and likely to be again for the next two nights.  YUM;-)

Hope you enjoyed seeing our little village for the week and how it transformed for this event.  (Park City could really learn a thing or two about pedestrian areas!!)  It is a lot of fun to be a part of this BIG PARTY – and the American racers are making it even more fun!!  (More on that to come ———-)

From your Party Animals in Wengen – E & G

 

Matt Lauer has NOTHING on us!!

Yes – Just like Matt Lauer we are off to the Sphinx Observatory atop the Jungfraujoch via a train ride THROUGH the Eiger to the highest train station in Europe  (11,300 feet!).  Also a UNESCO site.

Knees are knocking and we’re not even up there yet.

Today’s journey only involves two trains up and two trains back – no cable cars.  The first stretch takes us from Wengen to Kleine Scheidegg, which is also used as a starting point for those rugged individuals who dare to climb the North Face of the Eiger (in the summer, of course). 

North Face of the Eiger centered over the hotel.

It is also a central lift area and “McHenry’s Beach” area (you have to know the Deer Valley ski area for this one!) of the Jungfrau!  Although on the way up it was a little early for ‘sunning’.

Everyone is out skiing.  This place will be very busy on our way back in the afternoon,

The Jungfraubahn was our train to “The Top of Europe”!  Amazing to think that this railroad was built 100 years ago.  Construction was begun in 1896 utilizing the manual labor of around 100 Italian laborers utilizing shovels, picks and muscle power for the first section.  Construction continued up the interior of the mountain until completion at the Jungfraujoch in August, 1912.  The cost was 16 million Swiss francs, which was twice as much as originally estimated.  But, they are quite proud of this achievement and are planning great events to celebrate the 100 Anniversary of the railroad later this year.

On the way up, there are two train stops where one can get off the train and look through observation windows at the sheer cliffs of the Eiger.  Impossible to believe that men actually climb this thing!  And, to help us understand the sheer magnitude of an assent (or the failure of one), we have been reading “The White Spider” by Heinrich Harrer, who was in the party of the first successful assent to the top of the Eiger on the North Wall (in 1938)!  Well worth a read.
Fortunately, we did not have to scale the Wall – but, were delivered safely by the Jungfraubahn.  Our first stop was the Glacier Plateau.  While the sky was beautifully clear, without a cloud in sight, the wind was blowing at a steady 20 miles/hour with greater gusts and the temperature (without wind relativity) was about 20 degrees.  COLD!!! 

Hard to keep the lens still it is blowing to hard.
Not sure how this paraglider is keeping his kit on the ground.
From here the views are stunning – looking into neighboring countries and down the Aletsch Glacier, Europe’s longest at nearly 11 miles!!

Our sense of distance was really warped from this height.
On up to the TOP of the Sphinx observatory.  It is impossible to capture the magnitude of the height and breadth of what one sees here – even utilizing my crack photographer!!  It is HIGH!!

This one is for brother Ken.  Yes, I really did stand on this see through grating thingy to get a downward shot of this cliff that falls thousands of feet.  Knees were a little week though!

This observatory and research center is one of the world’s foremost environmental research stations.  While the earlier focus was on high-altitude medicine and astronomy, today’s is on meteorology, glaciology and atmospheric measurements.  MeteoSwiss has operated a weather station on the Jungfraujoch since 1922.  Its unique position on a ridge at the main climatic divide of the Alps is reflected in the extreme weather data.  The measurements allow MeteoSwiss to track atmospheric pollution and climate change in the Alpine region – think ozone measurements and global warming research!!
We just wanted our pictures taken up here – Gary in front of the Monch (13,475’) and Elizabeth in front of the Jungfrau (13,642’).

The Monch

The Jungfrau

There were some of those daredevils here just as there were over at the Schilthorn – those willing to jump off the top and catch some of those wind gusts –

Amazing to see him control this in the high winds!
Up this high, you could even see the start of the famed Lauberhorn downhill (which we will see in a couple of days) –

The red fencing is the Top of the Lauberhorn downhill race run.
We also got a good look at the Schilthorn – our destination yesterday.

No 007 in sight.

On the way back down, a stop at Kleine Scheidegg for our afternoon snack was in order.  A little busier this time of day.   Bars were set up in the funniest places!!  And the hot chocolate with Bailey’s and lots of whip cream was just what E needed!!

Alpine Teepee Bar – Santa Fe or Klein Scheidegg??

Ahhh, a warm refreshment.
What an incredible couple of days!  The weather was so wonderful and allowed us ‘to see forever’ on our ‘top of the world’ adventures.  After all these activities, we decided a bit of a down day was probably smart since the races were about to begin and would require lots of walking, lots of excitement and possibly long days.   So – Thursday we took the train to Grindelwald.  A bit of poor planning on our part, as we seemed to have taken the morning ‘rush hour train’ to the slopes!!  AND, all the ski teams were now in town and completing all their training runs – so they were also a new ‘mix’ on the trains.  All in a days entertainment –

I think the crowds have gotten to the guy sitting down.
But, on the other end was a cute little town much like Park City – except that the train came into the center of town. 

Welcome to Grindelwald.
We wandered, shopped, ate lunch, shopped some more, had our afternoon snack looking back up at the Jungfraujoch (from yesterdays journey) and E finally sampled Gluwein;-)  This is a hot spiced red wine and will now be the afternoon drink of choice!

Everywhere you look, beautiful scenery.

The chocolate cake and the espresso weren’t bad either.
One must pay attention to the train schedule as timing is everything.   Opening ‘ceremonies’ (not exactly what was expected!)  were at 5:15 back in Wengen and we had two trains to catch to get there.   So, it was time to retrace our steps.  As mentioned, we could have missed the evening events – especially as Ted did not make the bib draw – but a close up of Axel made the evening better;-) 

Bib draw for the next days Super Combined Race.

Axel Lund Svindal..one of E’s favorites.

A really nice dinner followed the ceremonies – perhaps one of the best since in Europe.  The Beausite Park Hotel was the provider – highly recommend, just be sure to take your credit card with the HIGH limit!  Besides the wonderful meal, we ran into Ted and had a nice little chat;-) 
Tomorrow the races begin – and we are VERY excited.  Will give you a full report as each event unfolds.
Hope all is well back in the states – E & G

TOP OF THE WORLD – 007 STYLE

Wengen held a whole new world for exploration. 
Transportation modes are varied.  Instead of planes, trains and automobiles we are in the land of sleds, trains and cable cars!  NO CARS!  So – we left our beautiful new Land Rover at the Parkhaus in Lauterbrunnen and loaded everything we owned (at least that we brought with us on the trip) on the train to Wengen.   As we will learn – the Swiss trains are quite prompt and make no allowances!
Don’t be a few seconds late.  They depart promptly on time!
After a brief wait, one of the few Taxis in town picked us, and our many bags, up at the train station and delivered us a few blocks away at our new home away from home for the next week – the Bernerhof Residences.  Although configured a bit differently, the space is about the size of Magic – and Swiss clean and neat. 
Nice, comfortable room right in town.
Only one problem – Gary has NO coffeepot;-(
What the hell is a wasserkucher?
I want my espresso machine (whine, whine)
Sniff, sniff..I miss Magic. 
Perhaps the best part of the room is the incredible view.  The sunrises bring the morning red/pink colors across the tops of the mountains for us to wake up to and the Jungfrau looms above.
Nice view from our window.
A view of a portion of the Jungfrau from main street.
Morning 1 was orientation, as usual.  First stop was the Information Center to get the lay of the land, figure out the train/cable car system and buy our weeks pass to all, determine where the race run ‘finish area’ was and how to get to it (after all we are here for a World Cup!) and to learn where all the festivities for the World Cup take place.  Turns out all celebration festivities are in the town’s square, which is a block away from our ‘home’, and the race finish area is about a 30 minute beautiful walk through the ‘woods’ surrounding Wengen.   While out and about town we determined that we were not ‘in vogue’ as we did not have our sled to get us through the town streets/paths.

Precursor to Segway.
Time to get going on our adventure for the day – destination Schilthorn and the Piz Gloria revolving restaurant for lunch (always a meal destination!).
We started with the train from Wengen to Lauterbrunnen where we jumped on the cable car to Grutschalp where we hopped back on a train to Murren.  A quick walk through Murren took us to the next cable car terminal where we caught the cable car to Birg and then another cable car to Schilthorn.  Needless to say, the views along the way were incredible!  AND, in true Swiss style, each departing train and cable car was timed with the arrival – and signage led you by the hand from one to the next;-)  No room for any worries here.
The most dramatic of the ‘rides’ was the cable car from Birg up to the Schilthorn –
Yikes, the guy on the right is flying off the cliff.

This ride truly gets you in the mood for being 007 and the theme song starts going thru your head –
Shaken, not stirred.
Trivia – the cable car to Schilthorn opened in the year 1967, but construction had to be halted due to lack of funds.  In the winter of 1967/68 film producers Broccoli & Saltzmann were looking for a suitable location for filming the James Bond film “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”.  The Schilthorn, surrounded by the impressive Alpine scenery was ‘it’!  So – the film company financed the completion of the building on the summit and the rotating restaurant;-)  Glad they did all this so we had a perfect place to view the Eiger, the Monch and the Jungfrau.  (In English that is the Ogre, the Monk and the Maiden – fable is that the Monk stands between the Ogre and the Maiden to protect her from the Ogre.)
Nice background.. L to R are Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau.

Hmmm…. maybe I’ll ski over there on Thursday.
One could sit and drink in this scenery for a VERY long time.   BUT, we did have to catch all those cable cars and trains in return – so time to retrace our steps.  That first cable car off the top is a real stunner!
Gary’s knees aren’t knocking toooo much here.

The walk back through Murren was a little slower than in the morning – even a little time for a quick espresso and wine in front of the Eiger –
People actually climb the face of that peak, huh.

The views across the Lauterbrunnen valley from the Murren train were still stunning, and provided a really good shot of the upper portion of the famed Lauberhornrennen (this is the Downhill World Cup that we will see on Saturday!)
This is only the top portion of the downhill race run.
There were so many other exquisite sights – far too many to show them all here.  But, to give you a flavor – since Wengen is isolated on the mountain side, all the ‘set-up stuff’ for the World Cup event appears to be ‘air lifted’ in or brought in by the train.

We think these are beams for the house we saw being built in the plaza later on.

AND – anyone for a parachute ‘ski-in’??  The first two, with the rainbow chute, are Gary and me (HA HA!!).
Not sure what to say about these guys other than “ARE YOU KIDDING ME!”
Our next destination is the Jungfraujoch – the Top of Europe. 
Next stop.. the building teetering on the edge of the mountain here, the Jungfraujoch.

More adventures to come – E & G

Feels Like Home

VERONA.  How happy to be back – and how much we missed our old stomping grounds.  (This is where we lived and took Italian for a month at a time in each of 2006, 2007 and 2008.) 
Our friends, Judy & Tim, in the little village of Colognola ai Colli – just outside of Verona – again opened their home to us for a few nights.  Back in ‘our’ room, we felt right at home – views of the castle in Soave across the valley and all!  (Yes – Soave, the white wine.)

VERY late nights of catching up, eating and drinking filled our time for the next few days.  As did a trip into Verona to reminisce.  Visiting our favorite piazza – Piazza Erbe – and a fantastic dinner in town were highlights.

 Piazza Erbe with all its Christmas decorations!  

After sleeping in and a ski race on the tele, on the second day we were off to Vicenza – a neighbor of Verona’s.  We lucked into a market day on the main piazza there –

Market day outside the Palladian structure in the main piazza.

AND – enjoyed the obligatory caffe –

A quick espresso in a Vicenza cafe.

Lunch was in a nearby little village that was charming!!  Also, had a wonderful little restaurante with VERY good food;-)

We haven’t really had too much to drink!

This bar was located in an old ice house.

After lunch, we definitely needed a walk through the town – so off we went up and down the hills to see the sights –

Judy, Tim and Elizabeth.

The old and the newer.

Wanderers

The end of the day, and time to return to Colognola ai Colli for our last evening with Judy & Tim.  The full moon guided our way and was a perfect ‘good-bye’ sight over the castle.

Ancient castle in Soave, not far from Verona.

We will be sad to leave, but are on to another adventure of ski races and new places in Wengen, Switzerland – and will reconnect with Judy & Tim in a week in Kitzbuehel for the races there.

More in a few days – E & G from just outside Verona

Zagreb – AND a WILD TIME!!

OK – this posting will be fairly short, as we are late to get on the road to Verona.  But, we have an internet connection and I have to get these things out of my head before I forget them;-(
Whatever has been paid for Myrtle (our GPS system in the car) it is worth every penny!  She has taken us to every destination without a hitch.  And, so our trip from Graz to Zagreb went well- EXCEPT for the MAJOR stop at the border leaving the EU.  Seems we did not have the documents they wanted to see on our rental car.  But, after a lot of sad eyes from Elizabeth and shrugging of shoulders that “what we had was all we had” – they said we were OK.  Not sure what they would have done with us if we were NOT OK?!?!?  AND, not sure what will happen this morning when we try to reenter the EU.
It turns out that our hotel in Zagreb – The Westin – was also the headquarters for the ski race.  This means there was lots of activity in the lobby and proved to be very fortuitous for us – since we did NOT yet have any tickets to this event.  Not only were they willing to get Americans (of which there were VERY few on the spectator side!) tickets – they were also delighted to have a “Photo” journalist (i.e. Gary) from the United States!!  For any of you who have only been to one of these events in the US, where they are FREE, such is not the case here.  (More on the set-up of the race below.)  So – with relief on our side at knowing we would actually be able to see the race we travelled all the way over here to see, we set out to see Zagreb.
This beautiful building is the Croatian National Theatre, housing the national opera, ballet and drama companies.
Gary gets the National Theatre in Zagreb (E gets LaScala in Milan!) 

After wandering the many pedestrian ‘streets’ with its many outdoor cafes (yes, even this time of year!) and ‘squares’, we reached the beautiful Kaptol – the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Needless to say, this is one of Zagreb’s defining symbols.  Although the building appears largely Neo-Gothic in structure dating from the late 19th century, its origins are much older.  The Zagreb bishopric was established in 1094, and construction of the cathedral started soon afterwards.  A gorgeous structure and this area is clearly a center of the Christmas celebration –

The Kaptol

Next to the Church was ‘Bethlehem’ 

We also took in the “Bib Ceremony” for the ski race at one of the main squares.  (Sorry – no pictures as it was dark and rainy!)

Friday was a cloudy day – but, no rain.  So, we were off to the races.  Now – you can NOT drive all the way to the venue.  In fact, if you don’t have ‘special’ tickets like us, you have to get a bus from town to take you the approximately 20 – 30 miles to the venue.  We drove about that far to a little town at the base of the mountain.  Then boarded a shuttle (nine passenger van – this is VERY important as we leave!) to the venue.  As you will see below – there is NO snow!!!!  I mean NONE!!  The picture below is the road to our parking and the tower on the left is the top of the race run.  Notice – NO snow!!

OK how do we race with no snow?

 The Race Run – Only snow in sight!!

We both laughed on the shuttle when Paul Simon (one of E’s favorites) came on singing “I’m Going to Graceland”;-)  Just seemed perfect!!  The venue site was made up of many tents and standing areas.  We were ticketed for the “Gold” tent, which opened at 11AM – for the 2:30 first run – and did not close until well into the night (second run was at 5:30).  AND, during the entire time they were pouring wine and beer (FREE) and providing various forms of food.  Between the two runs, we figured there were as many people IN the ‘Gold’ tent as there are at the entire Beaver Creek race.  And, this was only one tent!!  One could not move – EXCEPT to dance (as you will see below)!!  Since we were there sooooo early, we staked out a table and two of the 20 or 30 chairs.  Before long, we had a group of locals as our table mates for the day and evening.  (A university professor, tax/sports attorney and former Counsel to US, etc.) Eating, drinking, singing American songs (all the DJ played), dancing and rooting for your favorite skier are all universal activities!  We had a BLAST!!

 Can you guess who is who??
Oh yes – there was a race!!  Ted had a very good first run on snow that looked like a slushy.  6th after run one.
 GO TED!!
Ted engages teammate Nolan Kasper in a fencing duel in the finish area.

The sun set over Zagreb below our venue and we readied for the second run.  Unfortunately it was uneventful for the Americans, although we did have a couple (including Ted) in the top 30 and therefore gaining points in the standings.

The World Cup in Zagreb – and the city of Zagreb – were a wonderful experience.  Everyone was wonderful to us and extremely accommodating.  We say a fond farewell this morning and head to friends in Verona.

Love to all – Partying, Dancing, Cheering E & G

Our Day in Wien – then Graz

The New Year in Wien (Vienna) – After our wonderful evening at the KaiserBall, noon was the best we could do at getting our sorry bums out of bed and out the door to see some of Wien.  The streets seemed fairly quiet, which made us think a trip to Demel might not require the usual 30+ minute wait to taste all those delectable items.  Boy – were we wrong!  So – we paid our dues by waiting in line, and were not disappointed by the plates delivered to our table – nor by the old world charm of the Murano glass chandeliers and sconces everywhere and my comfy little sofa/settee.  Can you just taste it –

 Guess who gets what!?!?!
My view from my settee.
We had about 2 hours before our dinner reservations and knew if we returned to the room, we would be out like lights.  This charming little concert room in one of the many Mozart houses was to have a chamber concert.  The timing was perfect  –
Seating only 60 guests…

The acoustics were terrific!

Our day began sooooo late, that we had to utilize the morning of the 2nd (before we left for Graz) to see the Imperial Apartments in the Hofburg Palace, as well as the Treasury, where the Royal Jewels are kept. It was a real “Speed Tour, but we came, we saw and we (well maybe) conquered.  Sorry – no pictures allowed in these special places;-(

It was very good that we only had a two hour drive, again – this time from Vienna to Graz – as that was about all we could endure.  (We will be in real trouble when we get to the five hour drive from Verona to Wengen!)  Our hotel is right on the freeway, so it was easy to find.  The decision of a quick dinner at the hotel and trying to get a good night’s sleep so we could get an early start to tackling Graz in the morning seemed in order.  This Marriott was disappointing after the wonderful experience in Vienna – but, we just planned to be in the room VERY little!

We are getting earlier in the morning – but, it was still 10 before we were out the door;-(

The entire old city of Graz was designated a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO in 1999 – the “best preserved city centre of Central Europe”.  It displays a combination of Renaissance, Gothic and Baroque architecture – as well as some VERY modern sites!   Here is our tour of Graz in pictures –

 The Glockenspiel (couldn’t time it right to see the windows open and the wooden figures dance;-( )
 Not an example of fine architecture – just a FANTASTIC lunch spot!!
 The Hauptplatz (Main Square) with the Town Hall standing behind the Archduke Johann 
fountain.

The dominant site in the Old Town is the Schlossberg – a rock ridge towering 473 meters (approx. 1500 feet) over the town.  Over 1,000 years ago a small fort stood on  the rock ledge – and this gave the city its name.  Derived from the Slavic word ‘Gradec’, Graz means “little castle”.  After 1544 the small fort was extended into a huge Renaissance fortress, listed in the Guinness book of Records as the strongest fortification of all time.  Why?  Because it rebuked Napoleon and 3,000 of his troops THREE times!!

You can climb the almost 300 steps to the top of the Schlossberg – however we opted for the funicular.  So – our first site at the top was the Bell Tower –

Old Bell Tower 
 The Hackher Lion (not the lion in the black hat) – the monument to the last military defender of the fortress – Major Franz Xaver Freiherr von Hackher
 The traditional landmark of the city – The Clock Tower on Schlossberg
 Our way down!!
The gorgeous streets of Graz in the evening with all the Christmas lights;-)
And so our day ends in Graz – and our days in Austria.  It has been a fantasy – from the Cinderella/Kaiser Ball to the sight above.
Tomorrow Zagreb, Croatia awaits with the Men’s World Cup Slalom race.  Another really new experience.
Until the next internet connection – love to all – E & G