Asustria ski-ing 18/19 February

Friday 18th / Saturday 19thFebruary

Am off to Austria today with Crookhorn College, a local school from Waterlooville. I have driven lots of ski-ing trips before but this is my first with Greys and am both excited and a little apprehensive as we are driving through the night to Austria.
Ray is picking the school up and Brian and I are meeting them at Dover.
Ray is bang on time in Dover at 14:30 where we swap vehicles and go our separate ways.
A couple more passengers join us here making the very cramped luggage hold even more cramped! A bit of moving cases and pushing hard and we are fully loaded. I don’t know about the other cases but mine is so heavy I can hardly lift it!
There are quite a few coaches here but it is not as busy as I thought it would be although in an hours time it will be heaving.
Our ferry is due to depart at 16:30 allowing the group half an hour in the service area on the dockside. Burger King seems to be popular as they all come back clutching their little brown bags! We wouldn’t normally allow food like this on the coach but the rules are a little different on a trip like this.
While on the dockside, Steve Eddington (the organiser), is rummaging around amongst the cases looking for something. Ia m soon thrown a blue hooded fleece with Drive A written on the breast and all of the children’s names on the back. Brian has one that says Drive B. I don’t know how he knew our size but getting a couple of drivers XL is never going to be far off the mark!
There are loads of coaches on the boat all full of excited children going ski-ing.
The ferry is away on time at 16:30 and for the next hour and a half we enjoy some dinner and a quiet sit down in the drivers room.
Amazingly we dock on time and are driving out of the docks at Calais by 19:05. Only about another 15 hours to go!
Brian drives this first part while I try to sleep which proves very difficult and I end up with 20 minutes shut eye.
We decide to go via Antwerp rather than Brussels and as we approach Antwerp there is a sign across the road saying the E313, the motorway we are about to join, is closed at Boirs between Antwerp and Liege! I have no way of checking the route as our European map is in the back of Brian’s car! I had asked him yesterday to leave as much room as possible around the drivers area for anything we may take for the journey! We have a German/Austrian map which I thought would be sufficient!
Luckily we join the E314 before the closure and all worries are gone.
Brian drives 4½ hours to a service area on the A61 south of Koln and about 100km from Koblenz.
After a break here it is my turn to drive.
We continue on through Germany towards Munich via Stuttgart and then into Austria.
My big concern with driving these distances is my bladder! I can do two hours before I need a wee but rarely much longer!
So when I pull into Leipheim services past Ulm on the A8 4½ later I am well pleased! A combination of concentration, turkey sandwiches and music from my i-pod seem to have done the trick. There are not many in front of me for the loo though!
The turkey sandwiches are a bit of tradition for me as I used to take a school ski-ing on Boxing Day each year and associate driving through the night with these culinary delights!
Brian does the next stint to Irschenberg services, south of Munich, where we have our breakfast stop. We have timed it well as we find a parking space before many more coaches with the same idea are looking for somewhere to stop.
There is a MacDonalds close by and a lot walk down to it only to be disappointed as they are so busy they have stopped cooking! This seems to make the queue for the Burger King in the services even longer.
I drive the final 1½ hours to our hotel, Gasthof Pension Pass Leug, which is situated all on its own close to the town of Golling. The group have been here before and we are directed in by Steve and Chris, who is in charge of the ski-ing arrangements.
The rooms are not yet ready but we can dump our cases and return to the coach for the children to collect their ski-ing equipment.
Our first port of call is Alpendorf where those who need helmets are kitted out before driving to Flachau where all boots, poles and Ski’s will be issued.
The journey to Flachau should take about 20 minutes but we have a little moment of indecision and for a short while are driving in the wrong direction!
Once back on the right road we are soon in Flachau.
Once we have everybody and everything on board we return to the hotel. I am driving and as we approach our junction there is a lay-by immediately before it and I turn into here by mistake! Must be as tired as I feel!
There are some sandwiches laid on for lunch before our keys are handed out and also the bar is open. We both order a beer and when we go to pay for it David, the proprietor, says the drivers have free beer! We advise him that he may regret that!!
David offers Brian and I two keys, one to a double room and one for a single. Looking at Brian he says he will need the larger room and gives him the double!
We are like a couple of schoolboys trying to pull our cases up the stairs. Brian is on the first floor but I am on the second and it is a real struggle to lift my case up that many stairs. Why have I brought so much stuff?
Once in my room, which is small but perfectly adequate, I switch on the television to find Chelsea’s FA Cup replay with Everton live on German TV with the score at half time 0-0.
By the time I have unpacked and settled down to watch the football the time is 14:30. I started work yesterday at 09:00 and have just finished 29½ hours later!
No wonder I fall asleep and miss the second half. When I hear that Chelsea lost on penalties I am glad I slept!
We are the only people staying in the hotel and due to its isolation it is very safe for the children. The hotel doors are locked after dinner so nobody can escape although there is nowhere to go even if you did get out. Just about right for a school group and a lot less worry for the staff.
Dinner is a lovely homemade tomato soup followed by chicken, veg and chips or a pasta dish. There is also some salad but we normally dodge that!
Dinner was nice but not as nice as my bed felt after.
It is Wendy’s birthday today so feel a bit sad about being away but also excited about being in Austria for the ski-ing.