Bavaria!

2016 started off right with some new adventures.  NATO saw fit to send me to Oberammergau, Germany for some training and while I saluted smartly and drove on to yet another hardship location, I brought my snowboard with me.  In all honestly, Oberammergau is a slice of heaven.  It's deep in the Bavarian Alps just up the road from Garmisch Partenkirchen.  The Baldwin fam took many trips to Garmisch back in the day. 

One of the highlights of this trip was x country skiing (Nordic skiing).  My old boss and great friend, Dr. Kersgard, told me about her time back in Idaho logging some hours on the Nordic tracks which got me really curious about the sport.  Unfortunately our time in Boise was too short and I never got the chance to try it out.  This time, however, I made it happen thanks to some awesome conditions.  2015/2016 won't be remembered for it's incredible snow conditions.  In fact, you'll see in an earlier post that I had to bail from a Dec ski trip to Zakopane due to the lack of snow.  In early Jan in Bavaria, the snow was falling...falling hard that is. 

I delayed by Nordic skiing until the final day of my training and was blessed with some epic blue skies and packed/groomed powder.  Ahhh, kill me now!  It took a little getting used to but after 30 minutes or so, I got the hang of it.  Not much to it especially even if you're a novice.  In fact, I think it's easier for those who haven't skied before on downhill skis.  I say this because downhill skiers will "skate" or push out the inner edge of their ski to propel themselves forward on flat ground.  I've done it a thousand times and even got a massive blister from this motion when I went ski skating around our Barber Station house in Boise after an epic snow storm.  Nordic skiing is extremely linear.  No kicking out to the sides although I understand that style of Nordic skiing is growing in popularity.  Anyhow, it was a great way to get out and enjoy this Bavarian paradise and to burn off the few beers from the previous night.  Sidebar: I ran into a Dutch colleague from our course and he was the coolest.  I quit after three beers while he lost count.  Good times. 

This is one of the reasons I had to get back to Europe.  Oberammergau, Garmisch, Innsbruck--these are the places to be in early January!