Skiing for the 1st time in Europe

Now that it has finally gotten warm in Berlin, I am waxing poetic about our time in the snow. Go figure....

It sounds so bourgeois to say "the first time we went skiing in Europe", but it takes it down to about the right level when you hear it was actually in a discount resort town of Liberec, Czech Republic and it was our first time skiing ever so we fell...a lot.

When our friends mentioned the trip we were all in without even considering the almost inevitable harm we were welcoming on our frail bodies. But as soon as details were finalized and hotel booked, I could see our horrible fate. Mangled bodies lying at the bottom of a slope. Parents receiving pieces of us intermingled with rented ski gear . Our friends exclaiming "We didn't know they would be that bad!"

Liberec , Czech Republic

 

Just like that - we were off on ski trip. Bohemia (the western two-thirds of the Czech Republic) the Guardian describes as "...like Bulgaria before Crystal Holidays arrived." Liberec was our destination, nestled in the Jizera Mountains and Ještěd-Kozákov Ridge. Originally settled by Germans, the town had become well-known for it's textile industry and was nicknamed the "Manchester of Bohemia". Today, it is a little run-down, and totally amazing.

Details: 

• City site -  http://www.liberec.cz/cz/  
• Ski resort Jested - http://www.skijested.cz/ offers one cabin lift, 3 chair lifts and 5 lifts, snacks bars, toboggan run, ski schools, accommodation, rent of skies. It's known for the alien looking think on top, but sadly we couldn't see it because of the fog.  
• Apartma SunGarden Liberec - http://www.booking.com/hotel/cz/apartma-sungarden-liberec.html Lots of accommodations for bargain basement prices, but we chose this place for the ability to walk into the city center.  It was lovely! And we were surprised to receive 2 full apartments (each with it's own kitchen/bath/tv/safe etc.) for the 4 of us.
• Water Park with Wellness Center - http://www.centrumbabylon.cz/en/babylon/ 
  

Somehow we made it through and it was amazing. I don't mean unharmed. I'm not joking when I say we fell a lot. It took a solid 10+ runs on the short blue hill for me to make it without totally wiping out. Ian had it worse, failing to grasp the delicate balance in turning until about the last hour. But it was still magical! Serious winter wonderland loving. So you can do it too, here are....

8 Tips for your First Ski Trip

• Only go with true friends. You are going to look ridiculous and you want people around who are going to laugh at you, but not too much.
• Invest in gear. All the moving around paired with having anything seasonal still in the US meant that we had practically nothing ski ready. We simply couldn't buy all new clothes so we prioritized. We both purchased water proof gloves and snow pants as those seemed a necessity. I got pants discount at Humana (second-hand store) for 7 euros and Ian shelled out 25 for his at Real. I found 20 euro snow boots at Real that were a great find, while both of us used jackets we had. Ian searched and failed to find snow boots. 
• Find a mountain/run/spot without pros. I think it would be hellacious to go somewhere crawling with pros to run you down and yell at you. Our fiends had cleverly scheduled the trip so we skiied on a Monday and the vibe was pretty low-key with the people around us exhibiting extreme patience with our novice skills. 

•  Get lessons...maybe. We were told to get lessons and clearly this is a good idea, but we didn't. Our friends patiently helped us down the hill and explained that converting someone to skiing was a pleasure in itself. They are saints. 
• Keep your knees bent. Ian swears this what helped him finally stay up. I could swear they told him that the first 20 times he fell down...
• Bring some money/food. Skiing is tiring. You are going to need a re-charge.
• Just keep trying! I was surprisingly persistent and felt myself getting better with each go. It reminded me of riding horses and I just needed to practice reading the cues and controlling my reactions.
• Choose a soothing after activity. When we heard there was a water park in the town we knew where the after party was being held. It. was. glorious. And beer. Beer helps.

 

 Bonus Side Trip: Bautzen

Since our fabulous friends come bonus with car, we got a bonus trip to lovely Bautzen, land of mustard. We had to watch out for killer snowfall from the many beautiful rooftops, but the city was pretty enough to warrant the risk.  

Avalanche Danger!

Perfect snowball weather

Bautz'ner Senf (mustard) 

An East Germany specialty, the restaurants and cafes of Bautzen proudly advertise their spicy sauce. Available at just .35 a small container in every grocery store, the little shop in the center of the town provides a thorough history, postcards & trinkets, and at least 12 different varieties of mustard. We sampled a few before I tasted orange senf. Sold! By far, the most delicious (and expensive at 8 euro per large container!), we are just finishing our delicious jar 2 months later.

 

delicious mustard - senf

More pics of us looking ridiculous on skis, lovely Bautzen, and some other fun places to stop can be found on our album "skiing for the first time".