More from Austria...

The three amigos... heading home to Praha!
The mountains tower over the center of the town- Ischgl. It is intense!
This is the view of the slopes and lifts as we were skiing from the Swiss Alps back to the Austrian Alps. Truly beautiful...
A picture for my dad- ski fuel- brat and pommes with sweet mustard- so good!
And here I am... in Switzerland- just a chairlift away from Austria!

This whole ski adventure was an incredible getaway from Prague. A few weeks ago, while we were skiing in Spindle in the Czech mountains, a friend asked me, "What do you think about when you are skiing down the mountain?" Good question. Often I think about many trivial things- people's ski outfits/gear, how they good/bad people around me are skiing, how I am skiing, and other silly things. Other times I am talking myself in or out of taking a jump or giving my burning muscles a pep talk to get down the mountain safe and sound! This weekend, I was thinking a lot about how lucky I am to afford the pleasure of a ski weekend in Austria. Looking around, as you can see from the photos above, the scenery was stunning! The skies were mostly clear and bright blue, the wind was minimal, the sun was shining, the slopes were excellent. I was amazed to be skiing in the Alps- something I have only dreamed of doing! This ski weekend was awesome and being in the Alps- the mighty, giant, snow covered Alps reminded me why I love the Lord. He created these towering mountains, with His hands he put them into place and he can move them if need be. The beauty of his creation is always a reminder of how much he loves us... Tonight as I am back in Praha, and as I reflect on my "mountain-top" experience and I am thankful for the love of Christ, and the opportunity to travel to amazing and beautiful places that he created... and this song, which has played in my head throughout my ski days also plays in my heart... "You are reminding me who I really am- I've been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live but he lives in me and the life I live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God... oh who loved me, and who loves me and who gave himself for me... You have resurrected my heart from the grave... and I'm alive." - I'm alive by Shane and Shane, from the album Everything Is Different - Nikki

Sking in Austira- Day 1

Welcome to Ischgl, Austria- where the ski slopes are plentiful! We arrived about 6:20pm on Saturday after 9 hours on two different trains! All that sitting and shuffling of luggage was worth it after setting my skis on the most magnificent slopes I have ever seen. In the cable car ride on the way to the top of the mountain I told my friends that, "I hope I don't cry because I feel kind of emotional right now." Why they asked. "Because I love, love, love to ski and right now we are actually in a cable car heading to the top of the Alps...". They both laughed.
It is absolutely stunning here. And I am in awe of the amount of snow covered terrain there is to cover- including a lift that takes you across the border and into the Swiss Alps. (That, we decided, is to be done on Wednesday!)

This is a view as we rode up the cable car. On Saturday, upon arrival and check in, we went walking around the center to find a place for dinner. When you look up to the sky you can see the mass peaks of the mountains towering above you. In the cable car, you watch all around you as you begin to rise toward the mountain top where there are what seems like a million lifts all around that lead to a million more lifts to explore the mountain! A skiers dream!
As most of you know, I turned 30 on Thursday the 18th. This ski adventure is yet another way to celebrate the beginning of a new decade. I bought myself another new ski jacket as a gift to myself- a cherry red North Face shell perfect for layering under in the snow or the coming-soon and seemingly never-ending Prague rain. So far we have had a great day skiing and today the forcaste has a light snow in it and we are set to ski another section of the mountain. Gotta go eat- the fresh bread was delivered an hour ago 9remember that Kelli?)- Anne has made scrambled eggs and Carrie made coffee! More to come... Love Nikki