After 13 hours on the road we pulled into Spital am Semmering at 21:00 to find Veit, Katia and Laura all comfortably unpacked at Xaver's Landhaus. We were very excited to learn that Xaver's Landhaus included unlimited spiced wine (warm), a curling rink, a sledding hill and two beautiful huskies, all within the walls with only us and one other staying there. It was a superb beginning to what would turn out to be one of the best vacations of all time (even though Kate was unable to ski because of the "bump").

Kevin holds Laura, Nick and Katie. (large)

Kate is looking pretty pregnant. (large)

Katie ready to ski. (large)

The first day involved picking up the ski equipment and getting to the afternoon ski lessons for the kids. All three of the kids were great, though Katie was taken out prematurely by an errant snowboarder (no harm done, just the scare). That evening involved a group (kid) bath and dinner with Katia's parents, Petros and Natasha (whom we had already met in Athens when we were generously invited to stay in their house with Veit and Laura during our 1999 summer vacation).

Dinner was at a local restaurant (5 minute walk) where we would eat 3 times during the week (Veit, Katia, and Laura ate their the evening of the 27th as well), but at least the food was good and we had a large table which accomodated our various combinations very nicely.

Kids in tub. (large)

Group with Huskies in the dark. (large)

Tuesday, the 28th, saw us out for morning ski lessons with the kids. Laura was with her Daddy and Katia headed for Graz, so Nick and Katie were alone in the lesson. They had a great lesson even though it was very cold and very snowy. They hung tough for 2 full hours outside (unwilling to stop early) before we brought them in and took them home for an afternoon of hanging out, sledding, and playing with the Huskies.

Katie with Huskies. (large)

Snowy scene watching kids sledding. (large)

Petros with Huskies (large) -->

Group in "our" table at local restaurant on Maria's birthday. (large)

<-- Veit and Katia sledding (she thinks he's in control). (large)

On Wednesday, the 29th, all three kids took part in the morning ski lesson and by the end of it they were skiing like champions. Kevin skiied with the kids in the afternoon while Veit and Katia did some cross-country skiing. The kids had a new instructor, Karl, who is a retired train engineer. He is an outstanding ski instructor and the kids were extremely attentive as his manner was ultra kind and very informed. They were superb and I loved every minute of it. We learned a bunch of new tricks (like skiing between Kevin's legs) and all were insisting on "going by myself" both up the lift and down the hill from the top.

Kevin leading the kids down (Nick was constantly held back and wanted to go faster). (large)

Kevin leading the kids down while Katie bolts from the line and Veit runs alongside. (large)

Patiently waiting in the lift line. (large)

Kids chillin' on bed watching a DVD after a full day of skiing. (large)

On Thursday Veit, Katia, and Laura were all suffering badly from a stomach flu of some sort and the rest of us were waiting and worrying about when it would hit us. They had all had a terrible night and none was up to heading outside for any reason. Kevin took Nick and Katie to the morning lesson in any case. This day involved a significant step as the kids moved off of the Bunny Hill and onto the small T-bar hill, which the kids mastered almost immediately. Following two runs there, Karl decided to make a big move and go to the grown-up slopes. Nick and Katie both displayed complete mastery of the snowplow, with Nick now focusing on his parallel skiing technique (which Karl was keen for him to perfect). Even on steep, intermediate-level runs, the kids were having no problems (though Katie was hit for the second time in the week, this time by a woman as she fell... again no damage just a little scare).

At the end of the day, we headed back to the chalet, pictured below, and mounded snow (it had snowed every day and we had lots of snow) to make a snow cave. We also called Grandmother to tell her what a wonderful time we were having (and arrange some logistics for her upcoming visit).

Nick and Daddy built snow cave. (large) -->

Nick and Daddy exiting snow cave. (large)

Nick in snow cave. (large)

Karl leading the kids down from 1,800m. (large)

Daddy with kids at the peak. (large)

Karl with kids at 1,800m. (large)

Group playing an Austrian version of curling. (large)

Kate and Kevin with Laura, Nick and Katie on the ice. (large) -->

Early evening celebrations of the millennium change. (large)

Toast to the last lunch of the millennium. (large)

New Year's Eve was excellent with all three kids staying up past midnight (and appreciating the event) and no stomach flu interference with the champagne and celebrations. At midnight we were outside for a surprisingly impressive fireworks display from the town (right over Xaver's backyard) with lots of hats and crackers and noisemakers to go around courtesy of Kevin and Kate. The millenium change was an outstanding family and friends-oriented event and will remain in all of our memories forever.

In spite of the late night, Kevin and Nick still made it out skiing at 9:00am, returning at lunch. Then Katie wanted to go skiing again, but Nick wanted to sled and play with the Huskies, so Daddy and Katie went out skiing joined by Veit and Laura for the final afternoon. (On the following day, in spite of her rough week with the flu, Laura also made it to the summit with Karl and skiied down from 1,800m.)

Celebrating the Millenium (large)

Nick, Katie and Kate at Midnight. (large)