I like running. It’s easy, it’s quick and it doesn’t cost anything. And it’s something you can always do – you just have to rug up, right? Wrong.
Turns out we didn’t have a particularly cold winter this year in Austria (that’s what they tell me), but it was plenty cold enough for me! Though I managed to keep a pretty consistent outdoor running schedule I did spend quite a few days inside on the X-trainer!
Living in a valley surrounded by beautiful mountains is very scenic, but it does have its downfalls. In winter we don’t get much wind (bonus), but that also means that we’re often shrouded in clouds, with no wind to blow them away (anti-bonus). But if you know that somewhere up there the sun is shining, all you have to do is jump in the car and drive up a small mountain until you pop out!
I can ice skate to a reasonable level, but never got the chance very often in Melbourne, what with the few ice skating rinks we have. Maybe three?
But in Winter in Austria it’s easy. YOU JUST ICE SKATE ON A FROZEN LAKE. We are surrounded by lakes and mountains so it’s pretty easy to find one, hire a pair of skates and go for a few quick laps. The day we went was beautiful and sunny. I found it a little daunting to step onto an ice covered lake, but the 14 inch thick ice block they’d carved out to check the depth earlier that day was quite reassuring, as was the car driving round and around on it, smoothing out the ice.
Despite the fact I’m from Australia, I am an avid skier. So skiing was on my list of ‘must-dos’ for winter. Unfortunately, I seem to have shacked up with the only Austrian who ‘doesn’t really like skiing anymore’. An oversight on my part. However, he was still willing to take me, given he knew how much I loved it.
an aussie in austria 