A glimpse of heaven... part 2

On the second day, we woke up to bad foggy weather. But we didn't mind too much because we already planned for a stay-in day.



You won't feel bored in this place because there are daily activities like yoga classes, massages which you sign up (& pay for obviously). Everyone has free access to sauna and heated swimming pool, and ooh, the free flow of food.. breakfast is until 11am, light lunch 2-5pm, and dinner from 7-9pm. You can be practically eating the whole day away!

Breakfast

Having our 4 course Michelin-standard dinner;
I am not a salad fan but somehow they make salad taste really good here!

And then there is the Reading room which is so nice and conducive. It would be even more perfect if you know German because all the books and mags are in German, so I had to make do with my English storybook. In the evening, we signed up for an elementary pilates class but I should have known better.. because it was taught in German! haha so I was lying on the mat with one head tilted permanently on one side, fixating my eyes on the teacher the whole time. Not so fun, that one.

A cup of peppermint tea after my massage! :)

Reading room after dinner

The bartender was English (we finally could chat with someone in English fluently!) and upon hearing it was my birthday trip, he made 2 complimentary cocktails for us, so kind of him.

In the lounge

That's a night view of the village, you could make out the contours of the valley.

~~~~~~~

On the third day when we woke up, I was so surprised by what I saw because I thought heaven has come down.

*dreamily sigh*

It was supposed to snow which we were hoping for, but alas, the snow did not reach us; it only snowed on the mountain peak. It looked like some soft dusting of sugar icing on the pine trees.. oh so pretty.

While M went for her facial, I was sitting in the lounge and then the cutest German girl came up and tried to befriend me and everyone she saw in- you guessed it- German. All I could say to her was "Hello!" and that is it. What a shame. Well, if language fails us, bring on the technology then. I whipped out my itouch and let her play with my most childish application- Cooking Mama. hahaha I always wonder why on earth I downloaded it but now I understand its purpose ;)

Everyone say Hi to Emily.

Our favourite armchair

We started chatting with the owner Evelyn who is such an inspiration. She inherited this beautiful house from her parents and together with her interior designer husband Ike, they redid the whole place to what we see today. They now run an extremely successful business, and even have an even upmarket hotel called Miramonte further up the mountain. She urged us to take a walk up and have a cup of tea there, and also arranged for someone to bring us around. This is how hospitable she is. And we noticed that she doesn't have any airs of a boss. She is constantly working around, cleaning wherever that needs cleaning, fussing about guests making sure everyone is comfy and happy. M was extremely inspired by her and questioned herself what is she doing in finance when there are more rewarding jobs out there. One thing M said which I agree, was that she loves how successful this couple are just where they are, without having to venture into a big city.

Chatting with Evelyn; her hotel is featured in this thick Top 1,000 hotels in Europe book!

And out of nowhere, this dog called Happy came into the room.
In such a beautiful place, I bet he is happy!

Miramonte- kids' playroom; cute lampshade made up of ribbons in the restaurant

Using more sheepskin as cushions on chairs

The bar area and the entrance. The hotel has a bauhaus design, very stylish, very chic. But we do prefer the one we stayed in because it has a more welcoming and warm feel. Miramonte feels more serious. And all these have been designed by Evelyn's husband... a job very well done.

And with that, we bade farewell to Evelyn, and everyone in the hotel which made this stay unforgettable. We left Bad Gastein unwillingly.

Up next, Munich!