This is better skiing than last week

 

Last week I skied on my own yard, with snow carried in cardboard boxes. This week I'm skiing in Austria's glaciers. Not too shitty, as we say in Finland!

Weather varied from bright sunshine to impenetrable soup. Snow conditions ranged from a mixture of ice, water and small rocks to, well, fresh soft snow :-) Again, not too shitty!

Hintertux is Austria's only ski resort that is open year around. I think I've been here now for 6 or 7 years in a row. It is easy to get to from Finland, and reasonably priced. Especially when compared to the alternative, Zermatt :-)

Corona practices: Finnish citizens with two vaccinations can enter Germany and Austria with no extra requirements. In addition, while there is some amount of "I ignore the mask rules" -people around, the processes everywhere were pretty strict and sensible. Masks were required in ski lifts. Ski area restaurant required registration for contact tracing and either recent test or double vaccination. And then you get stamped when you show your papers! Same requirements were also applied at the hotels. Some shops had started to require FFP2 masks for entering.

This article has also been published at TGR. Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, or all blog articles from Blogspot or TGR. Photos, videos, and text (c) 2021 by Jari Arkko.

Madseiterhof Saunas

 

While skiing in Hintertux, I stayed at the Gasthof Pension Madseiterhof. A remarkably good quality/price ratio! I paid only 80€ per night, which included breakfast and dinner. The rooms are not the newest, but they have a VERY nice sauna at the basement.

There's a nicely lit Finnish sauna, an infrared sauna box, and a relaxation area. And the infrared sauna door handle is made from an old ski! They do not have a pool though, if you're looking for the ultra-luxurious experience, try the Adler Inn (across the street, same management), the Spa Neu-Hintertux (next to the slopes), or the Berghotel Hintertux Wellnesshotel (between the lifts and the Madseiter, but perhaps the best saunas that I have experienced in the world).

Much recommended. The prices of course depend on season, number of people in your party, etc. I was very happy with what I got!

Infrared sauna:

Relaxation area:

For more sauna and swimming stories, check out planetswimmer.com and saunablogger.cool websites! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2021 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. I never take photos of other saunagoers or swimmers and try to visit at times where there is simply no one else around or the facility has been booked only for me.

Adler Inn Saunas

While skiing in Hintertux, I stayed across the street from the Adler Inn, and was lucky to be able to visit their saunas and spa as well. What a wonderful experience! 

They have four different saunas (herbs, steam, Finnish, and sauna by the pool). I particularly liked the Finnish sauna. A big area, with the most amazing view from its large window.

Much recommended!

The Finnish ("hot glacier") sauna:

And the view from that window:

Steam sauna:

For more sauna and swimming stories, check out planetswimmer.com and saunablogger.cool websites! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2021 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. I never take photos of other saunagoers or swimmers and try to visit at times where there is simply no one else around or the facility has been booked only for me.

Bus parking

 

So this is where the busses are parked in the summer...?

Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, or all blog articles from Blogspot or TGR. Photos, videos, and text (c) 2021 by Jari Arkko.

Tischofer Höhle

 

Such a nice hike. If it weren't for the missing piece of the path, at least. But I finally made it to the Tischofer Höhle, a cave in Kaisertal, near Kufstein, Austria. What a wonderful cave, easy to visit if one picks the right path to get there. And despite being only 40 meters long it is a large cavern, with a large opening and large hall inside.

Just before getting to the Tischofer Höhle there's a smaller cave by the path, the Hyänen Höhle. The main cave is at N 47.592244 E 12.196216. The side cave is roughly at N 47.592265 E 12.196508. There's an easy parking lot to park your car in, by the start of the Kaisertalweg hiking path. The parking lot is at N 47.594106 E 12.187701.

I also recorded 3D models of the caves, rotate them on your screen here or here. Or download the models from here or here.

Main cave:

Side cave:

Hike to get to the caves:

This fallen-down path led to a bridge that I needed to cross this:

This article has also been published at TGR. Read more urban exploration stories from theurbanexplorer.net, and other underground stories from planetcaver.net. Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, or all blog articles from Blogspot or TGR. Photos and text (c) 2021 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved.

Citroen hits 88mph and ...

 

... doesn't go back to the future. It bends parts on the roof.

It is good to have a loaner car, but I guess we'll not be driving at highway speeds any more :-)

Everyone is surprised that the car is broken again

 

... not

It *is* leaking oil. Sigh.

Fortunately we got a loaner car for the weekend at least, and some hope of the guys at the shop having time to look at my car on Monday.

Still adding oil

 

Last week we fixed the car's braking system by adding more oil. Now the light is on, and I keep adding oil. Now a bit more. Light is off, fingers crossed!

Uh oh brakes...

The brake failure light just come on, and we are still 200 km from home. Uh oh...

Update: the next day: This time the fix was easy — no real breakage (just regular brakage) the brake fluid was just getting low. No leaks!

Westend algae dip

 

Today's exercise was to visit a beach in Westend, Espoo, where I had not been to before. Unfortunately, the beach was marked as having blue-green algae, and it also looked unpleasantly slimy. But then it turned out that there is a small rocky peninsula, and a pier on it. The water there was a bit more cleaner looking. So I was able to swim!

But oh... what a sunset one could see from the pier!

For more sauna and swimming stories, check out planetswimmer.com and saunablogger.cool websites! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2021 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. I never take photos of other swimmers on a beach, and try to visit at times where there is simply no one else around.

Desperately seeking Sus... beach without blue-green algae

 

Lauttasaari, such a nice place. They even have a backup beach on the other side if the one beach is covered by slimy algae!

First, I visited the Veijarivuoren uimaranta, a beach in Lauttasaari. Way too much algae. As I was returning to the car, I realised however that there was another possible beach on a different, more westernly direction. Perhaps it would not have algae? Checking... it turned out that this beach was kind of a small boat harbour and not an official beach, but with an easy, sandy beach where one could get to the water. Water was quite clear. Swimming mission for the day accomplished!

The place in Särkiniemi is around coordinates E 60.147102 N 24.876561. Do not assume my swimming places are always easy to visit or safe. Be aware and swim safely!

Särkiniemi:

Veijarivuori:

For more sauna and swimming stories, check out planetswimmer.com and saunablogger.cool websites! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2021 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. I never take photos of other swimmers on a beach, and try to visit at times where there is simply no one else around.

Puotila beach by the subway

Today I had an opportunity to be in eastern Helsinki, and chose to stop by another new beach, at the Puotilan uimaranta (Puotila Beach). It is right by subway line and therefore easily accessible.

A nice beach, shallow and good sand far into the sea. Coordinates for the beach are N 60.209049 E 25.110086.

Right across the channel where the beach is there is another beach on the other side, the Rastilan uimaranta. Haven't been there yet, though.

Both beaches are maintained by the city of Helsinki.

For more sauna and swimming stories, check out planetswimmer.com and saunablogger.cool websites! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2021 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. I never take photos of other swimmers on a beach, and try to visit at times where there is simply no one else around.

Another visit to Högberget

 

New signs lead visitors to the right place! Well done, Ratsutila Wikner!

The Högberget cave is an exceptional, rare form, and well worth visiting. But while close to the road, it is not necessarily easy to find. The markings and the new parking lot make it a lot easier, thank you!

You can find more information about Högberget from here and here and here.

Read more urban exploration stories from theurbanexplorer.net, and other underground stories from planetcaver.net. Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, or all blog articles from Blogspot or TGR. Photos and text (c) 2021 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved.