Wednesday 16 April 2014

Green day white night



After a blazing March with balmy days and clear blue skies, April is biting back. One day this week lunch was eaten on the terrace in the sunshine and following morning Embach was white as in deepest winter.

Nature, and the rest of us were caught on the back foot. Buds bursting out on branches are now blasted and iced. In the garden, bushes had been unbound from the bonds that bind them tight in winter, protecting them from the weight of the snow.



Skis and boots have gone to the cellar and bikes brought out of their winter sleep. Scarves, woolly hats and winter clothes, washed and put away. Cars are running on quieter, smoother summer tyres. Heating systems turned off or down. Garden furniture returned to the terrace and now stand snow-bedecked and uninviting.

A few Easter guests are arriving for the last of the skiing on snow that will be a little refreshed. As they leave, the first summer arrivals will be on their way.




In a day or two this icy reminder of the winter will be gone and the spring flowers that brightened the meadows will raise their heads once again. It will soon be time for putting up the Maypole a traditional sign that summer really is on its way.


Thursday 3 April 2014

The ski or bike dilemma


There’s something special about springtime. It isn’t just the crocuses blooming in the meadows and primulas in the hedgerows, nor is it the pong that pervades the air as the farmers spread the winter’s dung across the fields. What is special about spring is the choice of activities that are possible.


Higher up, there is still good skiing to be had. For Alpine skiers, the slopes are quiet, the lifts empty and sometimes, like last weekend, the snow is in perfect condition. Ski tourers (the hardy types who hike up on skis just for the single run down) are enjoying the opportunities for reaching yet one more summit before putting the skis away. All skiers at this time of year enjoy the chance to sit outside the mountain huts with food and drink, and take in the sun and scenery.
 
Heading home after the last run of the the year
The early spring and warm March has cleared the snow from the bike routes and so it was perfect, on the following day, to ride around the Untersberg, the great rocky mountain that looms over Salzburg and straddles the Austrian-German border. While buds were bursting out on the trees, and the woodland trails were lined with blossoms, the snowy peaks glistened white in the sunshine.

Plenty of others had the same idea, had hauled their bikes out of hibernation and were exercising muscles that, like their cycles, had little exercise during the winter. Alpine skiing doesn’t do much for the pedalling muscles – nor does it do much for the bits that in spring make renewed and painful contact with the saddle.
 
Signs of spring and snow

The only difficulty in the spring is to make a choice: shall we have one last run on the ski slopes, or get the cycling season off to a good start? The many active people of all ages here are currently facing this dilemma. But it is possible to do both, if you are really keen or just can’t make up your mind.
A perfect spring picnic a day after skiing