Day 75 - First Morning in Scharnstein Getting Ski Ready in the Austrian Alps
First day waking up in our new place in Scharnstein. None of us have been sleeping particularly well since we arrived in Austria. Kia and I are both waking up early, the kids are up early too, and no one really feels like they’re getting a proper, deep sleep yet. Hopefully that settles soon.
The upside was that we actually had food in the house. That made a big difference. We were able to laze around a bit, make coffees, have breakfast, and ease into the morning instead of rushing straight out. The kids eventually got stuck into some schoolwork while I headed out for a run.
I’d spent a bit of time looking at maps trying to find something reasonably flat. Scharnstein is surrounded by rolling hills and big mountains, so flat isn’t exactly abundant. I eventually found a route that worked well enough. The weather was cool but not cold, still shorts-weather for running, which felt great. I managed about 5.5 km, but it was a bit of a struggle. I was running at a pretty normal pace and my heart rate was noticeably higher than usual. Between the poor sleep and the change in environment, my body definitely hasn’t settled yet. It’s strange because I was sleeping really well in Vietnam, so I’m not quite sure what the difference is, but hopefully it comes good soon.
When I got back, I was cooling down and Kia was getting ready to head out for a walk. Just as she was about to leave, the mum from the Norwegian family we’re staying with was also heading out and asked if Kia wanted to join her. So they went for a walk together, which was really nice. Emmett went with them, and Maddie stayed back with me. We ate breakfast, cleaned up the kitchen and just pottered around.
Later in the morning, our Austrian hosts invited us down to their place to try on all the ski and snowboard gear they had, so we could work out exactly what we still needed. We geared up and headed down. Maddie tried on ski boots and they fit, which was a win. Emmett’s snowboard and boots already fit him, so he was sorted. I found that their spare helmet and goggles fit me, and the snowboard boots fit as well.
By the end of it, the shopping list was pretty clear: wrist-protecting gloves for Emmett and me, a helmet and goggles for Kia, a helmet for the kids, and ski boots for Kia.
Our host had a few things to do, and the Norwegian family had already headed up to a nearby hill to go tobogganing, so the kids took off up there. Once Kia and I were finished, we joined them. The kids were flying down the hill, and I had a few goes myself. Lots of walking up, sliding down, and laughing. It was great just sitting there watching them have fun and jumping in when I felt like it.
After that, all the kids went off on a little adventure down to a nearby creek. The water is incredibly clear and clean, straight ice-cold mountain water that you can drink directly from the creek. They were drinking it, eating bits of ice, and exploring around, which was pretty special to watch.
Eventually, I headed back to start making lunch and had a quick look at a few work things. Kia and the kids came back not long after and we all sat down for lunch and had a bit of downtime.
In the afternoon, our Austrian hosts messaged to say they were ready to head into town to look for the gear we needed. We went to one store and found helmets for the kids and some ski socks for Kia and me, because our socks were way too short. Kia also tried on some boots and a helmet there that fit, but it was all pretty expensive, so we held off and checked another store. That one was even more expensive. In the end, we bought my wrist-protecting gloves there, then went back to the first store and bought the boots and helmet.
The plan was then to go bouldering with all the families. We arrived, but our host had been messaging someone through a local ski marketplace and had found cheaper boots. So Kia went with him to pick those up, along with a set of skis. The idea is to return the expensive boots we’d just bought and use the second-hand ones instead, which should save us a fair bit. That’s something we’ll sort out today or tomorrow.
We ended up bouldering and then grabbing pizza for dinner. The kids absolutely loved it and completely wore themselves out. By the time we got back to the accommodation it was after eight, so it was straight into showers and then bed.
It feels really good knowing we now have all the gear sorted and we’re ready to ski. Tomorrow will be our first proper ski day, testing everything out and seeing how we all go. I’m really looking forward to it.
The sky cleared beautifully in the afternoon and we finally got full views of the surrounding mountains. We’re in such a stunning spot here. It was a big day, but a really good one, and it feels like things are starting to come together.