Page 30 - SRCG_Spring_HTML_2011

CMSC Hits the Slopes

in Bad Gastein, Austria

By Randy Baustert, Trip Leader

A
A group of 45 CMSC club members flew Lufthansa
to Munich and then bussed 3½ hours to Bad Gastein
in late January, 2011.

We had icy slopes the first day, followed by four
days of snow, which meant limited visibility, but lots
of snow. The sixth day was sunny and beautiful.

Bad Gastein is only a small part of the Ski Amade
ski pass but has plenty of skiing for a week without
ever leaving the Gastein Valley. In six days we skied
Graukogel, Sportgastein, Stubnerkogel to Bad
Hofgastein and Dorfgastein to Grossarl—all in the
Gastein Valley. One of our skiers used the bus and
train system to venture out of the valley for a day of
skiing in St Johann.

Our group did more side trips this year than I’ve
ever seen on a Europe trip, I think because of the
snowy days and limited visibility. Many went to
Salzburg; many went there more than one day. They The Alps provided an ideal setting for January’s European escapade.
visited Salzburg’s square and fortress, the cathedral
and other sections of Old Town. Several did a return trip We stayed in the Weismayr hotel in Bad Gastein, a beauti-
to Salzburg for Mozart’s birthday, featuring a festival, ful old hotel built in 1832—good food, location near the
musicians, his grave and house, and of course shopping. casino and a new pool area. But the hotel could use some
touchups.
Some did cross-country on Elizabeth promenade. Some
hiked to Sportgastein on the Kaizer Wilhelm I promenade. After a week seven went home and 38 stayed for the
Two made a day trip to Kitzbühel for sightseeing and Munich extension. In Munich we stayed in the King’s Hotel
shopping. Center, a three-star hotel. I’d recommend this hotel to
anyone. It’s an extra block to walk to the old
section of town, but a great hotel for the price.

Many toured Dachau, the Neuschwanstein
and Linderhof castles, and the old part
of town with its churches, museums,
Glockenspiel, Hofbrau Haus, the Residence
and more shopping.

We ended the trip with a cancelled flight
to O’Hare due to the blizzard in Chicago.
This meant an extra day of sightseeing in
Munich. We finally made our way home
on SAS via Copenhagen. Many thanks to
Lufthansa for helping us return home during
such a bad storm.

Thanks to everyone who was on the trip.
It’s the people on the trip that make a good
CMSC club members came away with warm memories of their Austrian adventure. destination a great destination.

30 ❖ MIDWEST SKIER SPRING 2011 ❖ www.skicmsc.com