In a winter fairyland

Back in Prague again after a most wonderful week in Austria where Matt and I drove to Schladming (about 2 hours south east of Salzburg) and I tried snowboarding for the first time ever!

It is a sensational feeling to be gliding down the mountain on a board, kind of like floating on clouds but the most i managed was probably a full minute of actually staying vertical. It has been a long while since i've been so sore and bruised from self-inflicted wounds - wait, have i ever? - albeit non intentional.

Next time i promised myself I will pad my body like a pro footballer first. It was great nonetheless and we stayed at a cute little B&B, an old farmhouse that has antique furniture made in the 17th and 18th century. The view was spectacular and the service was sincere and friendly.

While my body was given time to heal and do nothing but sit and lie down, Matt drove us in our rented Skoda to Salzburg. This is truly a beautiful part of the world, especially in winter with the snow covered alpine trees and winding roads. All the little cafes and restaurants are decked out with gorgeous antiques, ornate rugs, paintings framed in elaborate gold and the odd stuffed squirrel and huge antlers of animals which hung on the walls. We were both feeling under the weather, coughing and sneezing mainly, so we took it easy, gorging on oranges, cough lozenges and thirst-quenching Schladminger beer. Yum.

We did the Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg, guided by an upbeat Londoner who's been living there for 9+ years. She took us to all the famous spots where the film was made, explaining the true story of the Von Trapp family and some interesting facts about the movie itself. We even got to listen to the entire soundtrack of the film while in the bus, it has been a while for me. I'm excited about going home to rewatch the movie again and to introduce Matt to it for the first time. He thought he had seen the film a long time ago, but actually got it confused with the other Julie Andrews movie, Mary Poppins! Oooops. Well, I told him it'll all make sense when we see the film later. I bet he can't wait!

One of the best stops we made was when we got to see the pavillion where Liesl and messenger Ralph sang their famous "16 going 17" song, where they leap up on the benches and dance with each other, declaring their love and sharing their first kiss - remember? Anyways, although you can't go in and recreate the dance and song, you can stand outside it and take a picture. Apparently a few years ago an 82 year old woman went in and tried to leap from bench to bench in the pavillion while singing and broke a bone (leg or ankle i think). Since then, they've kept the doors locked.

For our last night in Salzburg, we went to a dinner-concert show in the Old Town where musicians and opera singers dress in old period costumes and entertain us with Mozart's famous works, mainly from his operas: The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni and the Marriage of Figaro.

We drove back to Prague yesterday along the German-Czech border - an enchanting ride through the rural areas where we saw lots of solar panels on roofs of houses and barns, and we even spotted a wind turbine - returned the car and parted ways once again where Matt caught a flight back to Hamburg and I went to see my friend, Rena, and her boyfriend, Brian. They met while doing their TESL certificate on a bus tour last year which took them on a dizzying whirlwind tour of Europe (you can imagine the stories and gossip that got generated). It's been great to catch up with Rena, an old childhood friend from Cornwall, and to just hang out again. It feels very natural even though we haven't seen each other for years, a sign of a solid friendship.

Last night we went to a Balkan restaurant and I met some of their friends who are also here teaching English. Today has been really relaxed and we're planning on cooking some curry and couscous to go along with a movie. Perfect plan, and i miss cooking too believe it or not. Tomorrow, Brian, Rena and I will choo-choo our way down to Vienna and hopefully catch a concert or two there before i fly out to London on Sunday to reunite with Matt for our long flight back home to Hong Kong. It will be oh so nice to sleep in our own bed again.

I just found out today that my visa in Hong Kong has been approved by the Immigration Department - cue shrieks of joy and jubilation! This gives me the green light to start work. Fantastic.