Bright smiles at the orthodontist office!

Last year, Lily's orthodontist asked if she would be interested in a photo shoot, because she wanted to put up some nice photos of actual patients in her doctor's office. Lily didn't have to think twice, and was VERY excited to model for a professional photographer! We met up with the photographer on a Saturday morning - I believe it was just before we left for New Zealand - and I didn't think much more of it... Until last week when we had a follow-up appointment at the orthodontist and we saw Lily smiling at us from the office walls :-) What a surprise! And they used her portrait twice! She's hanging in the X-Ray room and in the reception area. Funny feeling to be looking at yourself (for Lily - she was actually a bit embarrassed) and for me to see her like that! One of her friends and her mom are also out on the wall (we actually saw them first, before we saw Lily).

Henriette and her mom are on the bottom row, second photo from the left

Starting off 2019 with our happy new year's wishes!

Back to Munich and Los Angeles!

All good things must come to an end, unfortunately, but we have everlasting memories! On Friday we took the train from Imst-Pitztal via Innsbruck to Munich. It was a comfortable ride. We always enjoy taking the train in other countries! (We hardly ever take a train here in the States as the public transportation system is not very well developed in Los Angeles!). There was a snow storm in the  Austrian mountains on the day we left and it was snowing very hard in Munich too! We loved our "Alm"-Hotel (Hotel Cocoon Hauptbahnhof), it was so cute and cozy. At night, we met up with Marcus' friend Christoph and his family (Sabine and kids Sarah and Paul) for dinner. The next day, it was off to the airport and back to Los Angeles (our Icelandair flight was cancelled due to the snow storm and we flew Lufthansa instead with just one layover in Washington DC, so this actually worked out well for us). Until the next holiday!!!

Bye bye!

Austria!

Picture taken on Sunday morning, at the bus stop in front of the hotel

Day 1 - Saturday, December 29
We spent most of the day driving - left Stuttgart around 10:30 AM and arrived in Sankt Leonhard im Pitztal just before 6 PM. We were lucky, it was busy on the road - but not too busy - and the weather was great. We took it easy, did not rush, but stopped a couple of times to go to the restroom and/or have some food. By the time we arrived at the hotel (Sport & Vital Hotel Seppl), Wouter was already there and had already gotten the ski rental gear for his family and Lily. We decided to take care of that the next day.

Day 2 - Sunday, December 30
A getting-to-know-the-neighborhood day! First thing to do after breakfast, was to try to get our car out of the snow! Not an easy task, we needed the help of the local farmer and his tractor to pull us out!!! Ennio had been asking in Iceland, Belgium and Germany where the snow was, but here, in Austria, there's no lack of it! Snow everywhere! Lily went with her cousins to join the Famiski classes. Marcus didn't feel well, so he stayed at the hotel and rested. Oma and Opa, Ennio and I took the ski bus to Rifflsee, where we met up with Lily and the rest of the gang. We decided Ennio would start ski classes the next day. Today, he enjoyed sledding down the mountain and playing on the playground (which had a zipline!).

 

We needed the coffee!

At Rifflsee:

Ready for some swimming at night!

Day 3 - Monday, December 31 - NEW YEAR'S EVE

The last day of the year! Luckily, Marcus felt better today, and was up for some skiing. I had purchased the ski lift passes the day before, but we still needed to get the skis. After breakfast, Marcus and I took Ennio to the ski rental place. He was so excited to try on the skis, helmet, etc. and felt like a ninja! Trying on and renting skis always takes a while, we spent a couple of hours there! Then, Ennio had his "Schnuppertag" at Rifflsee, and we went up to the Gletscher. It was a short day on the slopes, however, because of New Year's Eve. We were expected to be back at the hotel and ready for the Gala Dinner at 6 PM. It had been years since I had spent New Year's Eve with my parents and brother and his family, so we enjoyed it immensely!
 

Renting skis!

Taking pictures before dinner!

Mijn oogappels!

The food was delicious.

Our menu:

Avocado and beetroot butter with bread rolls

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Praline of Viennese fried chicken on potato-cucumber salad

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Tartar of tuna with poached quail's egg on wasabi mousse and brioche

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Cream soup of green and white asparagus with farmers bread chips

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Venison in bread crust on creamy boletus-polenta served on plum glace

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Sorbet of passionfruit with prosecco

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Fillet of Pitztal veal on sauce madeira with delicate vegetables and puree of parsnip

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"Schwarzwald" Mousse on delicious cake with homemade cherry ice cream and fresh berries

The kids just before they went to the rooms to relax (they didn't want to sit at the table until midnight).

Actually, Marcus and I didn't make it until 00:00 either, so we missed the new year's fireworks!

Here's the pic Wouter took:

Day 4 - Tuesday, January 1 - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The sun celebrated the New Year with us! Finally! We could not have wished for a better start of 2019! We all went up the mountain (except for Charlotte who didn't feel too well - maybe too much champagne on New Year's Eve 😉). Ennio had a ski class with the Tiroler Skischule Pitztal and Lily with her Famiski group. Marcus ended up skiing with Wouter, and I took the Wildspitzbahn to Café 3440. The suspended terrace of this café at exactly 3,440 m above sea level offers uninterrupted panoramic views of the Alpine scenery. This is Austria's highest Café and one of Tirol's peak highlights in the true sense of the word! It is encircled by more than 50 mountains higher than three thousand meters. I loved being able to enjoy the views on such a gorgeous day! In the late afternoon we met up again with the kids (after ski school was over) and still did some skiing until the slopes closed. What a great day!

Day 5 - Wednesday, January 2

I remember it was cold today, very cold! Lily and Ennio didn't want to go to ski school (most of the lifts were closed due to cold weather and wind) so I went with them and we had a hot chocolate milk on top of the mountain instead! Then we took the lift back down and met up with Marcus for Glühwein!

Day 6 - Thursday, January 3

Last day of skiing for us, and we lucked out because the weather was sunny, albeit very cold! Marcus and I took Ennio with us and practiced more skiing! Wouter and Charlotte did their own ski tour and kept on sending us pictures of their "breaks" (Apérol Spritz, anyone?) At night, Famiski had organized a "graduation" event for the kids (diploma-uitreiking). I watched it from the pool 😆 Later that evening, the kids went bowling and Marcus and I enjoyed the outdoor jacuzzi and sauna of the hotel (Sport & Vital Hotel Seppl). Heavenly!

Day 7 - Friday, January 4

Time to say goodbye... Opa Géry and Wouter drove us to the train station in Imst and off we went to Munich. What a wonderful family ski vacation we had had!