Heathrow Airport, Friday 6am. The somewhat disshevelled looking ANTO team makes its way through security with only one thought on the mind at this time in the morning – coffee! But as soon as the first gulp of caffeine has made its way into the system, life springs into our Austrian-loving veins and we chat excitedly about the weekend’s regional meeting in the beautiful Zillertal.
We arrive at Munich airport to stunning sunshine, collect our hire car and commence on a picturesque road trip led by our regional manager, Herwig Kolzer, who steers on valiantly despite only 3 hours sleep, until we reach our destination of the Posthotel in Zell im Zillertal. Here we assemble with our regional colleagues from Stockholm and Copenhagen, before checking into our allocated appartments and rooms.
The hotel is fantastic, newly constructed from head to toe in natural materials, with its own swimming pool, sauna area and gym. What’s more, the views of the mountains are stunning, and once we have enjoyed a welcoming buffet of local bread, meat and cheese we are ready to put our heads together for the afternoon’s meetings, kick-started with an introduction to Zillertal by managing director Gernot Paesold.
7.30pm and time for a quick change before we clamber back into the hire cars for dinner at Hotel Edenlehen in Mayrhofen. We take seats in the immaculately set private dining area and eagerly discuss which dish to choose from the mouth-watering menu. Yet once the waitress has poured wine, the first perfectly presented starter is served for all, and it becomes clear that the menu was not in fact optional, but everyone will be enjoying the entire 7 course feast – brilliant!
3 hours later our stomaches are ready to pop with satisfaction and there is no better way to end the day than hit the after parties of the Snowbombing Festival in Mayrhofen where the crowds appear to just be getting going when we call it a day and head back to the hotel.
Saturday is split into a skier’s and non-skier’s programme. The skiers have an early start, hiring their gear and attacking the slopes of the Hochzillertal / Hochfügen area by 9am. Us none-skiers (yes, there are members of the ANTO who cannot actually ski!) take it more leisurely with a stroll through Zell am Zillertal, before taking the cable car up the mountain to join the rest of the team for lunch at the fabulously chilled out Platzlalm.
After lunch the skiers climb further heights to enjoy the spectacular views from the legendary Kristallhütte, while the highlight for non-skiers is a lift back down to the cable car in the Platzlalm’s skidoo. Back at the hotel we enjoy the outdoor pool and sauna area, before all meeting again for dinner at Landgasthof Linde in Stumm – what a life!
Sunday morning we wake up to bright sunshine once again – the perfect weather to take a trip up to the peaks on Austria’s largest cable car, the Ahornbahn. As the blue and yellow vessel climbs the heights I can only thank my lucky stars that it is a perfectly calm day. Despite slightly wobbly legs I allow myself to peer at the view from the safety of centre cabin, concealing shades, and a pole that seems to have become my best friend, and even I can tell you that it is magnificent! At the top we take a peak into the Iglu Hotel’s White Lounge which really does have to be the coolest of bars, built within an actual igloo.
We had come to the final stage of our trip and it was time to head back down the mountain to hit the Arena Coaster in Zell. Really and truly there could have been no better way to end the weekend than the rush down this 1450m coaster of fun.
Standing at the bottom we witnessed half a dozen excited kids clambering into the toboggans, strapping themselves in and embarking on the journey up the mountain, before whizzing down the steep drops and sharp turns of the track. The questions that came to mind were a. would we fit in those things? b. would we get the hang of the brakes? c. how fast did they exactly go, especially after a lunch of sausages and ice cream?
Yet after one ride down the Arena Coaster those questions become irrelevant, as a group of 15 slightly flushed and windswept adults gathered at the bottom of the track with only one more question: “Can we go again please!?”
original on treasures.austria.info
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