Friday February 8^th

Marko took Morti and me down to the Bahnhof around 5:30 this morning for us to get on our way to the Weltmeisterschaft Skirennen in Schladming (the World Cup). The train took us to Salzburg where we transferred and rode to Schladming. Some trains here have private cabins, and luckily we got one such train on the last 3 hour stretch. Travelling here consists of watching movies, talking, reading and eating pretty much. We got to Schladming before lunch and even at the train station there were some stands playing loud Euro Pop music. We walked to the middle of town and took a little while to find our hotel. Martina’s aunt and cousin both own hotels in Schladming so we lucked out and got 2 free rooms along with our free tickets, throw in complimentary breakfast and lunches in the VIP lounge of the hotel and you’ve got a pretty good deal. Our hotel was directly across from the main stage, and was around the corner of ORF (the TV station covering the event). VIP’s and ski racers would come hang out in the ORF building right next to ours so sometime we would have to go through a security check point before going down the street to our hotel. Martina’s cousin greeted us at Hotel Jufa and showed us to our room. We unpacked and Morti ran a quick errand to the phrmacy then we went to watch the second part of the Women’s Combined. The stage was gigantic, with over 40,000 onlookers (that’s all of Bozeman, or Dornbirn in one place). I was snapping photos the whole time, we got to see Julia Mancuso and Laurenne Ross race which was awesome. No Americans or Austrians won, but Tina Maze and Anna Fenninger raced it was very cool. Right outside of the stage were festivities, little snack bars, and portable bars. Having not eaten yet we walked about 10 minutes to get to Martina’s aunt and get a free lunch. She greeted us warmly and we got some great food for free. By the end of the day we were tired, but we went to the awards ceremony to watch a German woman take the gold. We wandered through the little market (pretty much the same as the hundreds of Christmas markets) and grabbed a Döner for dinner. Around 10 we went back to the hotel and watched a movie.

Sorry the photos are out of order, it is hard to keep them organized with 3 different cameras and 3 different naming systems! (My Nikon, my FujiFilm and my phone)

One of the bands who played in the down times

Schladming church

At the medals ceremony

The main stage

Patriotism!

A lot of colors and cultures in this picture

Maria Hoefl-Riesch as the winner!

The podium

Celebrations were in order

On the train there

First view of the run

At the station

Greeting tents

A sunny day for arrival, the nicest weather of the trip

Pretty much picture book right there

Entering town

There she blows

The main festivities

Moving through the crowd

First glimpse of the main stage

Some early onlookers

The little market

Walking amongst the others