Dream Vans of New Zealand
As you probably know by now, I am slightly obsessed with vans. No sports car for me, my dream vehicle is a van. (more…)
Category: Travel
SUPing Muddy Creek
My GoPro footage from SUPing down a 16 mile stretch of Muddy Creek in the San Rafael Swell of Southern Utah. Thanks to all my friends who helped make this special trip happen.
Lustworthy vans of Europe
While in Vienna, Austria, I couldn’t help but notice all the amazing European vans so I decided to make a photo collection of the lustworthy vans I saw on my trip.
Why don’t we have these cool vans in the US?
I like the blue stripe and the gear rack on this one.
Simple, sleek and aerodynamic with lots of room for cargo and sleeping.
Interesting design, big windows – looks modern and futuristic.
My dream van!!! A Volkswagen Westfalia California Coach!
I absolutely adore the color of this one and the triangles!
And not a van but a Smartcar. These are gaining popularity in the US but they are so cute and gas efficient.
And finally, a funny sign on the streets of downtown Vienna.
My trip to Austria
I just returned from a week in Austria with my family. We flew straight from Salt Lake City to Paris and then to Vienna. I also took a day trip to Altenmarkt, the place of the Atomic ski factory. Here are some pictures.
Flying over the Alps from France to Austria.
My dad and me in the airplane, tired but smiling.
Our first glimpse of Vienna.
Our first dinner at a traditional Austrian restaurant.
Wiener schnitzel!
Sunset on the Danube. Note the windmills- quite beautiful!
Ready to head out on my trip to Atomic factories. I had to take 2 subways and 2 trains to get there.
At the first subway stop.
Inside the dining cart of the train. I loved using the rail system!
The Atomic factories! I had an amazing time touring the headquarters and production facility. I really enjoyed seeing how the skis were made. I couldn’t take pictures inside because of all the top secret ski designs but I was impressed by how much the skis are handmade. Because the headquarters are right next to the production facility, the company is allowed to have greater control over quality standards.
After meeting with the crew and touring the factory, the Atomic boys took me river surfing! It was cold and rainy but the wave was great.
One of their friends makes surfboards for river surfing in the middle of landlocked Austria.
They are made out of housing insulation!
Here’s the surfboard makers office – he also makes the chair pictured here. It is a heated chair – very modern! I loved the design and it was great to warm up in after a chilly time on the river.
Here are the guys heading back from the river. We definitely got a lot of stares from drivers going by.
The crew!
They were like my Austrian brothers.
Here are the Austrian boards (except the …lost board on the left).
After Atomic, I went back to Vienna.
Walking around downtown.
A vegetable market. So beautiful!
Austrian fashion.
Bike rentals you can pick up on the streets. A great idea!
Riding the subway system.
Kiss and Ride.
Austrian pony ride.
Vienna street art.
We went to the KunstHausWien, a modern art museum.
They had the coolest uneven floors –
Heading to an Austrian café for coffee and sweets.
Yummy cappuccino.
The scene.
A palace.
Lego planters.
Hanging out at the Museums quartier – This guy is posing for my picture. I also love the “Stop in the name of love” sign.
The Leopold Museum where we saw some Gustav Klimt originals!
In the evening, we went to Praterstern and walked through this crazy amusement park.
They still had “funhouses” to walk through!
The next day, I took a morning bike tour of the city. It was a great way to get around and see everything in 3 hours.
One of Beethoven’s many residences, and the city wall that used to surround Vienna. Apparently, Beethoven liked to compose and night and was therefore evicted from many apartments in the city. He lived everywhere so now many buildings have a commemorative plaque for him.
Old cobblestone street vs. new. As one of my friends told me before departing to Vienna, “no high heels, too many cobblestones.”
Stephansdom – the building was covered in scaffolding for “cleaning.” The sandstone absorbs the pollution and gets quite dirty (the black) side – the white had just been cleaned. I somewhat prefer the black – what do you think? Vienna had quite a bit of construction going on. All that delicate architecture requires a lot of maintenance.
A community swimming pool on the Danube River.
More street art.
On the bike tour.
Old train station.
In the afternoon, we went to the famous Sacher café for sweets. Here’s the famous apple strudel.
After lunch, we went to this island in the middle of the Danube canals. They had one of the most awesome things I’ve ever seen – a trampoline park on the water! You could pay 2 euros for 8 minutes of jumping on an Olympic trampoline. No waivers, no rules! You could jump from trampoline to trampoline. It was so much fun! Only in Europe…
Getting air on the river!
Working on my daffy!
Swans on the river.
They also had a cool wake board park where a cable towed people around.
The family at sunset.
Loving Vienna.
Our last dinner!
Sunrise at 5am before getting on our flights. After 19 hours of flying, I am home only to leave again for Teva Mountain Games. I had a great trip and hope to visit Europe again soon!
Reno River Festival
Over the weekend, I competed in the Reno River Festival for stand up paddling (SUP). Check out my video:
My GoPro footage from the event.
