Another Skiing Adventure

When we arrived in Bansko I was excited to walk around the town, browse the shops and try all of the restaurants. The Muppets who could care less about shopping and where we ate and had only one thing on their minds, playing in the snow and the skiing! I admit that the cooler weather and the falling snow was a nice treat, and putting on a toque, boots and warm gloves brought back memories of home however I was not excited for skiing.

We spent the first two days getting ourselves settled and reacquainted with the town, my husband and I had decided that we didn’t need to ski right away and that we both needed some time to decompress. By our third day in Bansko the Muppets were ready to explode with excitement about hitting the slopes so we figured we better rent some equipment and get our passes organized. We thought we would check around town and price out how much it would be to outfit our family for skiing before we decided to rent equipment, so we dragged the Muppets from shop to shop until we found the place we were looking for.

The Muppets happily tried on different sizes of ski boots, helmets and poles and when we left the shop all five of us were equipped for skiing the next day. In the morning we slowly made our way to the ski bus, the Muppets laughed about how funny it was walking in ski boots and talked about how awesome skiing was going to be. After a quick bus ride we arrived at the bottom of the hill, got our ski passes and made out way to the Gondola line. It was our first time as a family getting on the Gondola and so was a little bit nervous. Herding the Muppets through the turnstiles, and piling 5 sets of skis, poles, the Muppets and ourselves in to a moving vehicle proved to be challenging but we made it on and we were on our way up to the ski slope.

The next step was to sort the Muppets out with a skiing instructor, the two older boys were skiing down the blue runs at the end of last year so we were confidant that they would need to be in a different level then the youngest. However when the two older ones got on the hill we were proven wrong, the organizer of the lessons told us that the end of the last time they skied was totally different to the first day back on skis. The middle Muppet came to me with tears in his eyes and said “Mummy I have forgotten how to ski!” I reminded him that it had been a while and that we all needed a little refresher to get going again. Thankfully we were able to arrange for a private instructor to take all three boys for couple hours and I hoped that their confidence levels would be up when we met them for lunch.

My husband and I made our way to the chairlift and I sat nervously waiting to get to the top of the run. The two of us made our way down the hill, my husband in front of me with his mad skiing skills and myself very slow and cautious and struggled to make the turns. When we got half way down we decided to go up another lift. I couldn’t remember going on that chair last year and as we got higher and I higher I questioned whether or not I would be able to make it down such a steep slope. My husband having every confidence in the world in me told me not to worry that I would be fine. Well… I was not fine… I was terrified and crying… and yelling bad things at my husband. Half way down the hill I was done I had fallen too many times, my legs hurt and I was exhausted and sweaty. I took off my skis and started to to walk down the mountain. I could see my husband fuming at the bottom of the hill and we made our way down the rest of the hill in silence.

While my husband took the lift to the top of the mountain to enjoy some skiing on his own I sat and watched the Muppets practice on the bunny slope. The three of them all had their ski skills back and even though they were exhausted they were happy and excited to ski more in the afternoon. While we waited for their father in the restaurant I told the boys about my morning skiing. The oldest Muppet gave me a hug and said “It doesn’t sound like you had much fun Mum” I told him that I was really nervous and scared so it didn’t make it fun and that I didn’t feel very confidant on skis. The middle guy put his hand on mine and said “Mummy you will have your ski skills back in no time, this morning we were not good skiers and after a while we got our skills back!” I laughed and thanked him for his encouragement and told him that I was sure that tomorrow I would be a little bit better.

The next couple days were great, I began to be more confidant on my skis and each run was a bit better then the last. However that was not what made my days great. Watching the three Muppets enjoying skiing so much made me want to try and like it more. They improved so much over the three days that I was having trouble keeping up with them. After three days of skiing the five of us were ready for a break, each of the boys had their favorite part about the ski hill and they were excited about the prospect of doing more skiing at Christmas. I now know that the next time we go skiing we will have to start at the beginning again and that our skills will not be what they were when we ended our holiday. We will all have to have  a little patience with ourselves and then we will all have our “ski skills” back.

Until next year this Princess is hanging up her skis, and going to have a long soak in a hot tub for a week.

A Home Away from Home

When friends of ours announced a few years ago that they had purchased an apartment in Bulgaria my first reaction was “Who on earth would want to go to Bulgaria?!” We were fortunate enough to meet these friends last year at their place and enjoy some time getting to know the country. By the end of the week we had put an offer in on a place of our own there and the Muppets were excited about the prospect of returning to Bulgaria for a yearly ski trip and my husband and I were excited about having  a home away from our Doha home.

We landed in Sofia in the early hours of the morning and began our journey to the town of Bansko where are new apartment and lots of snow waited for us. We hadn’t seen the place since the day we put the offer on it and honestly couldn’t remember what was there or even where it was located in town!

After a two hour drive through winding mountain roads, and a little guess work we finally arrived at our front door. The Muppets were excited about the amount of snow in the ground and the three of them couldn’t decided if they wanted to go to the pool or play in the snow first. We made our way in to the apartment and started to settle ourselves in. Once bags were unpacked and sleeping arrangements set up we sat in our living room/kitchen/dining room and my husband and I happily talked about how pleased we were with our little piece of Bulgaria.

Our next day started early, the Muppets decided that 5 o’clock in the morning was an appropriate hour to wake up. I stayed warm in bed while my husband made the boys some breakfast, it wasn’t long before I heard some cursing coming from the kitchen. As I walked down the small hallway I realized that my feet were freezing and it was really cold in the main room. The one heater in that room was not doing a very good job and I started to make a mental list of things that we needed to grab to make things more comfortable. I sat at the kitchen table and my husband handed me a  coffee and baileys and began to tell me about the nightmare of cooking in our small kitchen. Every time he tried to make toast he would trip one of the breakers, the same thing went for the kettle and the microwave. The heater kept on turning off as well which was probably why my feet were icicles. One of the muppets yelled from the bathroom that there was no toilet paper and we realized that the toilet was leaking water and the water heater was dripping in to a bucket! Once the kids were fed the two of us sat drinking our coffee wondering if we did the right thing buying this place.

We decided to make a list of things we needed and thought we would ask some people about a place close to town to buy a few necessities. We soon realized that most of the people in town did not speak very good English and apparently no one had need of a shop like Wal-Mart or Ikea! We figured we would have to drive all the way back to the main city, to get what was on our list but we would see what we could find on the way. The Muppets reluctantly got in to the vehicle leaving their dreams of playing in the piles of snow behind and we drove back through the mountain roads. We decided to try a shop about a half hour away in a larger town. We were pleasantly surprised that it was a cross between an Ikea and Costco and found most of the items we needed. We were directed to a few other shops to find the remaining items on our list and after a strange lunch of ham, cheese, peas and carrots on pizza we found ourselves in a more optimistic mood heading back to Bansko

When we arrived home the Muppets helped bring in all the groceries and I stuffed them in to snow suits and sent them out to burn off some energy. My husband brought the management company down to look at the toilet and ask about out electrical problem. I unpacked and organized as they gave him a lesson on which outlets could be used for what appliances and the promised to come and fix the toilet the following day. An hour later I sat in a warmer more homey apartment sipping hot chocolate and watching the Muppets frolic in the snow outside. At that moment I knew that we had made the right choice and that our family was going to make many memories in our little piece of Bulgaria. It was just like any new place, you have to figure out how everything works… the people, the roads and even the appliances.

By the end of our short stay we had our little routine and we had made it our home away from our Doha home. There are still a few things that need tweaking  but the four frogs and this princess are all looking forward to our next adventure together in Bansko!

Not Something To Cry About

When it was first mentioned that we should do a skiing holiday with friends I had a vision of myself sitting by a roaring fire with a hot chocolate and a good book while the muppets played in the snow and my darling husband skied the slopes. I was sitting drinking coffee with the youngest muppet cuddling with me on the couch when Dave told me that our friends were going to book a six day ski pass for us. “Six days!” I said in disbelief, “We are only there for seven days!” When we started planning this trip I was thinking… two maybe three days of ski time! I figured we would go for a few hours everyday but I was quickly told that you don’t just ski for a few hours, that it was a whole day thing. Me and my non skiing body were not looking forward to this part if the holiday.

Since I hadn’t been skiing since I was 16 or 17 years old I wasn’t feeling overly confident about being on the hill again. I was never a strong skier to begin with so I decided that it would be best to take a lesson with the muppets the first day. This was possibly one of the worst choices I have ever made . The first 15 minutes was spent trying to get the muppets skis on, then another 20 minutes trying to teach them to walk sideways up the hill. The whining and crying that was taking place through all of this was making me want to head up the black ski run and take my chances with the mountain.  The following day our instructor decided he had enough of the muppets and bailed on us. I decided that in order to keep my sanity I would ski with Dave and our friends while the muppets tormented a new teacher.

My snowplow was extra rusty as we made our way down the hill. I was panicking at every turn and doubting every move that I made. It was not fun at all and just wanted to be down the hill as fast as I could and be done with it. We came to a rather steep part of the run and I was already hyperventilating before I started. Then it happened… I fell. I didn’t fall hard or even hurt anything but I was so tired and the steepness of the hill was daunting. I started to cry and I decided I was done, I could not possibly go on. Dave stopped in front of me and told me to get up, I didn’t want to I asked if I could take my skis off and walk down the rest of the way. My husband rolled his eyes at me and pulled me up to stand, “You have given birth to and raised three little boys, this is easier than that!” He said gently. He started back down the hill and I followed him slowly shaking the whole way down. We stopped near the bottom for a rest and my girl friend pointed up the hill, “Look what you just came down, you should be proud of that! Don’t worry you will have the hang of it by tomorrow” she said as she smiled at me. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to come back the next day.

That afternoon I watched as the oldest and middle muppet skied down small hills and practiced their turns. Dave was excited to take them on bigger hills the following day because they were doing really well. The next day we dropped the muppets off at their lesson and again the four of us made our way up to the top of the hill. Today I was not as nervous, I was still incredibly slow but  I was actually having fun. Later that afternoon the youngest and I watched the older two muppets go up and down a pretty steep hill. Their father told him that the next day he would take them to the top of the mountain. The middle muppet looked a little worried as he gazed up the tall mountain. I sat down with him and asked him if he was scared to ski down that big of a hill. He said he was a littler nervous and worried about falling, I explained to him that I had felt the same way and that I had fallen lots and I had even cried. “You cried Mum?” he asked in disbelief. I told him about not wanting to ski down the rest of the mountain and how his dad encouraged me and how much fun I ended up having because I got up and kept going. He smiled at me, “Skiing is fun Mummy it is nothing to cry about!” and he walked off with his brother and his friend excited for the following day.

The two big muppets went with their dad to the top of the hill the next day and did awesome, they were pretty mad when we said that it was their last day of skiing. They both voiced their complaints our last day in Bulgaria that their friends got to ski on last time and they did not. I think we have found something new to do as a family it is something that the four frogs seem  to love and as for this princess I am sure before long I will to grow to love it too!

Forever Friends

When our good friends in Doha bought a place in a skiing village in Bulgaria we knew that we would eventually have to make a trip out there. But when the moved back to the UK last spring it became a top priority for us to take a family vacation out there together. Ten months after saying goodbye we were reunited at the Sofia Airport.

The oldest muppet was disappointed that there was no snow on the ground when we arrived and was assured by his friends that there would be plenty of snow on the mountain. Everyone piled in to the rental van and we started our journey to the town of Bansko where we would be spending the next 6 days together. It was if we had not been away from each other for almost a year. The kids pick up right where they left off, poking fun at each other and giggling most of the car ride, and it was the same for the adults.

The muppets spent the week skiing, sledding, swimming and playing, my girl friend and I commented constantly on how well our kids got along. There was no tattling, arguing or fights, and this is how it always was with them. Near the end of the week we went out to a meal at an Irish Pub. Before walking in the door Dave snapped a shot of all five boys at the front door. He commented that he wanted to take the same shot ten years from now when the boys were all teenagers.

As an expat you get used to the revolving door of friends, the new kids in the class and saying goodbye. There are people that you may never see or hear from again and only think of them with fond thoughts. Then there are the friends who you know will be there forever, even if you only see them once a year, chat through text message or Skype. We have been lucky to spend the last week with friends like that, and I hope that we will be able to start a new tradition of a  yearly ski trip. But no matter what happens I know that we will always have their friendship in our lives. We are truly blessed!