Tag Archives: Alps

April 4, 2012 · 08:32

Reality Check Brandnertal – Spring Skiing

Yesterday I decided to take a day off and my wife, a friend and I went to the Brandnertal for some spring skiing. Skiing in April is tricky, as the snow will get very wet during the day. Therefore we really appreciated their offer to start the day early. The last weeks of the skiing season the lifts run from 7.30, which allows people to enjoy the sunset on the Piste and also have perfect snow conditions.

We did a lot of runs as there were only some people skiing that early. At about 10, when the pistes got more crowded, we went to the “Palüd-Hütte” for some lovely breakfast. After that, the sun disappeared and it got chilly on the mountain. Therefore we decided to call it a day and head home.

Palued-Huette

Palued-Huette

I used to work in that region as a destination manager and it is hard to be objective for me. But I still love to go there for skiing as it is perfectly fitted for me. It can be reached rather easily, the people are really nice and the skiing resort is good and others great money for value. I am a rather good skier and I would perhaps not stay there for a week long skiing holiday, but if you are not too experienced or are looking for a place to go for just one or two days the Brandnertal might be perfectly suited for you.

If you want to go on skiing holidays with your family its probably one of the best resorts in Alps, as they really are targeting families and have a lot to offer for kids and parents!

Related articles

Related Videos:

3 Comments

Filed under Spring

Tagged as , , , , ,

March 30, 2012 · 15:09

Switzerland, as we love it

Stauberen

Stauberen and Stauberen Hut

This picture was taken on a short hiking tour from the Stauberen hut to the Hoher Kasten. As I can see this mountains every day it was great for once to be on top of them and whenever I see the Hohe Kasten or the Stauberen I feel the urge to go hiking again …

When we had to chose an image for our companies brochure, we decided that this was the one for the title.

I hope you like it, as much as I do … enjoy your weekend!

Leave a comment

Filed under random pictures from great places

Tagged as , , , , , ,

March 28, 2012 · 08:25

Tourismusforum Alpenregionen – a look back

On Monday I attended the Tourismusforum Alpenregionen in Zell am See. This event is an annual conference where tourism professionals of the Alps meet up. It is in german, therefore its mainly Austrians and Swiss – this year with a lot of Swiss people. The most are Destination Managers or CEOs of Ski resorts. I attended as I was interested into the afternoon session – which was titled “Grow – From the West to the East to the Far East – the markets of the future”. The morning session did not really fit my interests and I was rather disappointed, but I had some nice talks during lunch breaks and “Networking” is one of the main reasons to attend this kind of event.

The afternoon session was much better and I could learn a lot. There were presentations by a guy from the Austrian Tourist board, Renate Ecker from Zell am See/Kaprun tourism, Stefan Otz from Interlaken tourism, Ankita Makwana, an indian movie director, who lives in Mumbai and Zurich and finally from Waseem Hussain, a swiss/indian business man, who supports Swiss companies who do business in India and vice versa.

It was very interesting to hear about the specific needs people from different countries have and to get examples from people who have guests from this regions for some years already. I thought it was very inspiring and am happy that I attended. I especially liked the very international approach of Interlaken, who have guests from all over the world, which is very unusual for the alpine tourism destinations. I will definitely visit Interlaken in the next couple of months to see, how the international mixture of guests in a swiss town looks and feels.

Anyone ever been to Interlaken? Did you enjoy it? What are the things to be done there?

Leave a comment

Filed under Talking about Tourism

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

March 23, 2012 · 07:47

Traditional Hay Poles in Eastern Tyrol

Hay rack

Hay Poles waiting for their use in Innervillgraten, Tyrol

Today I want to present another picture out of my archive. This shot was taken in Innervillgraten, Eastern Tyrol. It shows traditional hay poles that are waiting to be used to dry the grass into hay. You do not see them too often anymore, but in the Villgraten-Valley they still do farming in a traditional way. Here the grass is cut, dried and then put onto the poles by hand. Now the rain can only wet the outer parts of the hay … in Winter the hay will be moved to the barns using sledges.

Hay stacked on Hay poles

Hay stacked on Hay Poles in Innervillgraten

The Villgraten Valley is especially famous for its sheep farmers and if you ever happen to be there you should not miss out on the Gannerhof, probably my favorite restaurant in Austria.

More articles that feature Tyrol

2 Comments

Filed under random pictures from great places

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

March 13, 2012 · 19:43

Picture perfect …

Spring is in the air and as I reflected on Winter in my last “Random Picture Post” I will look forward to Summer today. This is a picture taken on a alpine meadow in the Bregenzer Wald region of Vorarlberg. It shows a little chapel, planned by the Vorarlberg Architects Crukrowicz Nachbaur. In the background you can see Lake Constance.

 

Leave a comment

Filed under random pictures from great places

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

March 3, 2012 · 18:26

Great days … Skitouring in Montafon

The weather is momentarily just great, and this is why I do not write too long postings at the moment. Today I did a nice ski-tour and I thought it would be a nice change to show something personal for a change, as I did a lot of postings about Cities or holiday tipps in the last weeks. As the sun was pretty strong we had to get up, rather early and we started our skitour at 7.30 – reaching the top at about 10.00 … I have no photos of the way down – but the snow got pretty wet, in the last third and I was very knackered, when I arrived back home.

great view

me on the way up

view from the mountain towards the Switzerland

over the horizon

top of Wannaköpfle

2 Comments

Filed under Winter

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

March 2, 2012 · 18:42

5 Architectural Highlights to see in Innsbruck

Bergisel Schanze (Architect: Zaha Hadid), Inns...

Innsbruck is famous for its medieval pedestrian area in the City Centre, which surrounds the “Goldene Dachl” – you will not find to many tourists, that leave Innsbruck without a picture in front of this landmark taken. But there is also a different Innsbruck – places where you can see modern architecture, created by some of the most famous Architects in the world. I would like to point out the five most important buildings to see – most of them do not only offer great architecture, but also unique sights to the mountains and the city.

1. Berg Isel Ski Jump

The Berg Isel is well known as it hosted the opening ceremony of two Olympic Winter Games – above it sits the huge Berg Isel Ski Jump. This was completely rebuild in 2001/2002. It was planned by Star Architect Zaha Hadid. The Jump can be seen from a lot of places in the City and you will see, that it has lights that change colors on, during the night. On top of the Ski Jump there is a panoramic restaurant and a viewing platform – they allow great views towards Innsbruck and the mountains behind it on one side, and to the Vipptal (direction towards Brenner) on the other side.

2. Town Hall

Architect Dominic Perrault planned the new town hall, which was built between 1996 and 2002. This town hall is more than just a community building – it features shopping arcades, restaurants, a hotel and offices. Its roofs are partly made of glass, therefore it opens itself to the City. There are especially great views from the two restaurants on top of two Glass towers – the Lichtblick (restaurant) and the 360° (a bar)

Continue reading →

3 Comments

Filed under Architectural Tourism

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

March 1, 2012 · 21:18

What a view …

Winter is slowly coming to an end … but there are still great days of skiing or other winter sports activity ahead. Here you can find one of my favorite pictures of the mountains in Winter in my region.

I hope you like as much as I do …

 

Leave a comment

Filed under random pictures from great places, Winter

Tagged as , , , ,

February 22, 2012 · 19:47

Reality Check – Sonnenkopf

great view from one of the restaurants

“The Sonnenkopf is Arlbergs hidden powder paradise. Lech am Arlberg and St. Anton may be a lot more prestigious, but this smaller resort deserves some recognition, too!” This is what I told a lot of people over and over again, and for that reason I included the Sonnenkopf into my ski-resort list (link at end of text). But I believe to advise people about places you have to know them – and even if you know them, you have to put them to test over and over again. This is what I did today.

Continue reading →

3 Comments

Filed under Hidden Gems, Winter

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

February 15, 2012 · 12:02

March skiing will be great!

It’s snowing again – after weeks of arctic coldness temperature has risen to about zero degree Celsius (32 degree Fahrenheit) and at the moment it is snowing. According to the weather report this won’t stop until tomorrow, and there should be another 50 – 80 cm snow up in the mountains! are great news for people who consider to go skiing in March. This year you will be guaranteed loads of Snow.

View from Brandnertal Skiing resort

great days ahead - March 2012 will be a great month for skiers

March is one of the best times for skiing in my opinion – the high season is already over, meaning less people and lower prizes, its getting warmer already and the days are longer. Sadly in the last year snow was a problem in March – but this is just taken care of.

 

So if you have not booked your skiing holidays already, or are still considering whether to book, or not: Go for it! This March will be great!

Links to Austrian Skiing resorts:

 

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Winter

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,