Kleinwalsertal seems to be little known outside of Germany and Austria. Little wonder. It's a quiet valley, like a cul-de-sac. In Austria, but accessible only from Germany.
We
stayed there for a week in peak ski season, February 1996. It was during the winter school
holiday and Fasching came in the middle. We had trouble finding a ski resort
that had vacancies due to our last-minute planning. But we eventually found
Kleinwalsertal and the Hotel Montana. It was a fortunate find!
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The
valley features three small villages. Ski slopes are everywhere, with two
mountains featuring a 2000 meter elevation. You can even ski over one of the
mountains to Germany!
I took this photo from the gondola on the way to the top.
We
put the kids in ski school. We chose a four-day course lasting from about 9 to 4
each day. The classes had about 10 students matched for ability. Their
instructor took them to lunch at a local restaurant so we had no worries during
the day and could go off and ski on our own! The classes met walking distance
from the hotel, and they could ski right there, or take a jitney anywhere in the
valley! Here's Gregory in his beginner's class - he was the oldest by at least
two years, but still had great fun!
Gizmo
was left behind all week! Poor Gizzy!! She stayed in the room part of the day.
Barbara took care of her most of the time (Barb doesn't ski). Sometimes Gizzy
stayed in the car and hoped for some attention.
We
had lots of snow during the week. So much that the slopes were closed a couple
of days. I only skied the top twice. This overcast day was fantastic fun! With
the clouds and cold weather (about 5 degrees F) there weren't many people on the
slopes.
This
particular mountain has only chairlifts and they were cold! But it was worth it.
The skiing was great. It's easy to rent equipment in the villages. They had
plenty of skis, boots and poles available, at reasonable prices.
We
stayed at the Hotel Montana. It's a family owned and operated full-service
hotel. I think many of the guests return every year. We met one man who spends
his summers in Florida and winters at the Montana! Although it was February, and
the hotel has at least 100 rooms, our waitress told us we were the second
American party in the hotel all season! Fantastic. Not much English
spoken. Breakfast and dinner included in the price. Games available in the
common areas. Antiques throughout the hallways. We loved it. [photo from the
Montana brochure]
Our
room overlooked a ski slope! We stored our skis in the room provided, strapped
them on in the morning, and skied to the lift! From our balcony we could watch
skiers come down the slope.
Fasching is Mardi Gras or Carnival in Germany and Austria. Shrove Tuesday. The children all dress up and there's a party going on! Here, the elder owner of the Montana poses with his grandson.
Other
guests dressed also. We aren't sure, but it seemed like a lot of them were
related to the owners, or at least good friends.
The staff were in on the fun. Two waitresses posed, dressed for success! Most of the staff were transients from elsewhere in Europe, much like the staff at U.S. resorts.
When
we made our reservations at Montana, they took our name and number. That's it!
No credit card guarantee, no deposit. In fact, they didn't even accept credit
cards! This turned out to be a problem since we don't normally carry thousands
of DM in cash!! But not to worry. We obtained their bank account number before
leaving and transferred our balance due when we returned home to Nufringen!
Comments to Steve and Barbara Hall
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