This is not something I ever really expected to say. 'I am going skiing'. Not to A.. as Sweden is 'fully booked, I'm afraid'. Is that likely? Every room in the entire country? But to Seefeld in Austria. Last night I had decided that the whole thing was not meant to be and my son seemed to have lost interest. This morning, however, there was brilliant sunshine and a feeling of hope in the air and I thought 'Stop being so crap all the time'. Odd that if it had been raining I almost certainly would not have made the effort. Perhaps if I had lived in Spain all my life I would be a dynamo of positivism. With the usual high level of synchronicity, the first travel site I chose from about fifty turned out to be owned by someone I once knew vaguely as we both wrote for the same magazine, (him about winter sports). I sent a description of my ideal holiday, based heavily on A..., and mentioning my allergy to children and within an hour a charming youth rang me with the details of Seefeld. And within three more phone calls - the holiday was mine. I think it may have been the last spare skiing holiday in Europe.

Earlier I had decided that if all else failed we would go to the 'relatively undiscovered' snow fields of Romania. 'Surprisingly comfortable hotels and restaurants boasting open fires, live bands and the regional dish of roast bear meat'. When I was about to settle for Austria I asked the youth about Romania. 'I have to say I wouldn't go myself. It is still very primitive and full of cut-price Eastern Europeans'. 'The guide mentioned eating roast bear meat'. 'Well there you are - that pretty much says it all'. Anyway, no way in the world would I have eaten some poor bear, you have to draw the line somewhere. Reindeer, on the other hand.

My son is very suspicious of sudden decisions and thinks that this holiday may be in some way doomed. (I haven't yet told him that he is signed on for the 'Beginners Package' which involves four hours tuition every day and starts several hours before he normally gets up). Oh well, f@ck it. Surely it must have some moments of pleasure? Although I now see that the hotel has a 'free creche'. Why would they need that when there aren't any children? Seefeld - 'A small beautiful town in the Austrian Tyrol....stylish and sophisticated...casino....horse-drawn sleighs... shopping opportunities....'. Cool - I can stock up on green felt garments with embroidered leaping antelopes.

Speaking of Austria and stylish and sophisticated. When I was ten my best friend and favourite person in the world was called Sophie and she lived a life of (to me) amazing glamour. Her father was a well-known scientist and they lived in a stunning house rented from the University. It was featured in a book by C.P. wonS called 'The sretsaM' as the residence of one of the main characters and I recognised it immediately when he mentioned the mirrored hall. Sophie and I spent hours in front of those mirrors in various forms of dressing up clothes. The main staircase was reflected and we would sweep down gorgeously, staring at ourselves. Not only was she very, very pretty but she had THREE handsome older brothers.

AND the house, which was massive, was actually divided in half and in the other half lived another glamorous family who had four children too. Who were identical in ages but the three oldest were girls and the Sophie one was a boy..... And the mother was a famous ballet teacher and her studio was in the house and Sophie could go through and join in any class she wanted. This was when we all wanted to be a ballerina more than anything in the world. I practically lived there for about two years and nobody minded because the house was so full of people and every meal was at an endless table set for twenty with wonderful unusual food. The garden was also endless with 100 foot trees and exciting, slightly dangerous things like car tyre swings hanging scarily high up.

At that time my parents were still happy to take all their holidays in Cornwall or Scotland and I had never been abroad. Sophie.. however... Her father's work concerned velocity or something and part of it was that he had invented a coating that made skis go faster. To 'further his research' he was forced to take his entire family on extended skiing holidays every year and the next door family usually went too. I loved Sophie but sometimes it was all too much. My winter holidays were spent ... at home. The piles of photographs of laughing people on snowy peaks, of 'marmots'(?), of people drinking 'gluhwein'(?), the treasured pressed flowers - 'gentians' and 'eidelweiss' (?) and unbearable exotica like her miniature Austrian dress with lace apron. How could anyone have a life so perfect? Why oh why couldn't I have holidays like that and bring home things like that? Well, finally, next week I will.
- posted by Iris @ 1/28/2004 07:47:00 PM comment