Going up the Kitzsteinhorn glacier in Kaprun, Austria

Jess, aged 15, writes: During a lovely lakeside stay in Zell am See, Austria, I was lucky enough to visit the Kitzsteinhorn glacier with my grandpa. In the winter, the Kitzsteinhorn is generally used for skiing, but in summer the mountain is perfect for walks and admiring the gorgeous views. Our trip was definitely one of the most impressive in the entire holiday, and we both had a really good time.

The Kitzsteinhorn is about forty minutes away from Zell am See (our base) by bus, and we arrived just past midday. After pausing for a small drink and a pastry, we began our ascent up the mountain in a funitel. This journey was certainly one of the standout moments of the entire holiday.

[caption id="attachment_4114" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The gondola lift up the mountain was incredible![/caption]

The Gletscherjet I (glacier jet one) takes you unbelievably high, and the journey is about five and a half minutes long. The small capsule size and lack of midweek crowds meant that it was just me and grandpa by ourselves, and it was lovely to move around and talk freely without strangers next to us! The views were absolutely magnificent: the towering green mountains stretched into the distance, interspersed with tall trees and trickling waterfalls. This was definitely the most majestic point of our entire holiday, and I loved it.

[caption id="attachment_4136" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] We loved our gondola journeys up the mountain![/caption]

After exiting the funitel, grandpa and I took a walk around the area. Luckily, the ground was flat, making it very accessible. The area consisted of a sports and a souvenir shop, a restaurant, and a climbing frame for children (I enjoyed this, despite probably being too old!) Our walk was short, but very pleasant. We stumbled upon some lambs and a river, and the views beneath us were simply gorgeous.

There are lots of lifts to choose in the winter, but there is less of a choice in summer. Grandpa and I took the Gletscherjet II to the next level: a journey which took about three minutes. This was equally as impressive as our first journey, and again, we had the capsule to ourselves.

[caption id="attachment_4133" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] We took the Gipfelwelt up to the top of the Kitzsteinhorn[/caption]

There is a lot to do once outside of the Gletscherjet II, but grandpa and I decided to forgo this and take the Gipfelwelt 3000 to the highest accessible point of the mountain. This journey took us from the mountain's lush grassy hills to the snow-covered glacier, and we could see people partaking in snow sports beneath us.

[caption id="attachment_4113" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] At the top of Salzburg![/caption]

It was extremely exciting to be at the top of the Kitzsteinhorn, as this meant that we were at the highest accessible point of Salzburg: 3029m high. The Gipfelwelt 3000 panorama was a perfect place for admiring the incredible view and taking photos. It was a stunning view, and it was cool to be at the highest point in the whole of Salzburg!

[caption id="attachment_4134" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The views of the glacier were remarkable.[/caption]

Next came the National Park Gallery, which is located in a 360m long tunnel through the Kitzsteinhorn. It was fascinating to be able to walk through the mountain. We learnt about the formation of the Alps and the different crystals in the Kitzsteinhorn, but had to turn back as the altitude was making grandpa feel slightly uneasy.

Finally, it was time to take the Gipfelwelt, Gletscherjet II, and Gletscherjet I back to the bottom of the Kitzsteinhorn. I had had an amazing time, and was honestly sad to leave. The views from the gondolas had been phenomenal, and the mountain had been just so quiet and beautiful. There was so much grandpa and I didn't manage to do (exploring more of the museum, going to the cinema, or trying out snow sports), yet we still had such a relaxing and interesting time. I would definitely recommend a visit to the Kitzsteinhorn; it was simply a lovely day out.

Jess and her grandpa went on a package holiday with Inghams, flying via Ryan Air from Stansted Airport to Salzburg and then taking a coach to Zell. They were gifted two “summer cards” from the Zell am Zee tourism board, but they had no input into this blog post.

Read more about this holiday here

- you can find out all the other wonderful things that Jess and her grandpa got up to!

Up high on the Jungfrau in Switzerland

The Jungfrau is the highest point you can reach by rail in Europe. It’s over 11,000 feet up high in the stunningly beautiful mountains, which are a vision in white.

It was almost overwhelming standing at the top of this force of nature, on the Sphinx observation terrace (which we reached by Switzerland's fastest lift - taking just 27 seconds to reach the height of 3,571 metres). I had wrapped up really warmly for the occasion, so was pleasantly surprised by how hot it was. I guess we were nearer the sun by being so high up! Mind you, I think we were lucky and I can imagine how cold it could get when the wind whips in. The average temperature across the year is -7.9C.

[caption id="attachment_2624" align="alignnone" width="1200"] View of the Aletsch Glacier[/caption]

The Jungfrau is beautiful, and also (you won’t be surprised to hear) very popular. That’s understandable, for who wouldn’t want to enjoy the views over the Aletsch Glacier (the longest Alpine glacier, at 23km), and of the Jungrau, Mönch, Schilthorn and Eiger? When the sun is shining, the vista stretches on and on and you can see the Vosges in France and Black Forest in Germany, but cloud cover can change that in an instant (and sunglasses are a must to avoid snow blindness).

You would expect a place like this to be full of other tourists (over a million of us last year), and it is, but that doesn’t mean you don’t get space to enjoy the surroundings. Despite all the people, I found being outside and enjoying the views utterly wonderful, and very, very special.

However, I was less taken by the added extras which make this such an “experience” for visitors.

[caption id="attachment_2625" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Some of the ice sculptures[/caption]

Some of this is great, and I did appreciate the ice sculpture palace with its slightly eerie, blueish sculptures, and the Alpine sensation with its story of tourism in the region (for example: it was Italian labourers who did most of the work on constructing the railway), but others – such as a very crowded Lindt chocolate shop – are less appealing.  There are also numerous shops and places to eat, including a Bollywood restaurant and the Restaurant Crystal, which serves traditional Swiss cuisine, including fondue (of course).

If the weather is good, you can also hike your way over the mountains, and also take part in skiing, snowboarding and ziplining, which would be terrific fun.

[caption id="attachment_2627" align="alignnone" width="675"] At the top of the Jungfrau[/caption]

A huge part of your Jungfrau visit will be how you get there, and the rail journey (in fact, there’s more than one) is spectacular, with the highest railway station in Europe nestled between the Jungfrau and Monch, at a height of 11,333ft.

We went via Interlaken to Kleine Scheidegg and then started our ascent via the Lauterbrunnen valley, with its beautiful scenery and waterfalls, although we came back via Grindelwald. I’d recommend trying both routes out, as it means you see more of the area.

I loved the views of the mountains and took far too many pictures, although the second part of the trip, from Kleine Scheidegg (which is already 6,762 feet up) to the Jungfraujoch is mainly in the Eiger tunnel, which lasts for 7km. Somehow this is still impressive – what a feat of engineering - and it was lovely to stop off twice on the way – at Eigerwand and Eismeer  - to get used to the altitude and also enjoy the view from some great panoramic windows. The snow looked incredible from Eismeer, while Eigerwand gives you the chance to look at the north face of the famous Eiger.

[caption id="attachment_2628" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Coming down the Jungfrau, via Grindelwald[/caption]

All the trains were, as you would expect, extremely comfortable and such a lovely way to travel. Be warned, however, that they do get very crowded – we were fortunate to get seats on the way back – and we needed to sit down and recover from our alpine exertions!

My only negative about this whole experience was the cost. The rail journey is extremely expensive, around 200 Swiss Francs per person for a return trip (around £156) although there are reductions if you have a Swiss Pass (well worth it if you are going to travel elsewhere). You really need to see it as the experience of a lifetime – and budget accordingly.

More on fares and tickes here.

Read more on Switzerland with:

A day in Interlaken

Read about my trip to Meiringen and the Reichenbach Falls!

Disclosure: I was fortunate to visit Switzerland as part of a wonderful Great Railways Journey to the Jungfrau, which meant all my travel was free (including the train up to the Jungfrau). However, none of the establishments had any input into this blog post.

Keeping Cool in the Summer - Sledging and Skiing at The Snow Centre

It's been surprisingly hot in London of late, but we found a rather unusual way to cool down....

Jess writes: Before yesterday, no one in my family had ever been skiing or sledging before - in fact, I was confused as to which one was which! Consequently, we were all really excited to go to The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead to try our hands at both of these activities. First of all, we had an hour-long private family beginner's ski lesson, and then we spent half an hour sledging. I have created a video of our day, which you can watch below. Watch out for Dad sledging into the side bumpers (and mum laughing as she videoed it!)...

[kad_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6Hj2KHOIXI" width=500 height=300 ]

After donning incredibly warm jackets, boots and trousers, we wobbled our way onto the snow with our instructor Hussein. Our boots had such a large heel that Hussein had to instruct us how to walk properly - keep your eyes fixed on where you are going and put your heel on the ground first.

[caption id="attachment_1468" align="aligncenter" width="940"] There were a lot of helmets on offer![/caption]

This is what Robert thought of the lesson: As it was our first time ever skiing, we took part in a basic lesson which involved us learning how to walk, turn and ski down small hills. I greatly enjoyed gliding across the snow, even though I did fall over about 20 times. Near the end of the lesson we each took it in turns to go a small way up the slope then back down again. To get to that point we had to hold onto a moving rope which brought us upwards. Unfortunately for me even that was too complicated and I usually ended up being dragged on the ground by the rope.

I learnt lots in that lesson and I really hope to go back and try lesson two. In the future I want to ski down one of the larger slopes. I enjoyed nearly everything about the lesson but the only downside was that the instructor was quite mean and bossy at times when I couldn't do the thing he wanted me to.

Jess writes: I loved the lesson; even though what we were doing was very basic, it was exhilarating to hold on to the rope and be pulled upwards, and it was a strange feeling to glide down the slope on the skis. I had never realised how slippery the snow was before, making it difficult to turn or move upwards without turning your skis sideways.

[caption id="attachment_1469" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Robert tries some skiing![/caption]

Although I think that Robert disliked not being able to grasp everything quickly, I love a challenge and had a really exciting time. Hussein was funny and helpful, and always corrected me so that I could go faster or slide more smoothly. I realised that I have a tendency to wave my arms frantically in the air, and that I am better at skiing than I expected - I only fell down once! I had a brilliant time and wish that the lesson lasted longer, as even though it was an hour long, the time flew by really quickly.

Robert writes: After swapping our ski boots for snow shoes, we returned to the coldness to do sledging. This was extremely fun yet it was really tiring walking up the slope holding either a rubber ring or chair thing. I preferred the rubber ring as it was more comfortable to sit in but they were heavier to carry. I loved zooming down the hill but didn't enjoy all the snow flying upwards into my face. Some sledges could carry two people and that was more fun than doing it by yourself. It was great.

Jess writes: I really liked sledging. We had to carry sledges or rings to the top of a slope, and pushed ourselves off it. I ended up sliding down really quickly, and getting snow all over me. Robert, Dad and I loved it, but it was exhausting having to walk up to the top again and again. We were in a group of around ten adults and children, but we never had to wait long for our goes, which was lovely.

[caption id="attachment_1471" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Jess and Rob after sledging down the hill[/caption]

Although I preferred skiing, sledging was definitely faster and it didn't take long to grasp. Once, dad ended up sliding into the cushion-y barrier, meaning that Robert, mum and I erupted into laughter. I would love to go sledging again.

[caption id="attachment_1472" align="aligncenter" width="940"] If you were a proper skier, you could try out the slopes on the other side from us and slalom down![/caption]

After our time was up, we gave back our ski clothes, boots and helmets and went upstairs to have lunch. There was a large range of choices, and a good kids' menu, plus the lodge where we ate had a very nice atmosphere and you could watch the skiing go on through the windows behind you.

[caption id="attachment_1473" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Eating in the lodge after our exploits on the snow. You can see the slopes behind[/caption]

Dad had a mushroom stroganoff, I had the vegetable chilli, mum had a falafel burger and Robert had fish fingers, beans and chips. Everyone was kind, and friendly and the food was very tasty - perfect after being so tired out from the skiing and the sledging. It was also pretty good value, with the kids' menu costing £4.50 per child, including a drink and dessert, and the main meals costing less than £10 each. Dad and I also treated ourselves to a mouth-watering waffle with ice cream and chocolate sauce afterwards...

[caption id="attachment_1474" align="aligncenter" width="940"] We enjoyed our waffles![/caption]

Overall, we would all definitely recommend The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead for skiing and sledging, whether you are a total novice or a seasoned skier. Everyone was so lovely, and it was so exciting to slide down the slopes really quickly. We were also very impressed by the more experienced skiers who went down the much steeper slops. I had always wanted to see what it would be like to ski and sledge, and my first time certainly didn't disappoint me. In fact, I want to go back again!

The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead is the closest ski slope to London, and clothes hire is £6.75 per person. A one hour private family ski lesson (two adults and two children) is £165, and sledging is £7 per person. Group ski lessons are cheaper, and are offered for juniors and adults. Our visit was kindly hosted by the Snow Centre, but they have had no input into this article and all opinions are our own.

Hemel Hempstead is in Hertfordshire, about 40 minutes from Central London

More by me:

Cupcakes and the Queen at the Rubens Hotel in London!

Science and Baseball Bats in Louisville, Kentucky