Austria
KATY DARTFORD found that ‘skinning up’ had a whole new meaning when she visited SalzburgerLand in Austria
I’m sweating out what I’m sure is pure Austrian schnapps. But just a few more meters and I’ll be rewarded with views across Salzburgerland’s Grossarl Valley and – of course – lunch on the summit of the Filzmooshörndl at 2,189 meters, followed by a mouthwatering untracked descent.
PHOTO: TVB Paznaun-Ischgl
THE snowstorms have cleared and revealed Superheroes on the sunny, snowy slopes of Ischgl, in the Austrian Tirol. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman will preside over Ischgl until the Spring thaw – thanks to the 26th annual Shapes In White competition, which was implemented due to the abundance of snow in this special snow pocket of the Alps.
Innsbruck is a special place to visit during the festive season says SUE FREEMAN who took full advantage of the shopping and skiing on offer
The Swarovski tree at the Christmas market in Innsbruck
TODAY we were ladies who lunch. Later we would be ladies who shopped in the Christmas markets. The next day we would be ladies who ski. Not a bad programme for a pre-season trip to the magical Tirolean city of Innsbruck, bound on all sides by snow-covered slopes looking very glittery and festive.
IF you happened to be in Salzburg recently you may have been surprised to see me busking in one of the city squares!
Fortunately, this is not because I have fallen on hard times. I was actually in the city doing some filming for the Austrian National Tourist Board and one of the things they asked me to do was pretend to be a busker with a cap to collect the money out in front of me.
ZELL AN SEE-KAPRUN: The refurbishment of Zell am See’s Areitbahn ropeway, which now includes free wifi, will help bring skiers and snowboarders to the Schmittenhöhe even faster thanks to a 50% increase in passenger capacity.
Nassfeld is the largest resort in the Southern Austrian region of Carinthia, yet it remains relatively unknown to British holidaymakers.
Located close to the Italian and Slovenian borders, the ski area itself is surprisingly expansive and has everything we come to expect from a resort nowadays – terrain parks, a snow cross track, a half pipe and over 100km of pistes ranging from beginner nursery type slopes through to the ‘Carnia’, a piste that is over 7km long.
There are some clandestine activities going on in Sölden that would be worthy of a spy thriller story.
But then that’s not surprising as the ski area, located in the Austrian Tyrol, found itself in the media spotlight in 2015 when it was used as one of the locations for the James Bond film Spectre.
After courting each other for several years, two Austrian ski areas have settled into married life after tying the knot with a new €13.5m gondola. ROB FREEMAN raises a glass of turnip schnapps to celebrate
James Bond may be able to save the world with a twinkle in his eye and a few gadgets provided by ‘Q’, but even he would have had trouble overcoming the hurdles we encountered trying to get photographs and information about his exploits on skis and snowboards.