Quote by Adam Ruebsam on Day Two of one of our many Mizzou ski trips. He spoke such wisdom, such truth. Not to be confused with the first day. No, the first day, this does not apply for there really is no pain as of yet. The first day skiing you slip right on into those ski boots without much problem. Buckle those things on up, make sure you can wiggle the toes. Good to go for a whole day of skiing. Take ‘em off that night, do a little soaking in the hot tub, feeling pretty good. But, you know even then what’s lurking right around the corner: Day Two Torture.
That second day as you awaken, you notice immediately that your thigh muscles feel like they’re gonna rip off the bone and your calves are so tight you have to walk on your toes. Yet somehow, you hobble over to the ski boots. There they are, looking like a Chinese torture device. Doom is right around the corner. But, alas, you know you have to do it anyway. You pick whichever leg you feel may be slightly less bruised than the other and slip in your foot. Instantly—wham—Shin Bone PAAAIIN!!!
Ah, the joys of skiing. Speaking of which, we spent this past weekend skiing in the Austrian Alps with Heidi and Maarten. And even though we’ve been home for a few days, not to mention took it quite easy, my shins are still a little bruised! Oh well, minor war wounds did not get in the way of a wonderful weekend. Maarten found us a ski-in/ski-out hotel in Kuhtai (means cow-something, but can’t seem to figure out what ‘tai’ means in German. Hope it’s not ‘chip’ or ‘patty’) just about 3 hours away from here. Yep, three hours away from skiing in the Alps—I love it here!!!!
Heidi and Maarten totally get how to vacation, as do most Europeans. We actually came back feeling rested and rejuvenated, not to mention well fed. I mean for starters, Heidi had brought along survival goodies for the car—complete with homemade carrot cake. (Swear she is the Dutch Martha Stewart.) So, instead of killing ourselves and attempting to conquer the entire mountain before lunch, we chilled out quite a bit and found ways to pamper ourselves, even on the slopes. We’d ski for a few hours, then stop and have coffee. Ski a little more—lunch break. Get back out there to work up towards another coffee break, then just have time for a few more runs before Apres Ski (a drink at the bar.) I heart Europeans. Not to mention that the hotel had four course dinners at night. Pretty sure calories in were far greater than calories burned. Whoops. Better luck next time.
We got back Sunday just in time to intercept Claire Happel from the train station. Think I’ve mentioned before, but Claire is a little sister of a good friend of mine, Katie, from both high school and college. She's been studying Harp in Prague for the last few months and had an audition Sunday in Munich. I talked her into hanging out with me for a few days afterwards. Now I have truly loved hanging out with all the Happel girls, and Claire is no exception. There just seemed like there was so much to catch up on with our Quincy roots as well as our quest for trying to acclimate into a new culture. But her visit was short, and I had to return her home yesterday. So, talked Heidi into going with me for a quick day trip into Prague. All in all, skiing in Austria, coffee in Prague--a good weekend, I'd say.
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