Tag Archives: Austria

My top 10 European ski areas

April 5, 2021 pierrev Leave a comment

(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

I won’t try to objectively rank the best ski areas in Europe… there are far too many for that! But why not try to rank the ones I know?

The question: in which resort would I most want to spend an entire week of skiing, without regard to cost? Everything else can be considered: the skiing, the town, the atmosphere, and the food are all fair game. I tried not to assign too much weight to the particular place I stayed: if I did, one otherwise fine Italian area wouldn’t have been on the list…as our hotel was located next to what seemed to be a sewage plant. Let’s start the countdown to #1!

The insane “Swiss Wall” starts at the French border, in the Portes du Soleil ski region. As you can see, some parts have a 90% gradient!

10. Morzine (Portes du Soleil), France. Full marks for the extent of this region: it’s the second biggest in the world, with 13 different resorts and 208 ski lifts! Some of the resorts are in Switzerland, and it is fun to ski back and forth between countries. I wasn’t as keen on the sheer numbers of skiers, and some of the resorts (Avoriaz in particular) are purpose-built with little or no character. The Swiss resorts are smaller and more inviting, but the skiing on the Swiss side is also relatively limited. But there’s always the Swiss Wall…

Believe it or not: this is on-piste in the afternoon above Borgata (Sestriere)

9. Sestriere (Via Lattea), Italy. Italian for “Milky Way”, the Via Lattea includes 5 Italian resorts and one French resort (and 70 lifts). But getting to the French resort is not easy, especially when conditions are less than ideal. Still, we found some spectacular pistes…that made us forget about the sewage plant beside our hotel. Fortunately, most hotels are located away from that plant. Sestriere is another purpose-built resort, but it is old enough to still be interesting (a cylindrical hotel, anyone?).

Lots of choices, high above Lenk and Adelboden (Switzerland)

8. Lenk, Switzerland. Linked to the resort of Adelboden, this is a sentimental choice. It’s my Heimatort (place of origin) in Switzerland, and I can ski with family members here. While not as extensive as the other places on my list, it still feels very Swiss and I didn’t find crowds to be a problem. It’s also a quick train ride away from St. Stephan, which is part of the separate Gstaad ski area (and home to more skiing relatives). I had one of my best powder days ever here.

7. Madonna di Campiglio, Italy. Not as extensive as the Via Lattea area, but scores higher on things like atmosphere and food quality. Like Lenk, it caters more to a domestic crowd. Perhaps for that reason, I really felt like I was on vacation when I was skiing here. I don’t think I heard any English during the entire week. We also spent an entire morning at an outdoor cafe!

6. Stuben (St. Anton/Arlberg), Austria. The Arlberg ski region is another vast area, including 7 different resorts (perhaps more by now!). I enjoyed tiny and remote Stuben, which retained some Tyrolean character, but still gave access to the larger areas such as St. Anton, Lech and Zurs. You really have to pick your base carefully: St. Anton, for example, is just too rowdy and “in your face” for me.

Our ski group passing through the rocks at Pomedes (Cortina d’Ampezzo)

5. Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Similar to Madonna di Campiglio, this is a major resort with a domestic focus. But I found the setting even more spectacular: skiing even closer to (and through!) the stunning Dolomites, and the legendary “Hidden Valley” actually lives up to the mystique of its name. With 12 distinct resorts in the Dolomiti SuperSki area, the options are endless even though there aren’t too many pistes in Cortina itself.

I’m enjoying the empty slopes at Piz Lagalb!

4. Celerina (St. Moritz), Switzerland. While St. Moritz is too posh for my taste, staying in nearby Celerina was the perfect way to experience this collection of five distinct resorts. Corvatsch had the best overall skiing, but the remote glacier areas of Diavolezza and Lagalb are unforgettable skiing experiences that few people bother to experience. The long-ish bus ride to Diavolezza and Lagalb is worth it: one day, there were only 10 other skiers on the slopes!

3. Selva (Val Gardena), Italy. At the opposite end of the Dolomiti SuperSki area from Cortina d’Ampezzo, the town is perhaps not as elegant. But the combination of vast skiing options, unsurpassed food, and interesting culture made it one of my very best ski weeks ever (see the most recent post on this blog for proof!). This is the one resort that I keep wanting to revisit, and I would even like to return to the very same hotel. I never thought a hotel meal plan could be so amazing.

Me on the lower slopes of the mighty Eiger

2. Wengen, Switzerland. I have skied here (and the linked resort of Grindelwald) so often that I consider it my “home” ski area. So while it is partly a sentimental choice, I challenge anyone to find a more dramatic experience than skiing in front of (or on!) the legendary north face of the Eiger. I especially love the steep pistes (such as Black Rock or Oh God) just below the Eigergletscher, but there are challenges elsewhere too. One cannot forget the Schilthorn: despite being most famous for a James Bond movie, it’s a demanding and impossibly scenic mountain.

At the top of Klein Matterhorn, just before a wee bout of altitude sickness kicked in!

1. Zermatt, Switzerland. It’s huge, in every sense of the word. The resort spills over into Italy. You can ski a 20 km-long piste!! It even includes the Matterhorn (see photo at the top of this post)!!! But the best summary of Zermatt is a simple one: it is a resort that is unquestionably meant for skiers. If you are a serious skier and can only ski once in the Alps, you need to seriously consider Zermatt. Not every run is 20 km long, but many of them do seem to go on forever. There is an exceptional variety of terrain, with the Swiss side in particular having some very challenging on-piste skiing. Now, if only cost weren’t really an issue…

Posts from Base Camp

The people you meet while backpacking

February 14, 2021 pierrev Leave a comment

(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

I recently reviewed the photos from my 1991 backpacking trip through Europe. It was the same kind of extended post-university trip that new graduates have been doing for decades.

While I have posted about a portion of this trip before, I was struck by some of the people in the pictures and how clearly I remembered them nearly 30 years later. And not just their names…although I will refrain from using their names here. Since personal connections are an important part of travel too, I thought I’d talk about some of the events that I shared with people I have never seen (or heard from) since.

The Roman Amphitheatre (circa 100 A.D.) in Trier, Germany (June 2, 1991)

Virtually every night was spent in a youth hostel, so it was natural that I would meet others doing the same thing. My first hostel night was in Trier, Germany, where a nice young German couple joined me for dinner and gave me some tips on the sights in the area. This set the stage for some memorable experiences later in the trip.

Benny, my uncle’s Dachshund – Riehen, Switzerland (June 3, 1991)

By the time I got to Zug, Switzerland, I was getting good at the whole hostel thing. There, I met a couple from Vancouver, as well as a teacher from Australia, and we decided to hike together the next day. We walked on the newly established “Swiss Path” around the Vierwaldstättersee: we saw where Switzerland was born exactly 700 years before (see photo at the very top of this post).

Leading the cattle through downtown Zuoz, Switzerland (June 11, 1991)

But the defining moment with my new friends was eating in an Italian place in Zug. It wasn’t a traditional restaurant, it was more of a club for the local Italian community. Anyway, the menu was mostly in Italian with a few (all too brief) German translations. I couldn’t quite figure out one of the pasta dishes, but my friends told me they thought the main ingredient was wild mushrooms. Well, it was a wonderfully spicy tomato sauce, and the “mushrooms” sure were chewier than any mushrooms I’d had before. About halfway through, after some worried whispering between the couple, I was told “Sorry, I think those are clams”. Still, I guess that’s how you overcome unfamiliar food: don’t find out what it is until it’s too late!

View above St. Moritz, Switzerland (June 11, 1991)

Another interesting adventure was in Zell am See, Austria. After getting off the train from Innsbruck, I dutifully headed to the local hostel. Imagine my surprise when nothing remained except a charred pile of bricks: it had burned down a few days before. Now I was in a bit of pickle! However, a group of 5 Swedes arrived at that very moment. They were on the very same train, and wanted to stay at the very same non-existent hostel. We decided to tackle our problem together.

*Swedish picnic at Areitalm, above Zell am See, Austria (June 16, 1991)*

We managed to find a place that would rent a “suite” to the three Swedish young ladies, and another “suite” to me and the two Swedish young men (who both had the same first name). They were all active people, so I joined them the next day for tennis and a picnic on the mountainside above town. It was fun being Swedish for a day, and foreshadowed other positive Swedish experiences in the future. When I finally made it to Sweden 21 years later, I found the vibe very comfortable. Stockholm was one of those places where I said “I think I could live here”.

On the Kohlmarkt in Vienna, Austria (June 20, 1991)

I eventually made it to Vienna, where I met a backpacker from Vancouver with energy to spare. We decided to tackle Vienna together: dinner at a very famous Schnitzelhaus, and then we managed to get cheap standing room tickets for a performance at Vienna’s State Opera House (Wiener Staatsoper). For those keeping track, the opera was “Elektra”, by Richard Strauss. This was the kind of unique experience that you might not try on your own, but seems much easier when you’ve got company. I made it back to Vienna, albeit briefly, in 2014.

Street market on Rakoczi Blvd. in Budapest, Hungary (June 24, 1991)

Meeting other people on the road can really enhance a trip. We’ll never forget the personal connection we had many years later in Estonia! It takes more work if you’re not staying in hostels, but it’s worth the effort.

Posts from Base Camp

Travel Flashback – Stuben, Austria (2013)

January 26, 2020 pierrev Leave a comment

(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

Context is everything in travel. In 2013, I had such a great week of skiing in Val Gardena that the following 4 days of skiing in Stuben, Austria, could never measure up. And by the end of a stretch where I was skiing for 10 out of 11 days, I think that some fatigue set in and minor annoyances were easily exaggerated.

A daytime view of the photo at the top of this post

I was recently browsing through my photo archives and found some pictures from my 5-day stay in Stuben. A lot of impressions came flooding back. I realized that Stuben really was a beautiful village. I also remembered that the weather really didn’t cooperate…we didn’t see too much sun when we were on the slopes, even though it was technically already springtime. In fact, I think we only had one partial day of sunny skies.

Strangely enough, the strongest lingering impression was about cigarettes. The owner of our B&B smoked incessantly. The nearest pub and restaurant also seemed to follow a different set of rules from the rest of the Alps. Restaurants and hotels have been smoke-free in Canada for so long that these smoky places literally left a really bad taste.

Finally, a sunny day! This is above Zurs, Austria

Many years have passed, and I know that the B&B is now under new management. I suspect the pub is no longer a smoking “outlier” either. Maybe it’s time for a fresh assessment of skiing in Stuben?

We had just skied down this stash of fresh powder, above Zurs

Stuben has a lot going for it. It’s a tiny, remote village at “the end of the road”, but is still linked to the legendary St. Anton ski area. The pistes are long and often challenging. And the lift pass also gets you on the slopes at Lech, Zurs, St. Christoph, and Sonnenkopf. Since our visit, the slopes at nearby Warth and Schroecken have been linked as well.

More “almost” off-piste skiing above Zurs

Even though there was a blizzard and there were only about 12 people skiing in the entire Sonnenkopf area, we still had a lot of fun on our day there. Sure, we rarely saw where we were going but, with slightly better visibility, it could have moved from “fun” to “epic”.

The sun was also out on the day we left Stuben. This is the “main street” of the tiny village.

I’ve had some great travel experiences in Austria, such as my whirlwind 2014 visit to Vienna. It may be time to move on from the bad weather (and cigarettes) of 2013 and give Austrian skiing another shot!

Posts from the road

Vienna Calling

May 13, 2014 pierrev 2 Comments

(Vienna, Austria and Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

My Vienna hotel was located just across the Schwedenplatz bridge from district 1. It was an easy walk to get to the Stephansdom – the epicentre of Viennese tourism. And the Stephansdom is just as big as I remember it as a young backpacker.

Revisiting my 1991 impressions, Vienna is still orderly and clean. Perhaps not to the extreme extent I remembered, but the roads (just to pick a random example) were definitely much more orderly than what I had experienced further south. In fact, I found Vienna much more orderly than Stuben, an Austrian ski resort I visited last year where there was more of an “outlaw culture”.

Near the Opera House, in Vienna, Austria — A quieter moment, one block away from the Kaertnerstrasse, (Vienna, Austria)

What struck me most about Vienna this time, however, is the obvious inspiration for many of the cities I had visited on this trip. Being the centre of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Vienna’s 19th century buildings are a lot like those found in the former Yugoslavia…just bigger.

Saturday Evening in downtown Vienna — Saturday evening in downtown Vienna

I also don’t remember seeing so many people on the streets in 1991. Maybe I wasn’t there on a Saturday night last time, but it was almost too busy on the touristy Kaertnerstrasse; after checking out some of the required downtown sights, I decided to return to my hotel’s neighbourhood for dinner. I wasn’t sure what exactly I wanted to eat, but in the back of my mind I was hoping to find a place that had a unilingual menu.

View from my table at Café Tachles, Karmeliterplatz, Vienna 2, Austria

Back in District 2, I passed a “shabby chic” café that had lots of streetfront seating. I don’t often eat outside in Canada, so I certainly wasn’t opposed to continuing the al fresco dining I had enjoyed so much on this trip. I took a look at the (happily German only) menu and saw that this place specialized in perogies. I hadn’t anticipated eating Polish food on my last night in Europe but I went with the flow and grabbed a table. I had the “Pierogi Max” plate, gefüllt mit Steinpilzen und Kraut, as well as a Polish draft beer. With a fresh salad lightening the meal, it was a perfect way to end my culinary adventures.

"Pierogi Max" at the Café Tachles (Vienna, Austria) — “Pierogi Max” at the Café Tachles (Vienna, Austria)

After dinner, I went back to the downtown to do some final exploration. Foregoing the main streets (still clogged with tourists), I wandered the side streets and found a fascinating assortment of unique stores and restaurants. I don’t know whether the “Gulasch Museum” is a good place to eat, but what a great name!

Window-shopping in Vienna, Austria — Window-shopping for sweets in Vienna, Austria

There was a great energy on those side streets of downtown Vienna – yes, it is a big city, but it is not totally anonymous and taken over by international brands. There was clearly wealth too, but not so much that I felt out of place with a backpack. Although I hadn’t planned to visit Vienna at all on this trip, I found myself wishing that I had allocated some more time to it. I even found the German spoken here easier to understand than in other parts of the German-speaking world. Finally, I also thought that a further stopover here at some point later this year would be a good idea.

Alas, I was now out of time. And so, just 14 hours after arriving at my hotel in Vienna, I was en route to the airport for my flight home. Looking back on the trip, there is still quite a bit that I’d like to share. Accordingly, you’ll see a couple of related posts over the next couple of weeks, as I enjoy some time back in Kingston and prepare for my next adventure at the end of May.

Posts from the road

Trogir and…Vienna!

May 10, 2014 pierrev 4 Comments

(Split, Croatia and Vienna, Austria)

For my last full day in the former Yugoslavia, I went on an independent day trip from Split to Trogir. Trogir is a UNESCO World Heritage site (one of several that I have visited on this trip) located about 45 minutes away from downtown Split. The photo above shows the market along the waterfront in Trogir.

Had I gone nowhere else on this trip, I would have been amazed by Trogir. However, after recently seeing Kotor and some other ancient towns with narrow, maze-like streets, it didn’t impact me in quite the same way. It’s beautiful but it probably would have a greater impact on those who aren’t visiting too many different destinations in this fascinating part of Europe.

Yachters taking my advice and visiting Trogir, Croatia

I returned to Split and went on an inspiring post-dinner “passeggiata” on the waterfront. The cover photo for the previous post was taken on that walk. Once again, it was nice to see so many local residents enjoying the pleasant evening.

Just before checking out of my room in Split this morning, I visited “Croatia Records” in Split. This is a record label and retail concern that seems to play a very important role in keeping Croatian-language pop music alive, together with something called the “Croatian Music Channel”. I watched a few videos on it yesterday and rather enjoyed it. Maybe it’s because there doesn’t seem to be a lot of anger: the music is fun and harkens back to a more innocent age of pop music.

Anyway, I took a chance at Croatia Records. I asked the clerk to recommend a compilation CD that would be similar to what I watched on the Croatian Music Channel. He did so…but I have no idea if his recommendation is a good one. I’ll find out when I get back home and have access to a CD player!

I wonder if they're on the CD? A vocal group performs on the Riva (Split, Croatia) — I wonder if they’re on the CD? A vocal group performs on the Riva (Split, Croatia)

I flew from Split to Vienna today. I don’t usually fly much within Europe but this was the best way to round out my itinerary without spending too much time (or money) on land transportation. My only previous visit to Vienna was in 1991 when I was on my post-university backpacking trip. That was half a lifetime ago! I remember thinking then that Vienna was the cleanest and most orderly major European city that I had visited. 23 years later, how does it compare?

Alas, you’ll have to wait for the next post to find out. Vienna made a lot of impressions on me and I would like to devote an entire entry to it. I’ll post that as soon as I can upon my return to Canada tomorrow – stay tuned!

Pierre Vanderhout's Travel Blog

Tag Archives: Austria

My top 10 European ski areas

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The people you meet while backpacking

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Travel Flashback – Stuben, Austria (2013)

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Vienna Calling

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Trogir and…Vienna!

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The Odyssey Continues…

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