Bad Hofgastein - Austria

We just got back from a lovely week in snowy Austria! Skiing was one of the big things Nick had missed while we were in Australia, it has been three years since we last went.

I decided I would spend the week mostly looking after Devon with Nick's mum, while Nick skied with his dad and brother. Although I enjoy skiing, I've always wanted to spend more time playing in the snow in the villages at the bottom of the mountain so I didn't mind this.

The travel to Austria was fine but tiring, we booked through a tour operator (Crystal Ski) so we had to fly from Gatwick rather than Southampton or Bournemouth which are closer. There was also a lot of waiting around in queues and on coaches, but overall Devon coped pretty well. He always seemed to fall asleep at the worst times though, like when the plane was landing and five minutes before we got off the coach.

The weather for the week wasn't great for skiing, lots of overcast days and snowfall, making for bad visibility up the mountain and in fact the men only skied for four days out of the six. One morning was forecast to be sunny so I left Devon with Nick's mum for the morning and got up the mountain myself. I had a great morning skiing and was amazed how quickly it all came back to me!

We ended up booking half board in a hotel and in hindsight we should have got somewhere self catering. Mealtimes in the hotel restaurant with Devon were a bit difficult, he's becoming quite a strong-willed little thing and screams the place down if you make him sit in is highchair for more than five minutes. Keeping him quiet and in one place for a four course meal was impossible. We ended up having to eat our dinner in shifts, Nick's parents and I eating first, then Nick and his brother Tim later on.

Devon did enjoy playing in the snow, although he didn't really like getting bundled up in hats and mittens and snowsuits everyday. And it was quite difficult to keep his hands warm, even through mittens his little fingers got cold if we stayed out too long. A couple of days we just stayed in the hotel playing with toys, art supplies and watching Austrian cartoons.

Bad Hofgastein was a nice resort, the town was pretty but apparently the nightlife was a bit sparse (I stayed in with Devon most nights but Nick, Tim and their dad went out a few times). We also never took Devon up the mountain as there was nowhere to go except to ski on at the top of the lift station.

If we go skiing next year, Devon will still only be two and a half which is still a bit young to ski himself. I think we have learnt a few things from this trip, for one we'll definitely go self-catering next time and we won't do a package holiday again.