Posted by 3rd day in the Austrian Alps…
We woke up daily to freshly fallen snow during our stay in Obergurgl. But that morning was different. The snow looked furious and it was coming down hard. Visibility was low and the eerie sound from the howling winds followed by blaring sirens confirmed our suspicion. There was a snow storm. The slopes were a no-go. Avalanche warnings filled the village, there would be no snowboarding for our boys that day.
Here’s our home video of that morning as we walked through the village amidst the bleak weather. 🙂
The snow started to die down around midday. When we saw signs of the grey clouds retreating, we were out of the door in an instant and heading down to the meadow.
We went for a walk. It felt wonderful and scary at the same time to step on the soft, deep snow and create fresh tracks. We had to be cautious though as there were small streams, like cracks with fast flowing water, coming out of nowhere.
“Right after the storm is apparently the best time to do snow angels,” quipped our teen in between the flapping of his wings.
“And sledding would be epic!” added the little one.
“Let’s bury mum!” they both agreed.
“I’ll race you, dad!” and off they go, speeding down the hill on their sleds.
These would seem trivial to those who experience snow yearly, but to us who hail from a country in perpetual summer (not that it’s bad), playing in the snow makes for some unforgettable memories.
The other nice things we did after the storm was to thaw in the warm pool in our chalet, and eat warm bread, pasta and mussels at the nearby Pizzeria Belmonte.
That stormy day in the Alps was Christmas Eve. We planned to attend the evening mass but we agreed that at -14 degree Celcius and with residual winds from the storm, walking to the church would be punishing. And so we just visited the church hours before the mass to say our own prayers.
After some rest in the apartment, we were ready again. First, to socialise at the Christmas Eve gathering organised by our chalet owner, and second, for our family dinner at Steakhouse Salz & Pfeffer.
We did our traditional exchange-gifts once we got back to the apartment. Each item should be meaningful, not more than 50 euros and has to be picked up along the way during our holiday. The thoughtful gifts from that night – a soap dish 🙂 , a beanie, a small wooden rosary, a Holy Family snow globe, an Iphone carrier, a BMW fridge magnet, pairs of ski socks, a pair of ski goggles, and a balaclava. 🙂
At 1930m above sea level, in a remote village in the Austrian Alps, we got the Christmas that we hoped for – traditional, solemn and prayer-filled.
–xoxo–
(We were extremely lucky because the storm that day was mild. The storms that followed the week after claimed the life of a teen in another Austrian ski resort and a few more in Salzburg and Germany.)
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Here are the other blogs on our Bavaria and Austria Holiday:
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- Munich: Start of our family’s tales from last winter
- Munich: Viktualienmarkt Biergarten
- Munich: BMW Museum and BMW Welt
- Munich: Theatine Church and Odeonplatz
- Munich: Christmas Markets
- Munich: Hofbrauhaus Beer Hall
- Munich: City Aparthotel München
- Salzburg: Birthplace of Mozart and Silent Night
- Salzburg: Hohensalzburg Fortress
- Salzburg: Residenzplatz Christmas Market
- Salzburg: Salzburg Cathedral
- Salzburg: Silent Night 200 at Salzburg Museum
- Salzburg: Silent Night Tour by Bob’s Special Tour
- Salzburg: Silent Night at Oberndorf and Laufen
- Salzkammergut: Road Trip to Hallstatt
- Salzkammergut: Christmas Market at St Wolfgang
- Salzburg: Krampus Run at Hellbrunn Palace
- Salzburg: Imlauer Hotel Pitter Salzburg
- Obergurgl: A Week in the Austrian Alps
- Obergurgl: Chalet Obergurgl Luxury Apartments
- Obergurgl: Hohe Mut Alm Mountain Restaurant
- Obergurgl: Snowstorm on Christmas Eve
- Obergurgl: Day After the Storm
- Obergurgl: Snowshoeing
- Hochgurgl: Tobogganing
- Hochgurgl: Hochgurgl Cable Car Ride
- Vienna: First Impressions
- Vienna: Hofburgkapelle and Imperial Armoury
- Vienna: Schönbrunn Palace
- Vienna: Imperial Treasury and Hofburg
- Vienna: Prater
- Vienna: New Year’s Eve Fireworks and Waltz
- Vienna: Hilton Vienna Plaza
- Stuttgart: The Mercedes-Benz Museum
- Stuttgart: The Porsche Museum
We Travel Happy 
Hi. Was that the umbrella bar at the Edelweiss & Gurgl hotel in your video clip?
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Hi there Charlie, yes it was. I was glad that it was right there at that moment because I was starting to freeze already.
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Hi. That’s intense and immense snow.
The food at the pizzeria looks delicious. Was it as good as it looks?
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Hi there Neil, the food’s great in that Italian resto, even the mussels! Difficult to find seats though, especially at dinner. Yeah we were just lucky that the storm was mild. The heavy ones we’ve experienced were up in Klein Matterhorn in Zermatt, and in Tahoe in California.
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Have only been in Austria in summer. Can you believe it today Nov. 26, snow fell , where we live , not far from Sacramento. Has never been this early! See you had a great time there., and the food looks delicious.
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Hello there, thanks for dropping by. Is it Sacramento in California? We love Sacramento. On the year that we were there, the wild fires had just stopped in November. That’s good that you have snow early this year, right? Do you go to Tahoe? That’s where we went skiing one winter and there were snow storms week after week. — Amor
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Oh wow, that is some wild weather and sooo cold. Glad you had a lovely Christmas though. Xx
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And the winds were so strong that there was no way we could open our eyes without shades or goggles. Thanks for dropping by Lorelle. I’m sure you’re quite busy now preparing for your trip 🙂
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Not long to go now. Yes. Crazy here with work and last minute organisations.
Have a great day. Xx
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Looks like you all had a great time. Wonderful photos
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Thank you for the kind words. Yes we enjoyed tremendously even during the storm. 🙂
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Looks lovely. Reminds me of a snowstorm in Cervinia when the slopes closed. We ended up sledging and snow tubing in the fun park with lots of children, warming up in the Welsh pub watching the football before retiring to the hotel pool. You can have so much fun even when things go wrong! Gift exchange on Christmas Eve though? That would be bad luck in our country! 🙂
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The placed did look prettier after the dump of snow. Sounds fun in Cervinia. My son was just telling me last Saturday to have a look at it for next year. I also just heard last week that it’s bad luck playing Christmas carols in some parts of the UK?! Hahah… where I came from (Philippines), we play Christmas carols as early as September (yeah my folks are way too excited every year). 🙂
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Our shops seem to decorate for Christmas earlier each year but I was always tought not to open presents before Christmas day. In some European countries it is not till January 6th which I think commemorates when the wise men arrived bearing gifts. If you plan a Christmas itinerary right, you could get 3 gift opening days! 😜
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Oh yes yes no opening of gifts but on Christmas morning for our family, too. But that time was an exception, the kids couldn’t believe it too. Jan 6 would be too long a wait hahah
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