6:30 am. Nice to beat the alarm, first time this week and I fell kinda normal. 5 hrs sleep...that works. Today we make the big move to Ramsau, our home for the rest of the games. It's more or less a travel day and hopefully we can get on snow, even for a little while. It's felt like we've done nothing so far, because we haven't. Skiing wise.
Yesterday was full blown host town activities. A big tech company (ams?) sponsored a trip to a chocolate factory, a 1000 year old castle and then a nice dinner and dance. The Zotti chocolate factory was almost like a modern art museum that accidentally made 200 kinds of chocolate. It was so cool, quirky, and entertaining. A walking tour with samples ( yes, we could try all 200 kinds) with fun mini machine/sculptures presenting the different flavors. It was very good. That was the morning and then off to a castle. We met the owner, a Prince Lichtenstein ( yes, that is his name, a young guy with money and who is a doctor on the side).. it was a long wait, but the tour was interesting. Seeing a building that old was amazing. Talk about the ultimate "money pit"!
We had a short hr turnaround after a two hr bus ride back, then off to dinner at the corporate headquarters. Employees there hosted us, all 200 SOUSA members. Good meal and the dance was two hrs. You just can't lose with special olympics and a dance! Done by 10, and back in our rooms by 11. Coaches always have meetings after tucking athletes in so it was 1:00 by the time we had planned our Ramsau Day move.
I finally feel like I'm getting onto Austria time.
Friday-
We're now at the Ramsau, a small village high in the alps where we will stay for the duration of the games. Snowshoe and cross country are here and downhill and snowboard are across the valley a few kilometers away. We are housed in a beautiful old Austrian lodge and just our team and the snowshoe team are here (plus some public). We heard last night that the president of Austria will be staying here tonight! Talk about security! We can walk down the street to the ski stadium, so it's a perfect sport. Snow, well, not much. The course has some, but that she it. We start competition today and it's supposed to be between 35-45. They are hauling snow in from high above in the mountains where the snow isn't colder to use on the course. Just above Ramsau, I mean, across the street, is a10,000' mountain,shear granite and almost straight up. Amazing to see it outside our window.
The trip down yesterday from Graz was beautiful. Lots of tunnels along the way and gradually we'd see snow on the mountain tops. The little towns are exactly like the postcards look. Exactly. The final narrow road was twisty up a narrow cut in the mountain that shouldn't fit a big coach bus, but did. Some slept on the ride, one puked-never good on a full bus.
So today, we dive in. I need to go shopping this morning for an iron and electric drill. I have then packed, but here they use 240 volt and mine are 110. Normally they would supply converters, but not here. RRRRRRrrrr, hopefully I can find some because there are lots of skis to wax today!
Off to wake athletes!
