I can't quite believe we are into February already, spring is on the horizon although there might be a fair bit of snow to get through before it finally arrives. The weather has been variable - OK so I get this months prize for stating the obvious- what I was trying to say was that the temperatures have been very erratic. A few days mild weather followed by days cold enough to have one worried for the manhood of any brass monkeys unwise enough to be in the valley. We have had a few ice climbers staying but when a warmer spell and a weekend coincide then nobody comes. On a brighter note bookings for the summer continue to come in. We now have more than 400 bed nights booked as a direct result of our stand at the motorcycle show. We have also just taken two bookings from school groups for early summer. As someone who empathises with the man who said" It's not that I don't like children it's just that I can never manage a whole one" they are something of a trial. However I will try to remain positive, at least we limit them to one class. The first year here we had 55 kids at one time, an AK47 would have been very handy!

Just because we have few guests does not mean we don't keep busy, there is always a list of jobs to do. We have also been working on our contacts here. We are working in partnership with a local coach company to enable us to offer all inclusive packages to groups of walkers. The aim is to remove the need for car hire, we collect from the airport and arrange transport to and from the walks. There will be,this summer, a walker's bus shuttle service run by the National Park which will be wonderful for individuals or small groups but would be overwhelmed if for instance a group of 20 arrived from England- you are coming aren't you?

We drove to Salzburg to visit the KTM dealer (to you poor souls who have no idea what a KTM is and why it should have a dealer I extend my deepest sympathy)

We hope that guests who have little time for,or don't want to, travel all the way to us by road will be able to hire a KTM in Salzburg.

Last week we attended a six hour meeting at the local council offices. A brand new building erected last year when the previous building was deemed a total loss following a small fire, it has every modern convenience. Well it would if some of the locals were not convinced that the internet is the work of the devil and is to be resisted at all costs, so no wireless internet facility.

The meeting was to decide the direction to be taken as regards tourism over the next five years. We were pleased to see a good turn out and even more pleased to see people speaking their minds. I found it very hard, six hours of discussion, all in the local accent, I doubt I fully understood more than 25% of what was said.
Ros did very well in understanding most of what was going on and even speaking to the meeting.

We were reasonably pleased with the outcome and hope for better things once some of the changes take effect.

Last Sunday we gave ourselves some time off and went walking in the snow. We went with our friend Andrea (mad as a box of frogs) and her dog(ditto) from her place at Pflugelhof up the valley to see the ice tree. It was great to be outdoors after several days inside, yes it was cold, but properly dressed the cold did not matter. We walked along the cycle track that runs up the valley, the views are great and the ice formations stunning. Photos can't do them justice as in real life the colours change with the light and with viewing angle. You just have to come and see for yourself.