My Luv Letter to Saalbach

Isabella Drenthen
Feb 15
4 min read

Dear Saalbach,

Even though the weather and the snow weren’t great, I still had a lovely time! From skiing in the sun, to watching the FIS championships!

Friday: Blasting Adele on the plane

It started on Friday late afternoon when we flew to Munich. I was blasting Adele on the plane to reminisce about the last time I was there for the Adele concert (a story for another time, hahah). Before driving to Saalbach, we made a quick pit stop at McDonald’s, where I found out I was accepted to start my master’s this summer, so my vacation started on a good note ;). We arrived quite late at the hotel but slept like babies after a long day.

Saturday: Your typical ski day

The next day, we were up early to get the skis and get our asses up the mountain. It was a perfect, sunny, and cold day for skiing, and we ended up making quite a tour. We stopped halfway for eine Tasse Kaffee and to appreciate some music, where we discovered that my dad and I have the same rhythm—we always bounce our heads to the music like those Chinese bobblehead figures.

When we got back to Saalbach, we had lunch on the mountain where live music was playing. However, either everyone but us was deaf, or the sound system was out of control, because when we left, we were deaf. We then proceeded to check out the après-ski, but we were a bit too early, so we didn’t stay long but enjoyed the sunset instead and a nice drink at the hotel bar.

Sunday: Exhilarating Ski Championship Day

The next day, we went to the FIS World Skiing Championships in Hinterglemm, which was absolutely amazing. The crowd was lively and engaged, the athletes were out of this world—it looked like the human version of Formula 1, hitting speeds up to 130 km/h—and the weather was nice and sunny. So, we couldn’t complain at all!

In the evening, we celebrated a family friend’s birthday, which was, once again, a lot of fun. It was organized chaos, with many rounds of schnapps, cheese fondue, dancing, bell clinging, and singing Happy Birthday every 15 minutes. The night ended at a wine bar with—again—some schnapps (which we all regretted the next morning) and some bell clinging through the village (which we also regretted the next morning).

Monday: Headache Day

As expected, the next morning, we all regretted the schnapps, and we had to ski very carefully because even our own turns on the slopes made us nauseous. I, however, felt like the responible blogger that day and took my camera with me on the slopes. It gave me some pitstop rests to take a picture while skiing to also stop the nausea. Eventually, we didn’t make it a long skiing day and had lunch at Eva Village in Saalbach, which was lovely.

After lunch, we enjoyed a Heiße Schoko ohne Sahne in the sun at the hotel bar, and then we attempted an afternoon nap to try and recover from all that alcohol. As predicted, we didn’t make it a late night.

Tuesday: Your typical ski day 2.0

The next morning, half of the group went back to the FIS championships, while the other half (including me) went skiing. The day was beautiful again—not much snow, but lovely sun.

We had a little coffee and a non-alcoholic spritz in the sun at Hendl & Fischerei, a very beautiful place. There’s a reason it’s called a “mountain club.” We had lunch at Montana Royal, which unfortunately wasn’t anything special. But, being hospitality graduates, we could easily spot everything that went wrong… but hey ho.

After skiing, we went into the sauna and spa at the hotel and, once again, didn’t make it a late night.

Wednesday: Cuddles with the dogs

The next day was already our last day to ski, and unfortunately, the conditions weren’t great. It was misty, raining, and the snow was soft, making it a perfect recipe for injuries. Luckily, nothing happened, but we stopped early to avoid any risk. We did however enjoy a little walk so I could take my camera again and photograph the misty mountains. It almost felt like a scene from Twilight.

In the afternoon, we visited our family friends, who welcomed us with open arms into their beautiful home. We had a great time again with their lovely dogs, some wine, loud music, and the occasional schnapps (which I didn’t take this time—I had learned my lesson…).

Thursday: Up in the air again

The next morning, it was already time to go back home… Even though it was a short ski trip, it was a very fun one, filled with lots of laughter, funny TikTok trend pictures, good skiing, and discovering a new sport to watch on TV.

As some of you might know, I’m a big Formula 1 fan, and I always find the winter months very long since there’s no F1 race to watch. But now, I can watch skiing races—it gives me the same exhilaration, hihi.

It was my first time visiting Saalbach, and even though it’s more of a party village than I am a party person, I still really liked it. Thank you, Saalbach, for a lovely time! Until next time!

Spread the luv,

Isabella