Igls, Austria Olympic Mountain Pastcherkofel

Ian, Jonathan, and I flew to Innsbruck, Austria early Monday morning, Feb. 16, 2009, to spend 5 days of the kids' school break in the holiday village of Igls at the foot of the Patscherkofel ski area.

Innsbruck was the host of the 1964 and 1976 Olympics and is now a top ranked winter sports resort in the Alps with 9 skiing regions and 177 miles of runs. _________________________________________________

We stayed at the Bon Alpina Hotel just a 3 minute walk from the cable car taking skiers to the top of the Patscherkofel mountain.
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Jonathan still prefers skiing, but Ian likes to snowboard. Beautiful sunny skies beckoned the boys to hit the slopes by noontime on Monday. After purchasing them a half day lift pass, I cautioned them to ski/snowboard safe and enjoyed the sunny weather on a park bench at the bottom of the mountain watching the beginners on the bunny slope. The two of them traversed the 4.5 mile Family Run until late afternoon. Neither the slopes nor the lift lines were crowded, so it was an enjoyable day with the best part being it was only a short walk back to the hotel. There was storage for the skis/snowboard and heated racks for the boots in the basement of the hotel. Our hotel package included the breakfast and dinner meals and 3-day lift passes for Patscherkofel. The meals were average fare, so we didn't go hungry and the location more than made up for the bland food.
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It was a good thing the boys scouted out the ski trails on Monday because Tuesday was a regular winter storm with heavy snowfall. This time I rode to the top of the mountain with the boys, but there were no beautiful vistas. Visibility was only about 20 feet. I remained at the top enjoying the warmth of the Schutzhaus nursing a cup of hot chocolate so as to appear to be a customer while the boys skiied until lunchtime around 1pm. After eating lunch of wienerschnitzel and wurst with them, I returned to the hotel while they continued to enjoy the slopes.


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Our afternoon ritual consisted of watching "Seinfeld" episodes on our portable DVD player, reading books or napping until dinner time. There was a Spar grocery store just around the corner, so we had plenty of drinks and snacks. The kids attempted going to the pool one day, but it was too crowded with little kids. The hotel seemed to cater to families with young children. __________________________________________________

Wednesday was once again sunny and the scenery was spectacular with the added benefit of having about 6" of fresh powder. It was still too cold(-15C)to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine on the sun terrasse, so I spent another morning drinking hot chocolate and reading my book in the Schutzhaus while waiting for the boys to join me for lunch.




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Thursday was the last day of skiing/snowboarding for the boys and I thought I should be a little more active myself. I scouted out the tobaggan trail for our adventure on Friday. The toboggan trail wasn't clearly marked on the map, but I was told the start of the trail was in Heiligwasser, a 40 minute walk from the Skizentrum. It seems the Austrians are just like the Norwegians and don't list mileage but instead prefer time as a marker of distance. I soon found the trail which was also a hiking and cross-country ski trail. It took me 50 minutes to reach Heiligwasser, which I thought was pretty good considering how lazy I had been for the past 3 days. I continued past Heiligwasser for another hour enjoying the pristine snow and quiet of the wilderness. I was following a hiking trail that soon left the ski area behind and seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. I soon realized I never left civilization when my cellphone rang. The kids wanted to know where I was and where we were meeting for lunch. As I crossed under the chair lift on my way down, I heard "hey, Mom" and there were Ian and Jonathan. I managed to beat them back to Skizentrum.

Ian mastered the jumps for the FlipVideo camera while Jonathan preferred to remain behind the scenes.



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A stay in Igls wouldn't be complete without a ride on an Olympic Bobsled, so we headed out to the Bobbahn on Thursday night. The guest bobsled was invented to let the general public have a try at this thrilling winter sport on ice. The guest bobsleigh held 5 people in addition to the authorized pilot. We left from the Ladies starting point and reached speeds up to 80 - 100 km/hr. The 800 m ride was quick and the 10 curves were the most thrilling part. It was all over in less than a minute.

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Friday, February 20 was our last day in the Austrian Tirol Alps. Since our flight back to Amsterdam wasn't until 6:50pm, we still had a full day to enjoy the mountains. We rented toboggans and caught the local bus to the Skizentrum (no pass for the cable car) where we began our hike to the top of the toboggan run. It was snowing once again, but our physical exercise kept us warm. It was a 10 minute hike up a steep incline to reach our starting point, then just a 1 minute run to the bottom. We managed 4 runs before giving into exhaustion. Lugging a heavy toboggan (they're small, but solid) up a steep hill wore us out. We walked/tobogganned back to town where we ate a leisurely lunch, then read our books in the hotel lobby until our taxi came to take us to the airport.














For a voyeuristic ride on a toboggan ride, click on the video below:

Happy Holidays

December has always been a time for me to reflect on the past year's events, but it seems even more poignant with this month marking the anniversary of our move to the Netherlands. We have now lived abroad for 2 full years. While the U.S. is no less dear in our hearts, Wassenaar has come to seem like home. After all, home is where the heart is. Instead of going home to the U.S., now we go there for vacation. This year we'll remain in the Netherlands for the holidays and finally unpack the fake tree and decorate it with the few Christmas ornaments that are not in storage. We'll miss celebrating with our American family and friends, but will enjoy the new traditions created by staying here.

For all of you who hate receiving the "Year in Review" Christmas letter, I've now created it in blog form. Perhaps you'll enjoy the format more and will follow the Rider family's adventures over the past year.

Wishing everyone a very happy holiday season and all the best for the coming New Year! Prettige Kerstdagen en Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!

(click on the pictures to enlarge)

BEST of 2008

BEST--------------------------New Year's Eve

Holland is the only place to be for an explosive celebration. Fireworks are legal for individuals only once a year from 10am on Dec. 31 until 3am on Jan. 1, so the Dutch take full advantage of this fact. Afterall, there is no better way to welcome the New Year than setting off your own pyrotechnics display. For the uninitiated, it may seem like WWIII!
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BEST---------------Way to enjoy the Austrian Alps in Winter


Soaking up the rays in a beach chair on a snowfield at the top of a mountain is my dream come true of combining a ski vacation with one at the beach. I had the most enjoyable February break with Ian and Jonathan in Kitzbuehl and Obertauern, Austria. While the boys skied/snowboarded to their hearts' content, the only hardship I suffered was waiting in line for hot chocolate and hoping my chair wasn't taken by some exhausted skier.


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BEST------------------Mosque in Morocco for a non-Muslim to visit

The Hassan II mosque in Casablanca is the 3rd largest mosque in the world with the highest minaret at 200m and the only one in Morocco open to non-Muslims. It is a magnificent structure with its intricate carvings, mosaic tiles, and marble. 15,000 Muslims can pray inside and 80,000 in the courtyard outside, though its capacity is reached only during Ramadan. It even has a retractable roof to air out this non-air-conditioned building.

Jonathan and I were the first in the family to experience Africa and a Muslim country. In February we traveled with school to Morocco where the Middle School Honor Band Festival was being held at the American School of Rabat. Jonathan mainly rehearsed with one day of sightseeing in Rabat, but I had the opportunity to visit Casablanca and Fes.



The tanneries in Old City Fes, which dates back to the 9th century, haven't changed in a thousand years or more. The sight and stench are both unbelievable.









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BEST-------------------------- REFRESHING DRINK

An ICE COLD soda was served to us in the Western Desert by an enterprising Bedouin while we sat perched atop our camels baking in the sun and gazing at the pyramids. Here we are refreshed and cheering for Coca Cola!
Our short camel trek behind the Giza Pyramids was the highlight of our trip to Egypt in March over Spring Break. We spent 2 days sightseeing in Cairo and then took a 4 day Nile River Cruise.

BEST-------------------------------COSTUME

Yes, we partook in the frivolity on the boat on Egyptian Night.

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BEST------------------------------Way to go GREEN


Not having a valid driver's license means bicycling is the only way to go. Despite Ian being 16, he doesn't seem to mind not being able to drive. He's compensated by the fact that he is now of legal drinking age in NL. The bus system also allows the kids freedom from Mom's taxi which no longer exists.
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BEST---------------------------Pottery

Forget the blue and white Delftware. The expats serve their guests on Polishware. The novices go to the warehouse in Nijkerk, NL for their goods, but the real collectors go directly to the source-the factories in Boleslawiec, Poland, just across the border from Germany and only a short 9 hour drive from Wassenaar. The weekend roadtrip with 9 other moms from ASH was as much fun as the shopping, so it's only my family that I can't stand to be in the car with for more than 5 hours.
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BEST-----------------------------ROPES COURSE

Jonathan was a real expert on the ropes course at Parc Aventure in Aigle, Switzerland. His 8th grade project trip in May was a 4 day adventure camp in Leysin, Switzerland where the kids enjoyed rafting, mountain biking, hiking, rock climbing, and a ropes course challenge. No parent chaperones, but only teachers who should get hazard pay for enduring this yearly 14 hour bus ride.

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BEST------------------------------Sushi


While raw herring may not have the sophistication of sushi, it is an integral part of Dutch history and a delicacy to some. Vlaggetjesdag Scheveningen is a festival held on the first Saturday in June celebrating the arrival of the "Hollandse Nieuwe".
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BEST------------------------Glacier in Europe


Nigards Glacier is the largest and most accessible arm of the Jostedalbreen ice cap in Norway. It was a fantastic experience to take the Blue Ice Walk with a certified guide across the glacier in June. The boys, grandma, grandpa, and mom all strapped on crampons, tied ourselves to the guide and the rest of the group, and grabbed our ice picks. Before we could reconsider this adventure (especially grandma who was really having second thoughts), we were hiking straight up, jumping over crevasses, and passing under ice arches.
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BEST-------------------------------HIKE

The Osterbo to Vassbygdi Hike in Aurlandsdalen, Norway is absolutely magnificent and measured in time (6-7 hours), not distance. The trail begins at 820m above sea level and follows the rugged landscape along the canyon walls to the valley and river below at 68m above sea level.

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BEST--------------------------------SUNSET

Santorini, Greece is known for its sensational sunsets across the caldera. I'm getting jaded in my travels, so am not sure it was worth the extra travel time just to see a sunset. The daytime temperatures during our time in July on this island were hovering around 110F. By the time we arrived in Athens, it felt like a cool spell with temperatures only in the upper 90's. At least we didn't have to worry about rain spoiling our week's vacation in Greece.


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BEST---------------------------Escape from the Family


Taking a week's vacation without the family was a new and rewarding experience for me. I spent the most enjoyable, if not always relaxing, vacation week in August touring Latvia by foot, bike, and canoe with 5 other ASH moms. Two days were spent in Riga, the capital, sightseeing while the adventure part of the tour was spent cycling and canoeing through the Gauja National Park.
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BEST------------------------------Golf Course in Holland

Koninklijke Haagsche Golf & CC is located practically in our backyard. Matt finally got the opportunity to play this private course twice this year, though his enjoyment was hampered by his sore shoulder. The typical Dutch weather of wind and rain makes the links through the dunes of the North Sea coastline all the more challenging.
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BEST---------------------------------Strategic Fortifications

The Luxembourg Casemates once consisted of 25km (16miles) of underground tunnels in the cliffs above which the city is perched overlooking the Alzette and Petrusse river valleys. Only about 10% of the original works exists today. We took a quick weekend jaunt to see this fortified city in October and also to see Jonathan perform with the Honor Jazz Band at the International School of Luxembourg.


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BEST-------------------------------Sightseeing in London

The red double decker busses don't move very fast in the traffic, but are great for avoiding the crowds on the sidewalk, perfect for people watching and sightseeing, and a respite for tired feet. In October my mother and I spent 4 days at the end of a week reliving English history in modern day London while Jonathan spent the beginning of the week participating in an ASH Jazz Band Workshop at the American School of London. We met briefly in the middle and were able to see an impromptu concert at the school.


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BEST---------------------------Way to Travel without the Family


By participating in Cross Country and Track, Ian was able to visit the other international schools in the neighboring countries and house with the students from those schools. In November Ian's cross country team came in second place overall out of 13 schools competing in the International Schools' Sports Tournament in Munich.
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BEST-----------------------------------Christmas Present


Being together as a family and benefiting from living the expat life in the Netherlands is absolutely wonderful.