Sunday, September 25, 2011

Prague, Czech Republic

This weekend we headed to a city I had never been to, Prague!
We drove out of Weiden with the minivan packed to the gills at 10:30 for the drive arriving in Prague in only an 1.5 hours. After checking into our hostel (Czech Inn Hotel) we walked down the street and had some beers at a restaurant before walking further into town along the route 22 streetcar. We decided to check out an astronomical clock before eating dinner, having a few more beers, and heading back to the hostel. Just before the street car we made our way through a park saying before that it, " doesn't look that bad". Right as a we passed by a group two guys starting swinging and got the other one pretty good on the eye before his friends ran over to help him out. It ended in a short time but was entertaining anyways.
The next day we walked all over the city and I quickly got bored and remembered why I had disliked checking out new cities in the first place, they all look the same after you've seen 15 of them. We still had a good time at an overlook above Prague and drinking beer. Here are a few pictures.....
Tour guides



Nice city


Lennon wall

best shot of the trip by me

Hello dad!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Ehrwald alm to Knorrhutte/ Zugspitze platz Via Gatterl

Group of old farts
This last weekend started as a shocker, I had been left by the people that said they would give me a ride all the way to Garmisch (255 miles) after waiting for over 2 hours for them. After this surprise happened I drive home to Weiden and walked from my car to the train station to catch the fastest train from Weiden to Munich which ended up leaving only 10 minutes later. After one more connection,  half of my book, and a few more miles sitting on the train I arrived in Garmisch at 11:30. I needed to eat something so we went to a mexican restaurant just outside the train station. By the time I had gotten my food and my parents had finished their drinks it was 12:20. Arriving at haus lily I packed my bag for climbing the zugspitze but motivation was running low because of the lack of sleep. I woke up at 3:30 to the sound of rain falling on the roof so I went back to sleep thinking it would turn into a rainy day. At 10:30 I woke up again to blue skies and knew that I should have just gone for it when I had woken up the first time.  After breakfast and a trip to Sport Conrads to check out new ski gear we were on our way to the Ehrwald Alm in Austria. The plan for the day was to hike around the side of the Ehrwald Alm and onto the Zugspitze platz but with our unusually late start I didn't think we would make it all the way.
The last rise before the border
After an hour of hiking we passed a hutte that was closed and I sped up my pace hopeful that I would make the "Gatterl", the ridge that divides Austria and Germany. After an hour and a half longer I made it to the border which was marked with a large Germany sign and a bunch of older markings made on the rock.
The border!
 I went a little further to check out the Zugspitze platz because I had never seen it from this angle. From my angle I could see all the way down the valley to the Saschen hutte and all the way up the other way to the Knorr hutte and the top of the Zugspitze. It was a very cool vantage point and I cannot wait to ski it in the coming months! On the way back the rest of the group caught up as I was coming back and decided to sit on the first ridge before making the hike back to the base of the Ehrwald Alm. We drove back to Garmisch and had a great meal at the Local cure bar before calling it a night. Fun day!

Friendly Cow!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Ski Movie Month!

September is the month all the new ski movies come out so I wanted to post some of my favorite trailers for this upcoming year! Watching ski movies in September or any other month without snow is unhealthy but I do it anyways!

First up is "Attack of La Nina" By Match Stick Productions. This movie looks absolutely insane and also focuses a little more on the POWDER so it is definitely on the to buy list!


Second up is "Breaking Trail" By Powderwhores. This movie looks exactly like what you would expect from the a film company called The Powderwhores. A group of excellent skiers earning their turns but new this year they have included AT skiers in their film to give it a new feeling and new athletes. Looks like a good soulful film!


Last but now least is "Solitaire" by Sweetgrass Productions. This movie seems to be the most artistic movie so far and highlights a lot of the culture and mountains in Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. A must see!



Enjoy and get ready for winter!
-Owen