Long Awaited and Long Winded

Howdy Ya'll,

Well it has been a long while since I have updated and as could be expected alot has occurred since my last post. I finished up final exams, skied in Austria, got back into rugby and we won our league just last Wednesday. First of all, finals went fine, all but one exam was not too difficult, with the one excluded being difficult to not enough time spent in preparation for it. I will receive my results in just a couple days. But on to more exciting things.

Finals week lasts 2 weeks here and I was finished on the Monday of the 2nd week. So what else could I do but book a trip to Austria. As seen some posts back, I booked a flight to Salzburg, Austria, from where I traveled to Kitzbuhel, Austria to spend 3 days skiing with my good friend Eduardo. When in line to board the plane in Nottingham, we met a trio of snowboarders who were traveling and staying in the same place as we were. They were catching a ride from the hostel owner at the airport, so we decided to jump in on that deal and save everyone a bit of money and about 2.5 hrs in traveling. The train, strangely enough, takes that much longer to get to the same destination, given the mountainous terrain. We met our the hostel owner outside of the baggage claim and were faced with a very disgruntled looking man. We jumped in his beat up VW bus painted army green and listened for the first 15 minutes of the ride about why Dave, the owner, got very little sleep the night before with a rowdy guest waking him up throughout the night wanting to fight. Of course every other word could not be read in church and Dave made sure we were aware of his blunt personality right from the start. It was amazing. The hostel was very nice though and we ended up greatly enjoying our time there.

The skiing was pretty good however it had only recently snowed for the first time in a month and any off-piste runs we took, we would be skiing on the grass of the meadows underneath. Needless to say, my ski's are well trashed all over again similar to my Val Disere trip. It snowed the entire third night we were there and throughout the next day and our final day, although hampered by often white out conditions, consisted of knee deep powder all day long. Kitzbuhel had some fantastic runs and, most of all, was completely forested with fir trees, making it very similar to skiing in Oregon. It was strange at how exhilarated I became while skiing simply because of the landscape and its incredible similarity to home. I will be returning to Kitzbuhel one day, without a doubt.

Off the slopes, we were lucky to be in Kitzbuhel during the weekend that we were. Not only was the Hahnekaam race scheduled, one of the most difficult and notorious ski races in the world, but some of the hostel owner's best buddies were in town and the owner put on a huge BBQ for the 20 or so guests. We had a huge BBQ and bonfire right on main street of Kitzbuhel and a whole bunch of free beverages all provided by Dave. It was a great time hanging out with all of the other travelers and snow riders and we made every passer-byer jealous with our huge bonfire while it was well below freezing and snowing throughout the night. Due to the race, there were an additional 60,000 people in the town of 8,000, so needless to say, the place was buzzing. On Saturday, the main day of racing, the streets were rammed with people drinking beer and mulled wine, dancing to the music being played throughout the streets. It was something that you would only find in Europe. It was an absolute blast to just people watch and enjoy the festivities.
Returning to England, I was faced with a new term of classes but most of all, the upcoming week had 3 rugby games schedule, all being against strong and aggressive teams. The first two, against Oxford and Cambridge, were both losses which could be attributed to the fact that our team had not practiced in almost 2 months, whereas both opposing squads had not had finals recently and had been getting in shape and practicing throughout the last three weeks. Given the circumstances, we played really well, barely losing the games by last minute scores by the opposing teams. Luckily, Cambridge was only a friendly match up and did not count on our record. However, the most important game came last Wednesday against Loughborough. We were faced with a do-or-die situation in that we needed to beat Loughborough to clinch league championship and gain a berth for the playoffs. If we lost, our season would, ultimately, be over. We showed up for the game ready and willing and played some of the best rugby of the season. A week and a half of rugby had built a fair bit of fitness in our team and we played much stronger than in the past two games. It was spectacular weather, being a frigid 35F or 2C, and crystal clear without a cloud in the sky. It was a beautiful victory and a proud day for every player. From here, we will be placed in the national cup to play other teams from around the country.

Well thanks for reading my long winded blog. It was not written in a particularly eloquent fashion, but written quickly and concisely in attempt to relay as much info as possible. Hope you enjoy the pics and stay tuned for upcoming blog updates.

Cheers,

AL