Snowy Mountains

Hello loves!

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to return to posting on here and I just got the idea for this post and decided to start early. I just got back from a vacation in Ischgl, Austria and it was a wonderful time. My boyfriend loves skiing and is a certified ski instructor. The idea of being outside in the cold, having to wear the heavy and bulky shoes and taking on the risk of having a bad accident while skiing never seemed appealing to me and so I honestly do not think that I would have ever tried it if it had not been for him.

Luckily, I get to save money on lessons since he can teach me. But I also have not lost the fear of accidents yet (more a fear of accidents with myself than with other people - I’m just very scared of falling). I’m honestly very proud of myself for continuing to pursue learning to ski after my spinal fusion surgery and getting a chronic pain disease. It is definitely not easy to do it, especially since I get exhausted easily, often have to take breaks and there are also days where it is simply not possible at all. But I also really enjoy doing it and it shows me that even though the diseases take up a lot of space in my life and limit me in some ways, there are also many things that I can nonetheless do if I put my mind to it. In an odd way, I also want to prove to myself that I can do these things despite the limiting factors.

I am definitely still a beginner when it comes to skiing, but I definitely noticed that I had gotten better this time in comparison to a year ago. I have even gone on a few red slopes (blue slopes are the easiest ones, red ones are in the middle and black ones are the most demanding ones). It was really scary to go on these slopes (they look a lot steeper when you are standing on them, trust me), but finishing them felt like a huge achievement. I am now working on improving on how I ski, since I still use a beginner’s technique (you might have heard of pizza and French fry). This will also help me get down more advanced slopes easier.

Ischgl is my favourite place for skiing so far, because it has a lot of beginners-friendly slopes that are fun and the view from the top of the mountain is breathtaking. Here are a few nature pictures I have taken up there:

We spent my 26th birthday there this year and used that day to try out the spa in the town. It is a huge building with saunas, swimming pools, quiet rooms, etc. It was a really relaxing day and a great birthday. But I would nonetheless probably not recommend going there, because it was quite pricy and I have been to other spas in that price range and they offered more and were designed better.

I am really glad, though, that we did something special for my birthday. Before meeting my boyfriend, I had not really celebrated my birthday for a few years and him usually organising an entire ski weekend for his birthday inspired me to try making it a special day. And honestly, it is amazing! I really love thinking about what I would like to do, planning a great day and then getting to experience it all. And it does not always have to be something big - it might just be baking my favourite cookies at home and then watching one of my favourite movies.

Now I am looking forward to spending time with my family over Christmas and giving my loved ones the gifts I have thought of over the past few months. Wishing you a lovely Christmas time!

Lots of Love,

Elena