Winter Wunterland on Arber Mountain
In Europe, everyone has an opinion of where to ski. And it seems they can debate this point for hours.
If you aren’t a Glen Plake wannabe (and believe me, I only know who Glen Plake is because I dated a man OBSESSED with his mohawked-self for way too long), you may not have much to add to this conversation. I sure don’t. The last time I skiied was over 20 years ago. These days, good skiing equals (a) any place where I can’t manage to initiate a stunningly acrobatic fall in full view of the chair lift and (b) a place that offers decent ski instruction so that my child doesn’t think said acrobatic fall is what he should be emulating.
But we found all that and more at Arber Mountain.
Arber lies in the Bayerisch Wald (Bavarian Forest) in Germany, right along the Czech border. It is only a two hour drive from Munich and Prague — and it sits in abs
olutely gorgeous country. The local village of Bayerisch-Eisenstein is one of those picturesque Bavarian villages you can’t help fall in love with. And Arber? Well, it’s just as gorgeous.
This fantastic mountain has it all – it’s the home of the German National Ski Training Centre, a World Cup Slalom Run and a death-defying Snowboard rail park. So the big boys can play here without shame. But it also boasts the ArBaer Kinderland – a bunny hill that puts all other bunny hills to shame.
It would be in ArBaer Kinderland that Chet would don skis for the first time and I would see if I could still fall with as much grace as I did in my teens.
(And the answer to the latter? Oh heck, yeah. Buzz Lightyear has nothing on me. I can still fall with some serious style).
But it was a blast! Chet loved his ski lessons with our trusty instructor, Florian, and I found my foray back into skiing easy with the incredibly helpful guys at the gear rental shop, a conveyor belt lift that I couldn’t fall off if I tried (and if you saw me exit it, you might just think I was trying), and a large, gentle slope that allowed us to find our collective skiing groove.
So next time someone starts talking about skiing in Europe, I will have no qualms about jumping into the conversation, whether I barely made it off the bunny hill or not. Arber is definitely the way to go.
March 11th, 2009 | by Kayt Sukel 4 comments
1. John Williams on March 12th, 2009
You give an excellent impression of Arber. I think I would like the snow park. My motto is “If you aren’t falling over, then you aren’t trying hard enough”. Anyway its all about having fun not trying to look cool.
What altitude are the top and bottom stations?
2. Jane on March 12th, 2009
This is very near where my Dad grew up (and learned to ski and skate). It is so beautiful on this border.
3. Margaret Leach on March 17th, 2009
The bottom station is at 1050m.
The top station is at 1400m.
We have a cold Bohemian wind here so we often have more snow than places at higher altitudes!
4. Kayt Sukel on March 17th, 2009
Thanks for answering, Margaret! Emailing you for that information was on my to-do list. =)
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