Austria

We went to Austria for the annual February "ski vacation." We have been going to the same place in Austria now for three years. It's a beautiful spot...

... though there wasn't much snow this year - the warmest winter in the Alps in something like 1,300 years. This is the slope at Kirchdorf, nearest our hotel. Normally, they have a couple yards of snow at this time of year.

This is the view from our hotel room.

Still, there was enough snow at the top of a nearby mountain to ski.

Anna and I only skiied two and a half days.

But the boys were in a ski school that kept them busy every day from about 9:30 to 3 p.m.

True, contemplating the drop from a chairlift.

Anna at the bottom.

True, putting on deodorant. Yes, even True is growing up.

He was determined to win first place in his class in the annual end-of-the-week grand slalom race.

Here, he is carrying his skis to the lift.

And here he is standing on the winner's podium with his certificate. He came in first out of class of 13. Mission accomplished!

Sky did well, too, though he was in a more advanced class.

This is True and Anna watching Sky get his medal. The pictures of Sky came out blurry.

After the race, we all went skiing together.

True took this picture.

One of the boys' favorite dishes in Austria is Kaiserschmarrn.

Me, on a chairlift, by True.

This is a Kaiserschmarrn that Anna and I ate at another place on the mountain. It's a kind of pancake served with plum compote.

Anna likes it, too.

Anna and I took a day off and went to Innsbruck.

It's a beautiful town surrounded by mountains.

This is the square in front of the cathedral.

We took another day off and went to Salzburg. Sky went with us that time.

We visited Mozart's house.

This is one of his pianos. The main keys were black and the "black" keys were white.

We also visited the apartment where he was born and lived as a child.