Europa Cup minus the team

Gorgeous day but negative something silly!!

As I mentioned before it's really hard being on the road by yourself. Enhanced with language barriers and visiting places you haven't been to before and then there's the competing. No coach, no support it's not easy, and sometimes quite hard. No one to talk with about the exciting experiences or take your photo at a prize giving and no one to talk to when things just aren’t going so well.

Watching the Men’s Olympic finals was a little sad as it was only me, my alarm having just gone off at 2.30am and no one to celebrate / commentate/ discuss scores and performances and overall enjoy watching many of our friends and team mates compete.
But that is what I've chosen so time to take a cup of concrete and toughen up :)

After my last Europa Cup in Himos Finland I had two nights staying with Isabella in Helsinki. The first day after a couple days of competing if one is not travelling the best thing to do is – nothing. Sleeping in and everytime it’s surprising how tired one can be. Lounging around the house, napping and quick trip into Helsinki whilst Issie was in class was a totally exhausting day! The next day prior to flying out I managed to do what I had hoped to do the last two times here – ice swimming!! It’s great recovery for muscles and after a busy competition schedule this sounded like just thing to help prepare for a long haul flight. Never mind it was -6, snowing and blowing a gale but we bit the bullet and crazily stripped down to not much and took turns pretending we were enjoying ourselves whilst splashing surrounded by ice and blustering snow in our faces.







- note the facial expressions of enjoyment

Oslo

Huge thumbs up to my stop over in Copenhagen!! Clean, modern, available seating and eating areas and the most surprisingly a huge duty free shopping center!! Tres cool! I may have bought what was described by the assistant as a traditional Danish dress.. hmmm :) Watch casual Friday I'm coming in!!!

On the left as I flew out of Denmark, Oslo bound, and on the right a fabulous coat in the duty free shopping area!!

I had a bad feeling at check in. My luggage tags didn't have OSL as I would have expected for Oslo but instead TRP. I asked at check in if there was more than one airport in Oslo and was assured there wasn't. I still didn't feel quite right prior to boarding when I saw I was flying on a tiny prop plane to the country's capital (only 11 rows!!) but alas my ticket from a major airline, said Copenhagen - Oslo so I had a vague sense that everything was going to be OK. As we descended into landing my fears quickly rose as I saw no immediate harbour, city and only a meagre regional airport and my heart rate increased rapidly. Upon landing, with no information desk I found transport to Oslo with a bus transporting passengers to the train station so I felt better. I was still confused when arriving at the train station with NO other passengers to see the station, no ticket machine, no shelter from the snow and cold and definitely not what I had expected! Seeing the humour in the situation - that I had arrived at the low cost airport and as I discovered later now one of Oslo's three airports and in total isolation I soaked up the wintry peace and quiet and waited for the train ... Brr..



















OSLO
Once again I found myself with a day layover in a new city so tourist central it was! After some of the most wonderful hospitality and amazing cooking from a couple who are friends of my parents I headed to Akker Brygger down by the harbour. It was gorgeous with the ice freezing right alongside the docks, seagulls swooping past and sunshine. Even though I spend my entire life in winter and are usually super prepared (just ask the boys at work who tease me for wearing so many winter accessories!!) I sometimes drop the ball. When in the mountains I prepare for the cold but when I head into a city one can be falsely lead to believe that it will be warmer than in the mountain especially since it's sunny. WRONG. I was shockingly caught out cruising around Oslo in negative something silly (-12 at least) without gloves or a hat. Silly silly KT!

One of the highlights of the day was visiting the Nobel Peace Prize Museum. Did you know that Norway awards the Peace Prize and Sweden awards the other four prizes? I had no idea. It is also interesting to realise that the Nobel, the man responsible for the endowment creating these prizes including Peace, was also the inventor of dynamite. The irony.

Scandinavian Cup in Norway

Scandinavian Cup was a prelude and training in effect for the two days following of Europa Cups. The moguls sections were quite a flat with the jump landings with a bit more pitch. A fairly nice way to ease back into moguls after more than ten days off snow. Whilst I very keen to get back on snow it's still kind of daunting turning up to a new resort having never been to the country before and compete without any support. Whilst moguls is an individual sport it's the team support and usually friendly competition that makes it much more attractive. Luckily I have many other friendly athletes to help me feel comfortable on the road alone!

To the left we have a couple of Swedes, Veronica and Sofia getting into the swing of it at Hemsedal!


Singles day I finished 3rd and Duals I stepped up the pace to claim 2nd.

I have also been spending a fair bit of time with the Germans being room mates for a couple of nights with Laura, then there is Daan and Carla from the Netherlands who I have spent some time traveling with last year which resulted in some entertaining tales.












Please refer to the photo on the left for the result of last minute accommodation bookings. Being a weekend and school holidays in Norway one had to take what one could find!! -
Summer huts without water!! ha ha.. errrrr...

We had to walk to the shower block to brush our teeth or get water to make tea!! HILARIOUS.. Luckily this only had to be endured for two nights but at least I had good company!



This is really a fantastic opportunity to meet some amazing people from around the world. Many of these athletes are just as incredible in what they do off the slopes as they do on. Some have full time careers to balance, some have made a living out of skiing professionally and others have families waiting for them at home.

Aussie and German bonding - KT & Laura

Carla, Laura and Daan..

Sitting down for dinner last was entertaining after competing all day and avoiding most Valentine's Day hype I was not so gently reminded by candlelight what day it was!! Ha ha
A romantic evening... for one!! I thought back to where I was last year... again in another strange country with even more strange company... but that's an entirely different story involving a Russian and France!

Zurich

Time out, peacing out and getting ready for the next bout of whiteness. After so many days on the road competing through Switzerland, France and Germany and recovery from Kitz some quite time in Zurich was perfect. It was also the perfect reason to visit Nici who skis on the Swiss Team and has just had surgery on her knee after the Deer Valley World Cup and now, like the majority of us watch Vancouver from afar.

Nici trying to explain the main destinations of Zurich using her makeup drawer.... hmm questionable accuracy Nic!!

We were lucky enough to catch an amazing exhibition in town of the human body preserved with a plastination treatment showing muschles, skin, bones and even ACL's!! A bit cool for a couple of mogul skiers who may have lost theirs years ago!!



Doing some of the tourist thing through Zurich.














The irony of my first day in town was rain. It was only the night before I had mentioned how I missed hearing the rain after a few months away. I usually don't hear that familiar sound till I arrive back in Australia late spring but of course this said the day I arrive in Zurich I had rain!!!





Trying to not loose all my fitness I went for a ride one morning up to the forest above Zurich. Yes I can confirm a couple of things, 1. it was every bit of the -2C the news reported and freezing 2. riding without gloves does not make for a pleasant ride and 3. trying to ride up snow covered paths ie ice does not work..

Birthdays with bubbles

Luckily a couple of friends from home were only a train ride away to help me relax and recover!! The first morning in Kitzbuhel was my very good friends birthday so we may have a bubbly toast to help him celebrate followed by heading up the mountain for fresh track on a powder day!

The birthday boy getting down to serious business first thing!! Followed by finding our way to the base of the mountain through the village

Heavy snow proved to be perfect conditions for the group's first day on the mountain but slightly treacherous for myself who wasn't skiing but had to walk in blizzard conditions to the Hutte for lunch.




Of course more serious business followed with a long lunch on the mountain in a local Hutte.










Fortunately, or unfortunately as some other patrons may have reviewed, but the owners of the Hutte realised this was birthday lunch. Not only was strudel served "mit Kerze" (with candles) but they played on repeat several versions of happy birthday in various languages for over an hour!!! Hmm...

Thinking about the amazing audio being played . . .

Kitzbuhel and a sigh of relief

Arghh.. a sigh of relief as I finished the last of 6 events in 3 countries in 2 weeks!

The rest of the Aussie team departed either for home or luckily enough, Vancouver and I to Kitzbuhel in Austria for a good mates birthday and some recovery time. The event in Russia that I had planned on competing in was not confirmed till too later, very inaccessible and unfortunately my body just needed a break. (I don't think I've ever had to deal with so much lactic acid build up! Aaaghh.. aging.. )

The view of Kitzbuhel from our balcony :)

Of the four days I spent here most were chilling out in the hotel relaxing, stretching some very tight muscles and exploring the gorgeous old village. Fresh snow blanketed the village and even sunshine made a celebratory appearance on what could only be described as an idyllic Austrian mountain day!

Kitzbuhel by night

There is an interesting mix of local mountain Austrian wares and fashions mixed in with Louis Vuitton, Bogner and the usual kitch souvenirs. Of course being Austria schnitzle, schnapps, sausage and gluwien were on the cards for sampling!

Getting Euro'd up for dinner!

Getting a bit swish in front of Booogner...

botox anyone?


I'm soo not posing here.. haha hah