Skiing in Austria               

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Summary

Maybe the title is a little bit misleading. You could ski every year in Austria and not have covered all of the resorts before your knees or your back finally gave out. The birthplace of both the Alberg method and Hermann Maier, skiing is a way of life in Austria during the winter. We chose Saalbach-Hinterglemm (a.k.a. The Ski Circus) for our first trip. What attracted me to this resort were its extensive lift linked terrain, numerous intermediate runs and its proximity to a large airport (Munich) and other historical sites (Salzburg).

Details

Saalbach and Hinterglemm are two towns along the Saalach River in the Salzburgerland state of Austria. Both towns have numerous lodging choices and easy access to the lifts. The real differences are topographical and the quantity/quality of the late night party scene. Hinterglemm is further up the river valley than Saalbach and as such is narrower and more compact. This has the advantage of making the base stations very close and the ground nearly covered in shadows the entire day.

Changing Money
We use a belt and suspenders method when it comes to changing money in Europe.  First, we got traveler's checks issued in Euro's.  Even though the actual currency is not due to go into circulation until 2002, the Euro is already a monetary unit.  We brought a little cash and a credit card that had ATM privileges.  Money was very easily exchanged at the hotels, though the bank had a better rate.

This second attribute would prove important during the warm days the week we were there. Saalbach is bigger with a nice pedestrian center and well, rowdier at night. Besides the hotels and bars there were plenty of shops catering to tourists. We were able to buy shaving cream and change money (not at the same place) within a block of the hotel. There weren't many Americans at this resort but, English was widely spoken.

Lodging

We stayed at the Hotel zur Dorfschmiede in Hinterglemm. The Dorfschmiede is one of the two Wolf Hotels in town and part of the Alpin Paradies group. This group includes the hotels, a ski school, and a rental shop. The hotel is located right at the edge of the pedestrian section of town and not 400 meters from the base station of the Reiterkogelbahn. There is a small lounge on the first floor, a dining room upstairs, a Harley-Davidson themed bar with a separate entrance, an ice bar out front and a pool and sauna complex in the basement. Our room was on the third floor (2nd in the European way of counting floors). It was small but nicely decorated and it had a balcony. Continued Photos

 

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Last modified: 03/29/05