I'm back from my long holiday!

[lobelia321]

Three weeks this year! It's very rare for us to have proper holidays like this. We had three holidays in one: 7 days at a French holiday 'colony/club' in Hyeres on the Mediterranean (beach holiday); 5 days with friends in the Luberon in Provence (friends and village holiday); and 6 days with my sister, brother, nieces, nephews and parents in Austria (family and mountain holiday).

I hadn't been in the Alps since 1973, and the Alps are FANTASTIC. We loved them! I went with a dose of skepticism and full of stereotypes about Austrians (Hitler, Fritzl, that sort of thing) but now we are all fans! I had never expected Austria to be so beautiful, to combine nature with elegance, to have Trachten (local costumes) that are not country-bumpkinish but stylish, to have utterly delicious food in beautiful settings, to have air like silk, to have lakes like silk, to have dramatic weather that veers from hot but dry to thunderstorm to foggy clouds, to have resolute and funny and cute women, to have a lovely accent, to have nature plus highly-technical ways to get into nature (I love skilifts; they are my favourite mode of transport). I've never been skiing and know the Alps only in summer.

Also, it was slightly weird to be in a foreign country where people speak my mother language. I guess English native speakers must have this experience all the time.

I am the brownest I've been in many years!



I went swimming in this lake! It is called the Steirersee, on the Tauplitzer Alm, in Austria. It is absolutely stunning. The water was clear enough to drink, and very bracingly cold!! Afterwards, I stood about, feeling my blood circulate vigorously, and was dry within three minutes! No towel even needed. It took us about 1 hour to walk down to the lake, and then a hard, muscle working trek up a very steep incline to get back to the top.


http://www.tauplitzalm.at/images/sommer1.jpg

Comments

[bunnysquee.livejournal.com]

eee! i missed you! i'm glad you gad a great tme.