Skiing, Shashlik, and a Bruise...

This weekend, we finally decided to go skiing. There is a small ski resort only 30 minutes from our house. The teachers have been going for several weeks, every Saturday, but this was our first time going.
At the top of the mountain, look at the view!

They had 3 lifts open - all 2 chair lifts. They were painfully slow, so by the time you got to the top, you were F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G.

I had to take these pictures FAST because my fingers felt like they were going to fall off. Here is Stephen, all ready to go!

And my self-portrait. Isn't it lovely?

Nick (Woody's friend who is visiting), Anthony (Ant), and Robby (Woody)

We all met up for lunch at the outdoor cafe and had really tasty Shashlik. (Meat kabob) We had lamb shashlik and frites (fries).

I quit by lunch time because the slopes were SO ICY!!! I had taken a couple of good diggers and my hip was hurting. I decided I'd go to the indoor cafe and have some hot chocolate (beer) while the rest skiied for a while longer. I went inside and there were three empty tables, so I sat down at one and waited about 10 minutes for someone to ask me what I wanted. Eventually, the waitress came over and said I couldn't sit there. There's no point in me asking why because I wouldn't understand what she said. I'm pretty sure it was just because I was alone. And because people are really rude here. So, I went back outside, where it was F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G, but at least the sun was shining, and waited for Stephen.

This is what I looked at for an hour and a half.

And this.

And this! They were giving hot air balloon rides, but the the balloon was tied down, so it just went up and down, up and down, all day long.

I took some other pictures, but they didn't really turn out, since it was too cold to take my gloves off to take the pictures, my glove is in most of the pictures.

Eventually, Stephen did show up, along with some other teachers. By then, it was about 3:00 and everyone was exhausted. Skiing on ice is just too much work, in my opinion! We sat inside and had some beers before the bus left at 5:15.

When we left the cafe, I kind of had the feeling I needed to tinkle, but I figured I could wait until we got home. I was advised to wait, as the bathrooms left much to be desired. Think squatty potties that haven't been cleaned in who knows how long.

Well, by the time we got only halfway down the mountain, I thought I was going to pee my pants. I have never had to go so badly in my life. There's this skating rink halfway down the mountain that my friend said we could run in there to the bathroom. So, I jumped off the bus and ran to the gate, but another mean lady said "Niet!" She pointed to the trees.

Yes, I peed behind a tree. Oh, sweet relief.

But honestly, I would rather do it there than in a stinky squatty potty.

And later that night, as I was putting on my pajamas, I noticed a HUGE bruise on my hip. It is dark purple right now...almost black. Very pretty.

We decided we're not going back skiing until they get some more snow.