Hello, my name is Adrian Rye. I'm an Englishman living in Ober-Traum and this is my story.
Last month we looked at our first Christmas and New Year in Austria, plus two very important
other birthdays. This month we're looking at the main reason
I moved here, skiing. My primary motivation for wanting to move
to Austria was skiing. I was fed up with my life as it was and I had a dream that I wanted
to become a ski instructor. I had my first ski holiday when I was 16. Yes, I know I said
in some earlier programmes that I was 17, but on further checking it turns out I lied
about my age. The school I went to for O-level didn't do anything as extravagant as ski holidays.
Luckily for me I went on to do my A-levels, Matura, at a posher school and they had a
ski trip every year. It was 1980. I'd been a fan of the TV show Ski Sunday for many years
and finally I was going to get the chance to try it for myself. A list of eager students
was drawn up. Unfortunately there were more names on the list than places on the trip.
The list had to be trimmed. Now some people suggested that the easiest way to trim the
list would be just to bump the price up and then people would drop out of the list because
it was just too expensive for them. The Games Master on the other hand had a very different
idea. Anyone who wanted to stay on the list had to turn up for a ski day at the local
dry slope. For those of you who don't know what a dry slope is, imagine a small hill
where one side is being covered in concrete and diamond bristle matting. If you can ski
on this stuff then skiing on snow is a lot easier and a lot less painful when you fall
over. We were divided into three groups and spent the morning having lessons. On the bus
back the Games Master asked each kid individually if they still wanted to go. It turned out
that quite a few decided that based on the day's events skiing was not for them. They
probably saved their parents a lot of money and themselves a lot of heartache.
We can go if we want to, if we don't know what to do.
We can dance, we can dance, everybody's out of control. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, everybody look at your hands. We can dance, we can dance, everybody's taking the chance.
We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, everybody's out of control. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, everybody's out of control. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can
dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can
dance, we can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall. We can dance, we can dance, we're doing it from wall to wall.
The first morning on the slopes was fantastic. Beautiful sunshine and lots of snow. We spent the morning trying to get to grips with the basics of snowplough turns and then returned to the hotel for a late lunch.
In the afternoon we were supposed to spend our time on the easy slopes practicing what we'd learnt in the morning. A group of us had a different idea. We set off for the main valley run.
We were terrible with no real idea of what we were doing, but we had a lot of fun doing it. As I look back now I think it was irresponsible and dangerous. But I'm a boring old fart now. At the time we thought it was great.
When we finally made it to the gondola at the bottom we were exhausted, but we felt like conquering heroes. And that's when I first came to the realization that ski holidays are all about hero stories.
Hero stories are the tales you tell at the bar, in your room or anywhere you meet like-minded people. They normally start with, did you see? And end with, it was incredible, unbelievable, amazing or some similar word.
They're not about success or failure. They're about meeting a challenge and confronting it.
I, I will be king. And you, shall be my queen.
Nothing will ever drive them away. But we could beat them.
Forever and ever. Yes, we could be heroes. Just for one day.
And you, you are insane. And I, I am the same.
Cause we're lovers. And that is the truth. Yes, we're lovers. And we are the proof.
No, nothing will keep us together. We can stop time forever and ever. Yes, we could be heroes. What do you say?
I, I can remember. Standing, to lie the wall. And the guns, were all ready to fire.
And we cast, those that we never can fall. And the chain, was the denied city. And we can beat them.
Forever and ever. We could be heroes. Just for one day.
We could be heroes. We could be heroes. We could be heroes. Just for one day.
We could be heroes.
It was after this first ski trip that I decided that one day,
I would become a ski instructor. The tale of which will be covered in a later program.
I was really lucky. I managed to get a place on the school skiing trip again the following year.
We went to Modizimo. This time I had to pay for myself. So I spent every weekend doing seller work and stacking shelves in a local pub.
After that it was seven years at Polytechnic and no ski holidays.
Gillian and I met at our first day at Coventry Poly. We started as good friends and finally got married in 1988.
Two years later, it was finally time to introduce Gillian to skiing.
Remembering the high dropout rate from the school trip, we went to the dry slope at Castle Grieseley in Derbyshire.
There she had a private lesson for two hours, whilst I tried to remember what I'd learnt on the school trips.
It was a success. She liked it. The ski trip was on.
We arranged to go skiing with another couple we had known since college. Our destination was Glenshee in Scotland.
When we arrived, we looked at the green slopes and the old patch of snow here and there and thought,
hmm, I don't think we'll be skiing this week.
When we left, at the end of the week, there was even less snow and we'd managed to ski every day.
So that's what really matters.
The snow was so cold that we had to go to the snowmobile.
We had to go to the snowmobile to get the snowmobile.
The snowmobile was a great experience.
We had to go to the snowmobile to get the snowmobile.
The snowmobile was a great experience.
Music
Whilst we were there, we signed up for lessons.
I'm a big fan of people having lessons.
After a day of walking and skiing, we drove back to our hotel exhausted.
Our apres ski plans were reduced to a cup of tea and a slice of cake, followed by a nap in a comfy chair in front of an open fire.
The following day when we met my instructor Martin in the car park, he announced that he wasn't going to be wasting any more skiing time walking up the mountain.
This was a man after my own heart.
He pointed to a large patch of snow higher up and said, that is where we're skiing today.
He then turned and pointed to a chairlift that was running and said, that is the lift we will be taking.
The chairlift appeared to be going in a direction away from the patch of snow.
When we got to the top of the lift, we saw that we were higher than the piece we were heading for.
And that the route between us and it was a mixture of snow patches, mud, grass and puddles.
Announcing this was real off-piece skiing, we set off.
As the week went on and Martin's route selection became ever more interesting, a certain pattern developed.
Each day one or two members of the group would come up to me in the car park and ask me to tell Martin they would not be coming to any more lessons
because their wife, husband or partner thought that what we were doing was far too dangerous.
Martin's route selection was a mixture of snow and mud.
The snow was very thick and the snow was very thick.
Martin's route selection was a mixture of snow and mud.
The snow was very thick and the snow was very thick.
Martin's route selection was a mixture of snow and mud.
The snow was very thick and the snow was very thick.
We hold on to what we've got.
It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not.
We got each other and that's a life for love.
We'll give it a shot.
Oh, we're halfway there.
Oh, give it all a prayer.
Take my hand, we'll make it, I swear.
Oh, give it all a prayer.
Time has got its six-stringin' high.
Now he's holding in what he used to make it talk so tough.
It's tough.
She had her dreams running away.
Cries in the night time and whispers,
Baby, it's okay.
It's okay.
We've got to hold on to what we've got.
It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not.
We got each other and that's a life for love.
We'll give it a shot.
Oh, we're halfway there.
Oh, give it all a prayer.
Take my hand, we'll make it, I swear.
Oh, give it all a prayer.
Give it all a prayer.
Oh, we've got to hold on.
Ready or not, you live for the fight when that's all that you've got.
Oh, we're halfway there.
Oh, give it all a prayer.
Take my hand, we'll make it, I swear.
Oh, give it all a prayer.
Oh, we're halfway there.
Oh, give it all a prayer.
Take my hand, we'll make it, I swear.
Oh, give it all a prayer.
Oh, we're halfway there.
If there's one thing a good hero story needs,
it's an interesting protagonist.
Over the years I've come to the conclusion that I like larger than life characters
who do what they do because of passion rather than because it's their job.
After further thought, I'm wondering if Gillian's tolerance of walking uphill
is the main reason she likes touring more than I do.
For those of you who've just joined us, my name is Adrian Rye.
I'm an Englishman living in Obertrang.
This program is Big City Life, and here I tell my story of how I came to live in Austria.
A story that's set against a musical backdrop because I like it that way.
Today I'm looking at skiing, my main reason for moving here.
How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
Leading you down into my court, or I become so numb.
Without a soul, my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold.
Until you find me there and lead it back home.
Wake me up, wake me up inside. I can't wake up.
Wake me up inside, call my name and save me from the dark.
Bid my blood to run before I come undone.
Save me from the nothing I've become.
Now that I know what I'm without, you can't just leave me.
Breathe into me and make me real.
Bring me to life.
Wake me up, wake me up inside. I can't wake up.
Wake me up inside, call my name and save me from the dark.
Bid my blood to run before I come undone.
Save me from the nothing I've become.
Breathe into me.
I'm living in a lie. There's nothing inside me.
Breathe into me.
Frozen inside, without your touch, without your love, darling.
Only you, all the life on my mind.
All this time I can't believe I couldn't see.
Come to the dark, but you were there in front of me.
I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems.
Got to open my eyes to everything.
Without thought, without a voice, without a soul.
Don't let me die here.
Come on, cause I've been born.
Bring me to life.
Wake me up inside, wake me up inside.
Save me, call my name and save me from the dark.
Bid my blood to run before I come undone.
Save me, save me from the nothing I've become.
Breathe into me.
I'm living in a lie. There's nothing inside me.
Breathe into me.
Over the next 10 to 12 years we tried to have a skiing holiday at least once a year.
Sometimes we managed twice.
Flens, Leogang, Altenmark, Val des Airs, Arendt-Salle, Cheffaux, Itte, Lake Tahoe, Leger.
For most of these trips the full list price was far more than we could afford,
so we had to search out bargains.
This was in a time before the internet and mobile phones,
so the most up-to-date information used to be published on teletext,
and all phone calls had to be sorted from your home phone or a call box.
The best deals came out midday on a Thursday for trips flying early Saturday morning.
The latest we ever booked was 8 o'clock one Friday evening for a 7 o'clock flight the next morning.
When we got to the airport we obviously had no tickets or written booking confirmation,
so we had to talk our way onto the plane and hope that it all worked out.
It did. We had a great time.
One place we stayed on three separate occasions was the Turnhouse in Hutton near Leogang.
Each time we stayed it was run as a chalet, but by a different travel company.
One year we had a chef who trained as a pastry chef. His cakes were magnificent.
His biggest failing was his love of ABBA and his desire to play their music at any and every opportunity.
The most important thing was to get a job.
All the things I could do.
If I had a little money, it's a rich man's world.
It's a rich man's world.
A man like that is hard to find, but I can get him off my mind.
Amy, it's sad.
And if he happens to be free, I bet he wouldn't fancy me.
That's too bad.
So I must leave. I'll have to go.
To Las Vegas or Monaco.
And win a fortune in a game. My life will never be the same.
Money, money, money.
Must be funny in the rich man's world.
Money, money, money.
Always sunny in the rich man's world.
Ah ha.
All the things I could do.
If I had a little money, it's a rich man's world.
Money, money, money.
Must be funny in the rich man's world.
Money, money, money.
Always sunny in the rich man's world.
Ah ha.
All the things I could do.
If I had a little money, it's a rich man's world.
It's a rich man's world.
Jumping forward, 20 years after our last trip to Leagang,
we decided to take a short holiday in the area to see how it had changed.
The first impression was, wow.
So this is what 20 years of investment in a ski area really looks like.
What also surprised us was the Turnhouse was no longer accommodation.
It had been renovated and converted into a museum of mining and Gothic art.
It looked fab. They'd done a great job.
Another place we stayed a few times was the Pension Blem in Altenmarkt,
a lovely family-run hotel we stayed there to take part in the fun ski training courses organised by Kevin Dent.
Little did we realise that 10 years later we'd bump into him at Salzburg Airport
and he'd help us during our initial search for somewhere to live.
As for the girls and their first trip skiing,
well I covered their introduction to skiing in episode two of Big City Life.
If you want to catch up with any past episodes,
then they are all available on the Friars Radio South's Comigoot website.
One thing we realised after a few years of skiing, one week a year,
was that we had reached a nouveau and we weren't getting any better.
When we moved here in 2004, I thought, yes, I finally made it.
I'm going to become a ski instructor.
I think it was our second week here when I plucked up the courage to phone one of the top dogs from a local ski school
to find out about becoming an instructor.
I was excited and full of enthusiasm.
I didn't remember much detail about the conversation,
only that I had to pay a lot of money to go on a training course
and I would be unlikely to find a full-time job afterwards.
This didn't sound very good to me.
A dream is all well and good, but it sounded like it wasn't going to pay the bills.
I needed a job.
His final piece of advice when I asked,
what can I do to improve my chances of getting a job, was learn German.
Little did I suspect at that point that the following summer we would be working together.
You said that you'd never been
But all the things that you've seen
Slowly fade away
So I start a revolution from my bed
Cause you said the brains I had went to my head
Step outside, summertime's in bloom
Stand up beside the fireplace
Take that look from off your face
You ain't ever gonna burn my heart out
And so Sally can wait
She knows it's too late as we're walking on by
Her soul slides away
But don't look back in anger
I heard you say
Take me to the place where you go
Where nobody knows
If it's not our day
Please don't put your life in the hands
Of a rock and roll band
We'll throw it all away
I'm gonna start a revolution from my bed
Cause you said the brains I had went to my head
Step outside, summertime's in bloom
Stand up beside the fireplace
Take that look from off your face
Cause you ain't ever gonna burn my heart out
And so Sally can wait
She knows it's too late as she's walking on by
My soul slides away
But don't look back in anger
I heard you say
So Sally can wait
She knows it's too late as we're walking on by
Her soul slides away
But don't look back in anger
I heard you say
So Sally can wait
She knows it's too late as she's walking on by
Her soul slides away
But don't look back in anger
Don't look back in anger
I heard you say
At least not today
The big event of our first winter was the annual ski race up on the Krippenstein.
What a fab day that was.
It was the first time any of us had been down a timed race course.
We were rubbish, but we had a great day out.
Two things happened during the prize giving in the evening
That convinced me we had made the right decision moving here.
The first was the feeling of community and the freedom given to the children
to mix with their friends and move around the whole of it at will.
The second was the tombola.
The fact that everyone who took part had a chance to win the big prizes
and the prizes weren't simply awarded on merit was completely new to me.
What a great idea. I loved it.
I really felt we had found a new home.
A sanctuary from a maddening world.
The world and the world
Tracks my town
But I had to turn
Take my back and turn
And I said to turn
Take my back, take my back, my head
The fire in your eyes
Keeps me alive
And the fire in your eyes
Keeps me alive
And showing her you'll find
The sanctuary
And showing her you'll find
The sanctuary
The world
The world turns around
And the world and the world
The world turns around
The world tracks my town
And the world and the world and the world
The world turns around
And the world and the world and the world and the world
The world tracks my town
And the world
The world turns around
And the world and the world
The world tracks my town
And the world
The world turns around
The world tracks my town
And the world
The world turns around
The world tracks my town
And the world and the world
The world tracks my town
And the world turns around
The world turns around
The World Tries to Turn Back
Until then, TTFN
The World Tries to Turn Back
Until then, TTFN
The World Tries to Turn Back
Until then, TTFN
The World Tries to Turn Back
Until then, TTFN
The World Tries to Turn Back
Until then, TTFN
The World Tries to Turn Back
Until then, TTFN
Someone told me
Love would all save us
But how can that be?
Look what love gave us
A world full of killing
And blood spilling
That world never came
And they say that a hero can save us
I'm not gonna stand here and wait
I'll hold on to the wings of the eagles
Watch as we all fly away
Now that the world isn't ending
It's love that I'm sending to you
It isn't the love of a hero
And that's why I fear it won't do
And they say that a hero can save us
I'm not gonna stand here and wait
I'll hold on to the wings of the eagles
Watch as we all fly away
And they're watching us
They're watching us
As we all fly away
And they're watching us
They're watching us
As we all fly away
And they're watching us
They're watching us
As we all fly away
She sits in her corner
Singing herself to sleep
Wrapped in all of the promises
That no one seems to keep
She sits in her corner
Singing herself to sleep
And no one seems to keep
She no longer cries to herself
No tears left to wash away
Just iris of empty pages
Feelings gonna stray
But she will sing
Till everything burns
While everyone screams
Burning their lies
Burning my dreams
All of this hate
And all of this pain
I'll burn it all down
As my anger rages
And I'll burn it all down
As my anger rages
And I'll burn it all down
As my anger rages
And I'll burn it all down
As my anger rages
And I'll burn it all down
As my anger rages
And I'll burn it all down
As my anger rages
And still she sings
Till everything burns
While everyone screams
Burning their lies
Burning my dreams
All of this hate
And all of this pain
I'll burn it all down
As my anger rages
Till everything burns
Watching it all fade away
All fade away
Everyone scream
Watching it all fade away
Burning their lies
Burning my dreams
All of this hate
And all of this pain
I'll burn it all down
As my anger rages
Till everything burns
Watching it all fade away
All fade away
Watching it all fade away
Till everything burns
Watching it all fade away
All fade away
Deep down in Louisiana
Close to New Orleans
Way back up in the woods
Among the evergreens
There stood a log cabin
Made of earth and wood
Where lived a country boy
Named Johnny B. Goode
Who never ever learned
To read or write so well
But he could play a guitar
Just like a ring and a bell
Go, go
Go, Johnny, go, go
Johnny B. Goode
He used to carry his guitar
And a gunny sack
Go sipping in the tree
By the railroad track
Bowling and everything
Fitting in the shade
Strumming with the rhythm
That the drivers made
When people passing by
They would stop and say
Oh my, what's that little
Country boy could play
Go, go
Go, Johnny, go, go
Johnny B. Goode
His mother told him
Someday you will be a man
And you will be the leader
Of a big old band
Many people coming
From miles around
Here you play your music
When the sun go down
Maybe someday your name
Will be enlightened
Johnny B. Goode tonight
Go, go, go, Johnny, go
Go
Johnny B. Goode
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