Tag Archives: Brandnertal

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!

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Third day at ITB Berlin… the end of independent travel bloggers?

I am currently attending the third day of the ITB Berlin. Tomorrow I will have my sightseeing-Berlin day.

Yesterday was rather succesful, meeting a lot of interesting people and I believe I managed to get our start up to another level.

Today I concentrate on the eBusiness aspect and visit some seminars, one just finished – it was about http://www.pocketvillage.com, a Berlin travel-meta-search start up. I will keep that one my list.

But I am more interested in the next seminar, about Blogging for Destinations. Back in the days, when I was Destination Manager in the Brandnertal, we decided, that this needs to much resources (time) and therefore decided to not do it.

Therefore I am quite interested in what other people believe …

UPDATE: The discussion, was more about bigger region, inviting Bloggers to their region. There was the example, of Jordan tourism, who invited 8 bloggers to write about their region. Another example was Great Britain who have a group of Bloggers who write about GB regullary. For their efforts they receive free trips and other things. I believe it would have been interesting, to discuss more about the impacts of this. Are this people any longer independend travel bloggers? I do not think so …

At the moment I am at a seminar a guy from the Costa Brava, who also uses Blogging to create stories about his region. He is interesting in storytellers. They invited 16 bloggers (one was part of the discussion in the other seminar) to Costa Brava for one week … they were chosen, due to relevance, topics and reach. They very thoroughly thought about, what topics and what things to do with the Bloggers. In my oppinion Costa Brava tourism set up the stories rather well and therefore gave a great example for good story telling.

What is happening here is that succesful bloggers develop into journalists, who are led through tourism destinations by the PR officers. This is good for them, and shows how professional they got – but it will reduce their indepence. Not because, they stop writing about their experiences, but because they are getting delivered messages, which are targeted at them and their audience.

What is your oppinion? How will it change the way you see big travel blogs? Are they still really independent?

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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 …

 

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Great skiing resorts in Tyrol and Vorarlberg

A fellow blogger, Maia from “BoundforAdventure” , is currently staying in Stuttgart, Germany and asked for some tipps for good skiing or snow boarding.

I thought about it for some time and then came up with this list … I added the approx. driving time (as stated by ViaMichelin) from Stuttgart, to give some idea about the distances.

I only included Skiing resorts I have visited … some big ones of Tyrol (e.g. Zillertal, Sölden) or Switzerland are missing – although they are in reachable (up to 4 hours drive) distance from Stuttgart. Other ones – especially in Salzburg and eastwards have been excluded as they are too far away.

Tyrol:

Kitzbühel – one of the most prestigious skiing resorts in the Alpes. Some really great runs – it is not too high up the mountains, therefore it is not really a Spring destination. Rather expensive, but that is part of the deal. In the same valley there is also the “Skiwelt Wilder Kaiser” – which offers a huge area and is connected to a lot of villages in the region – so you can get great money for value.

Stuttgart – Kitzbühl – 3 hours 40 minutes

Ischgl – famous for wild parties, this skiing resort has a much more to offer. With lifts up to 2872 Meters it is ideal for spring skiing and it is also connected to Samnaun in Switzerland: you actually ski in Austria AND Switzerland. The runs are great – once you have left the partying crowds at the Idalp you have plenty of options for great skiing and boarding. Most people from the skiing resort I worked in, went there to ski after the season was over … that’s a real recommendation! If you want to avoid noisy Ischgl – stay in Galtür (the next village), but ski in Ischgl … it is great skiing.

Stuttgart – Ischgl: 3 hours 40 minutes

St. Anton am Arlberg – the cradle of skiing at the Arlberg: this is a hot spot for free-skiers and snow boarders who look for off-piste fun. It is also a hotspot to meet fellow english-speaking people: Good runs, great off-piste and a lot of party are guaranteed at St. Anton.

Stuttgart – St. Anton: 3 hours 15 minutes

Vorarlberg:

Zürs-Lech – the Vorarlberg part of the Arlberg skiing region is another hot spot for VIPs and the super rich. But it is also a fantastic skiing resort. Great pistes are guaranteed and going out might be a tad expensive, but it is also great fun. Here is the only place in Austria, where you can go Heli-Skiing. Moreover this year you might encounter Anthony Gourmleys “Horizon Field” – a art project on exactly 2.039 m above sea level.

Stuttgart – Lech: 3 hours 10 minutes

Sonnenkopf – this is a insider tipp for off-piste fans. Located in the Klostertal, this small resorts belong to the Bergbahnen St. Anton am Arlberg. The resort has now artificial snow at all, but they do not need it. They are blessed with loads of snow and a real power paradise. As only few people consider this resort, you might even get some “fresh” powder action, when the powder has vanished everywhere else.

Stuttgart – Klösterle: 2 hours 55 minutes

Montafon – this valley offers a lot of different skiing resorts. From the huge “Silvretta-Montafon”, over powder and spring skiing paradise Gargellen to the Golm, which is a nice family skiing resort … Great skiing, good party and good money for value.

Stuttgart – Montafon (Schruns): 2 hour 55 minutes

Brandnertal– this is the region I was responsible for for a couple of years. A rather small skiing resort, which has still got a lot to offer. It´s definitely a must go for families, but if you want to have some great skiing this might be a good choice, too. Especially during peak season – you might get stuck in a huge traffic jam heading towards the Arlberg or the Montafon and the Brandnertal has its own Autobahn exit, just where the jam usually starts. Great fun, very nice people, good pistes and great huts in the resort …

Stuttgart – Brand: 2 hours 45 minutes

Brandnertal

Finally some other good resorts that should be worth a visit and are in good distance from Stuttgart

SWITZERLAND:

Jungfrau-Region (about 3 hours 45 minutes) – one of the most fascinating alpine areas … breathtaking views and apparently good skiing, too

Laax (3 hours 25 minutes) – known for its Snowboarding and Free-Skier Scene

LIECHTENSTEIN

Malbun (3 hours 15 minutes) – rather small, but for the bragging rights

GERMANY

Garmisch-Partenkirchen (2 hours 50 minutes) – best choice in Germany

AUSTRIA

Riezlern (2 hours 30 minutes) – very close to Stuttgart, never heard any complaints about this one

Damüls-Mellau (2 hours 45minutes) – I really loved Damüls when it was a small insider skiing resort – since they connected it to Mellau it got way bigger – have not skied there since, but this should be really good (+ great food in the Bregenzer Wald)

… plus various resorts in Tyrol (Zillertal, Ötztal, Stubaital …)

Updates:

SALZBURG:
I added some skiing resorts in Salzburg in another post – you can read this here

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