• Mary Kieran Gap Year
  • Mary Kieran Gap Year

Ski / Alp Apartment Hunting

Quick trip to Austria and Germany to look for our new home ❤️ Læs mere
  • Start på rejsen
    2. januar 2026

    We’re Backkkkk

    2. januar, Østrig ⋅ ⛅ 36 °F

    After returning to normal lives and reasonable salaries, we got our travel legs back and planned a short trip to Austria and Germany.

    This trip is focused on scoping out potential places to live as well as testing out Alpine skiing ⛷️⛷️⛷️

    We trained to New York and took a red eye through Heathrow straight to Innsbruck, Austria, a university ski town we’ve had our eyes on since visiting. The difference now is it’s winter and we are lugging around our ski equipment (much more than a backpack).

    After settling, we visited the Christmas market that is still open and enjoyed a pretzel, hotdog, and Glühwein. The town remains decorated for the holidays so trees are everywhere, Christmas lights are on, and cute Christmas stores continue to sell little goods. We walked around with the goal to make it to 10pm to reset.

    Failed considerably because we ate dinner at 4:30 pm and am already ready to head back to sleep. Pushed a little longer by seeing the lightshow at Innsbrucker Hofgarten.

    Hotel: Tautermann Hotel

    Restaurant: Restaurant Goldener Adler Innsbruck

    Food:
    Goulasch
    Fried Tyrollean chicken
    Liver Dumplings

    Places:
    Innsbruck
    Christkindlmarkt in der Maria-Theresien-Straße
    Künstler*innen Vereinigung Tirol – Neue Galerie
    Rudi Wach Kreuz
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  • Stubai Glacier Skiing

    3. januar, Østrig ⋅ ☀️ 7 °F

    Exciting day as it’s our very first time skiing in the Alps! Woke up at 7:30am for free breakfast (which was also converted to lunch sandwiches) and got suited up for the trip.

    Innsbruck is known as a ski town offering 23 different locations in its vicinities; purchasing lift tickets to certain resorts gives you free travel on their public transport. We squished into a bus with university students and families and every bus stop packed us in like sardines. As we made our way up to Stubai Glacier, folks started dropping off at the various ski resorts.

    We are dropped off at the bottom of the gondola and pay a whopping $67 euro per ticket…now mind you to ski at mid-Atlantic shit snow resorts in Maryland is $112 per ticket and here we are paying $74 for skiing in the alps.

    The day was fabulous - the snow coverage was excellent and the views phenomenal. We never had to wait in line and there was no trash on the ground. We rode a Gondola up the top of Tyrol 3,210 meters above sea level and could see the Dolomites and other ranges. After many runs, stopped for Hefeweizen dunkel bier and a Radler!

    By the last few runs, our legs were shot. We took the long ski route down which was a tight ice-y black diamond run, but it was worth it for the challenge, trees, and leg workout. Added bonus for making the trek all the way out to Stubai (1.5 hours) was that we got seats on the bus back. By 30 minutes in, people were squished and packed in like sardines for the journey to Innsbruck.

    Now we like to have a good hot tub or sauna soak after skiing, and try to find community pools / gyms. We weren’t having any luck until we googled spa. We arrive to a little place called Dampfbad Salurner Straße. We knew the spot was a little odd because there is no reception and there is an automated counter. However we weren’t prepared that it was a nudist society spa!! Now normally we love nakey spas and most countries go split gender. We tried a joint gender spot once in Gap Year in Germany but it was because it was a choice and an area siphoned off. Was not ready for joint locker rooms, showers, hot tubs, steam rooms, and sauna. Worst part was the hot tub wasn’t even that hot!!

    So we just ran around buck naked with young people and a lot of old men and tried to make the most of the moment. We gave up pretty early because the hot tub just wasn’t worth it. We had Döner for dinner and watched Peppa the Pig in German to close out the night after the exhilarating day.

    Restaurant: My Dreams

    Food:
    Döner
    Biers

    Places:
    Stubai Glacier
    Dampfbad Salurner Straße
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  • Garmisch-Partenkirchen

    4. januar, Tyskland ⋅ ☀️ 25 °F

    Next stop on the trip is a little German town in the alps that also has a US Army base: Garmisch-Partenkirchen! We woke up early and rode a 1 h 10m train at 6:38 am. We got to the hotel at 8am and quickly threw on our ski gear.

    This mountain had more features, like forest runs and black diamonds. The downside was it became very ice-y very quickly. First run down we got separated; Mary ran some black diamonds (not to her knowledge) until we caught up. We found a nice section with some tree runs and ran that twice. Our legs were shot though so we road all the way down to the base and took the gondola up for food.

    It was crazy busy so Kieran went searching for seats while Mary got the grub. Kieran met some wonderful German men who saved us a seat and we talked to them all during lunch. They lived in Munich part time and love to ski/ski hike. They gave us many other ski recommendations and helped Kieran find some places with more Black Diamond bowls. They also had friends in the US army and would show us pictures of their guns 🤣

    The last run down was horribly icy and it was exhausting. We took the local train back to the hotel and enjoyed the sauna, steam room, and quiet room. Kieran fell asleep inside 🤣 The hotel was nice and decorated based on Swiss design. It gave off cozy Alpine vibes and we had an awesome view of the ski resort from our room.

    We snuck in a 1.5 hour Power Nap and got delicious traditional Bavarian food for dinner. The local Christmas market was open one last night so we walked around and listened to the live music. We crashed around 8:30pm, our bodies completely exhausted from all the skiing.

    Hotel: Wittelsbacher Hof Hotel Wittelsbacher Hof

    Restaurant: Hofbräustüberl Garmisch

    Food:
    Fried Trout
    Pork Knuckle

    Places:
    Garmisch Partenkirchen
    Kreuzeckbahn Talstation
    Kurpark Garmisch
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  • Kiefersfelden Break

    5. januar, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 27 °F

    Two hard shredding days + lugging around ski equipment = a much needed break.

    We took our time waking up and enjoyed the fabulous breakfast at the hotel. It was absolutely delicious and the selection was beautiful. We rode trains back through the alps to a little village on the border of Austria and Germany called Kiefersfelden. Mary started to get sick last night so we snuck in a nap and trip to the pharmacy.

    In the evening, we walked around the snowy town for 40 minutes and stopped into a Biergarten for dinner and drinks.

    Hotel: Gasthof Zur Post

    Restaurant: Gasthof Bergwirt

    Food:
    Oxtail Suppe
    Steak & Onions
    Vegetable Platter with Spätzle and creamed mushrooms

    Places:
    Kiefersfelden
    Naturpark
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  • Hopfgarten Solo Trip & back to Innsbruck

    6. januar, Østrig ⋅ ☁️ 16 °F

    Sadly the sick got to Mary and her body was too tired to ski. So Kieran made a solo trip up to the Hopfgarten ski resort. He took his time and didn’t leave the hotel until 10am. The conditions were much better than Garmisch Partenkirchen and he was able to get some solid runs in.

    Today is also a holiday in Germany that signals the end of Christmas. Traditions include taking down all the Christmas decorations, eating a king cake with a baby or bean inside one of the bites, and brewing a special beer (Tripple Bock 🥴). From the window of the guest house you could see Bavarian Germans dressed in traditional clothing and there was a band playing songs that sounded like it was Octoberfest.

    For dinner we got Italian and forgot how close Italy was to Tirol. The food was AMAZING and we ate fabulous bruschetta, salad, and Pizza. We ended the night with the traditional special bee!

    Next day we journeyed back to Innsbruck and did some shopping for some business clothing. Kieran applied to a company in the Tirol region and sent them an email letting them know he’s in the area and could meet in person. We got clothing, walked around to look at the architecture, and returned back to one of his favorite foods and dishes from Gap Year: Tyrollean Dumplings! It was as good as he remembered.

    Hotel: Mondschein

    Restaurants:
    Pizzeria Italia
    Gasthof Zur Post
    Stiftskeller Restaurant Stiftskeller Innsbruck

    Food:
    Bruschetta
    Pizza
    Tyrollean Dumplings
    Käsespatzle
    Weiner Schnitzel

    Places:
    Hopfgarten SkiWelt
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  • Kühtai & Cool Endings to Austria

    8. januar, Østrig ⋅ ❄️ 21 °F

    Well it’s our final ski day - and of course it’s going to snow in Tyrol the next few days after we leave. We decide to rent local ski equipment that handles the ice better. We take a free bus up to Kühtai where more locals like to visit. It’s a beautiful drive into the mountain pass along a small frozen river.

    We get our temporary skis, make our way to the slopes, and Mary slips and falls back in the parking lot. People were quick to help and she was alright lol

    The ski conditions were amazing and it started snowing while we actively skied. If anything, our powder skis would have been perfect in this weather. We break for soup and beer, and take a few more runs. We return the skis and while waiting at the bus stop….KIERAN GETS AN EMAIL TO COME IN AND INTERVIEW IN PERSON TOMORROW AT 10AM!!!!

    We immediately start practicing interviewing on the bus ride home. Sadly our flight leaves at 1pm and they can’t accommodate an earlier time; regardless, they proceed with scheduling an interview with him next week when we are back in the states!! This job is perfect for Kieran and it was the first one he technically applied for. If he got it, it means he wouldn’t have to interview anymore and would still be working in a technical field he’s an expert in. It’s in the middle of the alps and only a 40 minute train from Innsbruck.

    It was an incredible ending to the trip and we just couldn’t believe it. We celebrated with a bottle of wine and more Italian food. The snow came down hard and it was just a wonderful night. The view was magical and we walked around the city one last time.

    Fingers crossed to Kieran’s interview next Wednesday and hats off to Innsbruck again for a wonderful time.

    Restaurant:
    Kaiser-Maximilian-Hütte
    Trattoria-Pizzeria Due Sicilia

    Food:
    Gulasch
    Noodle Soup with Wurst
    Bruschetta 4 Ways
    Pizza

    Places:
    Kühtai Ski Resort
    Læs mere

    Slut på rejsen
    9. januar 2026