Tag Archives: Lech

Reality Check: Arlberg – the cradle of Alpine Skiing

In response to my ski resort article I added some “Reality Check” articles, in which I wrote about skiing in some of this resorts in the 2011/12 skiing season. Yesterday I had my last day on skis for this season (I will still do some ski-touring though) and I can finish this mini-series for this year with a real highlight. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me yesterday, as this was a hardcore-skiing day with some pals, but one of my friends took some pictures, so I might add them another time.

Galzig (St. Anton am Arlberg, Tyrol, Austria),...

Galzig (St. Anton am Arlberg, Tyrol, Austria), view from north. Deutsch: Galzig (St. Anton am Arlberg, Tirol, Österreich), Ansicht von Norden. Italiano: Galzig (St. Anton am Arlberg, Tirolo, Austria), vista dal nord. Lietuvių: Galzig (St. Anton am Arlberg, Tirolis, Austrija), nuo šiaurės. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Arlberg is one of the most famous skiing resorts in Austria and in the Alps. This it the place where Alpine Skiing was developed – hence their claim “Arlberg – the cradle of alpine skiing”. The Arlberg is a mountain pass between Tyrol and Vorarlberg (which name means “before the Arlberg”) and the Arlberg ski-resort is divided into two parts: Zürs-Lech and St. Anton. We did our skiing in the St. Anton part of the resort, which lays mainly on the Tyrollean side of the Arlberg. Overall the resort consists of 86 lifts, 276 km of pistes and 180km of powder runs.  Continue reading

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Filed under Traveling in Europe, Winter

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.

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Filed under Hidden Gems, Winter

Lech from above – amazing video

Beautiful video of Lech am Arlberg from above – enjoy!

Lech from above – click me!

I was thinking this video as I just recently wrote a guest post at World Adventure Travel about “Heli-Skiing in Austria for Newbies” and the Arlberg is the place to go for Heli-Skiing.

In the next weeks and months I will try to show you more of these amazing videos, whenever they fit my articles. Unfortunately WordPress.com does not allow iframes – therefore you have to follow the link 😦

Are there any computer geeks out there, who can tell me how to make iframes work at this place?

Have to go again – its the last day of Carnival and we are invited to some friends place.

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5 architectural highlights in Vorarlberg

Today I have an article published over at http://www.whatsdoto.in – it is about “Vorarlberg – a must see for lovers of good architecture

To accompany that article I would love to highlight 5 buildings in my region, that I like especially:

Kunsthaus Bregenz

Bregenz Kunsthaus...Kind of Blue

This is one of Vorarlbergs best architectural building – planned by Peter Zumthor, who won the Pritzker Prize for this building and the Therme Vals (click here for more about that), this is a must see for all architecture fans. As a plus you might find some architectural exhibitions inside the building, as it houses the Museum for Modern Art of Vorarlberg. Do not forget to take a coffee afterwards in the Museum café as this is a good example for good interior architecture.

 Festspielhaus Bregenz

Bregenz Festspielhaus

Bregenz Festspielhaus (Photo credit: digital cat )

A short walk from the Kunsthaus Bregenz next to Lake Konstanz takes you to the Festspielhaus Bregenz. This building was planned by Dietrich-Untertrifaller, a architectural company from Vorarlberg. This building might look familiar to you, there were parts of “James Bond – Quantum of Solace” shot in this building. Every summer there are the Bregenzer Festspiele – an opera festival, with one opera being staged on the  lake arena. Its one opera for two years, and every two years the whole stage is completely rebuild – do not miss out on this.

Nordwesthaus and office building, Hafen Rohner, Fussach

Deutsch: Das "Nordwesthaus" ist ein ...

Image via Wikipedia

In Fussach, a small village at the Lake Konstanz you can see this two great buildings by Baumschlager-Eberle. One, looking a little bit like a gun, is an office building, the other one, with its crystalline structur is a place for events and exhibitions – they both are parts of the “Hafen Rohner” (Port Rohner).

 Angelika Kauffmann Museum, Schwarzenberg

This museum offers something different, to the other buildings. Dietrich Untertrifaller, the architects of this building, had the task to take a 500 year old house and adapt it to a modern museum. Here you can see a mixture of old traditional architecture with modern Vorarlberger wood-architecture. The museum itself is great to see as well – Angelika Kauffmann was one of Austrias most famous neoclassical painters.

 Schneggarei, Lech

At this stop you will not only see great architecture, you can also have great food and an impressive landscape. Looking like a typical ski hut, this building offers a lot for people, who love the “hidden details” of houses.

You can find details to all mentioned buildings by clicking on their name. Unfortunately they are in german – but I believe the pictures give you a good idea about the buildings.

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