Category: Austria

Where Snow Still Falls

Beyond the village, the final stretch of road hadn’t even been cleared. We drove slowly as the road wound through twilight into darkness, covering the final few metres on foot. The snow creaked beneath us. …

Into The Woods

I get lost in the beauty of the place and forget to run. Instead, I listen as the trees engage in whispered conversations around me, the wind gently teasing their uppermost branches. I watch as …

Cold Waters

I step out into the unknown. Tomorrow’s teenager, still small and high-pitched, scoots past me as I make my way along the river embankment. He has known this place for as long as he can …

On Learning to Fly

Ich war vierzehn, schüchtern und unsicher. Vor mir auf dem Tisch lag ein Anmeldeformular für einen Schüleraustausch in Deutschland mit dem Hinweis, dass Teilnehmer:innen extrovertiert und selbstbewusst sein sollten. Tja, ich fühlte mich nicht ganz …

Thanksgiving

I celebrated thanksgiving for the first time last year. Twice. I hadn’t been expecting to celebrate it at all. On the last Thursday of November, I was sitting in a university seminar, my concentration dwindling, …

Ski Teacher Training

‘Hi, my name’s Rebecca and I’ll be your ski instructor today.’ Eight familiar faces smiled back at me encouragingly. Most of them still had the examination ahead of them. I have to admit, I wasn’t …

An Ode to June

June. My final month in Innsbruck. I would like to invite you on a jaunt through June. On the first Sunday of this fine, summer’s month, after a night spent in a mountain hut, I …

Innsbruck

What has roots as nobody sees, Is taller than trees, Up, up it goes, And yet never grows? Gollum in ‘The Hobbit’ by J.R.R.Tolkien They are still there. They are always there. Only when the …