Thursday, January 05, 2012

Kilt butts and weiners. No, really.

Obviously we had an awesome time in Austria and Scotland.

Helloooooo Alps.

It's hard to smile bigger than this.

I mean, there was snow, beer, schnapps, Weinerschnitzel, skiing, lifts with heated seats and bubble covers, fries with everything, bacon wrapped wurst, kilts, castles, street parties, fireworks shows big enough to annihilate a small village, wedges of melted brie, Scotch, whisky and G&Ts in a can.

Also, haggis.

And just to get that out of the way before I get too deep into my recounting, YES I ATE HAGGIS. Also, black pudding.

Haggis = good. Black pudding = less good.

That's pretty much all I derived from that experience, so there you go. We all tried both and we all lived and no one retched. We all went back for a second try at the haggis and we all agreed that the black pudding, while edible, was sort of a worthless food. Like tofu, but from blood rather than soybeans, which - appetizing.

The kilts though...MEMORABLE.

AKA Hard to forget.

Perhaps you recall my not so secret wish for a Kilt Flipping Good New Year?

This guy did, too, and he was all about granting that wish. Generous folks these Scots.



Beyond the kilt flipping? Well, we decided that we love Scotland. Edinburgh so far, but we're going back for more, probably at New Year's 2012-2013 because we had just that much fun and left a lot of booze undrunk.

And that's just Scotch and whisky.

Like, for instance, did you know that in Scotland you can buy Gin and Tonic in a can? YOU CAN. And then you can, say, haul it around with you all premixed and ready to drink while you walk from castle to cathedral to cemetery and so on.

I mean, it's no Hendrick's and Fever Tree with a twist of Meyer lemon, but it's portable and sometimes that's enough.
 Not that I did.

I mean, it wasn't necessary since everything we did involved a cocktail break before and after. Even if what we were doing was going to a pub.

Proper Hendrick's and tonic with a cucumber slice and rose petal garnish.

Prosecco with a rose petal garnish because WHY NOT.

So *maybe* there was some drinking.

Oh Edinburgh - we loved you so, you saucy bitch, you.


Before all that though, there was Austria.

For those of you in the US - don't worry, someone has snow right now.
Not sure if you've noticed, but we are very light on snow this year in the States. It's sad. Austria though? No problemo.

Welcome to proper snow.

Welcome to off-piste.


Welcome to D.A. making fun while you crash.

And welcome to a giant snow storm as we sadly headed to the airport.
As with so many of our ski trips, the storm held out until our final days, but that was actually fine because it gave us plenty of time to get the lay of the land in Arlberg which, by the way, is fucking massive.

And 120 euro gets you access to all of it. HELLO, TAHOE ARE YOU LISTENING?
Also, local folks wait around for the slopes to be "properly prepared", which means that you can go out and ski powder without too many people gumming up the works if you can catch the lift first thing in the morning before they groom.

And why wouldn't you when the lifts have bubble covers and heated seats?
It was lovely. Even though I wrecked my shoulder and we had to fight through a big old storm to get to the airport where we were LUCKY to get the last flight out.

Austrians know how to clear an effing runway.

Love you, Austria.

Missing you already.
So, yeah, Austria and Scotland were good times. Made even more so thanks to our travel buddies and their insatiable desire for all things snow, booze and food.



11 comments:

  1. So, you went skiing in Austria. I didn't do that when I was there. Mostly because I don't know how to ski...but I also had the flu and it was the most horrible experience. I basically lived off of pizza from a little pseudo-Italian pizza place a couple of blocks from our hotel in Vienna. It was all I could stand to eat without throwing up.

    I recommend Salzburg in the summer. It's quite lovely. We went in winter and while it was still great, it was cold and snowy and that sucked. Summer would be good...

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  2. In the wish-granting video, is the music in the background saying "here, here, here the fuck we go?"

    If so, then Scotland seems like my kind of place. (Ok, even if not, anywhere that both garnishes g&t with a rose petal and sells it in a can seems like my kind of place.)

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    1. Know what? The Scots around us at the Primal Scream show were chanting that. I'd never been so confused and amused in my life. Ach! (My best Scottish phrase)

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  3. Renee - Oh no! That would be a bummer to be there and be sick. Since we went specifically to ski, we were happy to have the big storm. And we did actually eat pizza while we were there - and it was GOOD!

    I definitely want to go back in summer. It all looks so beautiful. Vienna and Salzburg are on the list.

    CLP - I have no idea, but that would definitely fit the scene. I love the Scottish - they're pleasantly foul mouthed and enjoyable. Plus, DRINKING.

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  4. Oh, you lucky kids! Two very awesome places to visit -- I can't even imagine how much fun you must've had. (Did you go see Mary King's Close in Edinburgh? A bit touristy, but interesting.) Glad to see you survived and are home safely. (Video is unavailable -- boo, because we all know how I lurve those kilts!)

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  5. yay for you guys, plus, you escaped the holidays here, which is double yay. happy new year and a fab 2012 to you and your crew (meaning animals, etc)!

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  6. Wow, that looks pretty fucking epic. You people know how to travel. I am way too wussy for that shit. My hubs and I got into a fight in the airport in Mexico because we were stressed out about the exchange rate between a Peso and a Dollar. Looks like a blast!

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  7. Is anyone allergic to awesome?

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    Replies
    1. Not me! And not the Flying Monkeys either, cuz they'd be allergic to themselves, and that would be sad and weird.

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  8. You're title got you banned on my work computer WOOPS! haha

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  9. Looks like you had a wonderful time.

    Thanks for taking me along - this is exactly how I like to see snow - in pictures. ;>

    What's with the video? It keeps telling me it is unavailable and to try again.

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[2013 update: You can't comment as an anonymous person anymore. Too many douchebags were leaving bullshit SPAM comments and my inbox was getting flooded, but if you're here to comment in a real way like a real person, go to it.]

Look at you commenting, that's fun.

So, here's the thing with commenting, unless you have an email address associated with your own profile, your comment will still post, but I won't have an email address with which to reply to you personally.

Sucks, right?

Anyway, to remedy this, I usually come back to my posts and post replies in the comment field with you.

But, if you ever want to email me directly to talk about pumpkins or shoes or what it's like to spend a good part of your day Swiffering - shoot me an email to finnyknitsATgmailDOTcom.

Cheers.