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Finding The Ideal Outdoor Shoes

"Hiking boots in every port"

Price comparison sites are all the rage. They allow you to compare different providers of gas and electricity and different offers of cheap car insurance, different airlines and different types of meerkats.

Some even extend the range of their offerings to sportswear. 

I did not know this either until Idealo contacted us and asked us whether we were interested in the goods listed on their price comparison UK site.

Well, we did not hesitate for long – because I at least knew exactly what I wanted: a new pair of hiking boots.

Can a gentleman ever have enough hiking boots? The answer is clearly yes, but I simply have not reached that point yet. Other men have a bride in every port – me, I have a pair of hiking boots.

A pair of hiking boots in every port

. . . → More Easy Hiking: Finding The Ideal Outdoor Shoes

April 30th, 2012 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Reviews | 9 comments

Wellness Or How To Make Hiking A Premium Product

"An Alpine scene complete wth a cow in Tyrol"

What is it with hiking and the German concept of “wellness”? At first glance, they are not the easiest of bedfellows, yet they seem to be moving closer together all the time.

The term wellness originally comes from alternative medicine: more than a hundred years ago, some doctors wanted to embed physical fitness in a more holistic understanding of good health, some sort of a “general harmony of body, soul and natural environment”.

That’s the theory.

In practice (and in the modern business world), “wellness” has come to stand for a fairly broad range of leisure facilities.

At one end, you have the fitness center with a sauna. Followed by those adding Feng Shui, facials and mud baths.

Photo courtesy of spa resort Aqua Dome

At its outer fringes, it comes with glass bead curtains and stones that eliminate bad . . . → More Easy Hiking: Wellness Or How To Make Hiking A Premium Product

September 27th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Category: Reviews | 9 comments

The Oasis That Is Aqua Dome

"The Aqua Dome in Laengenfeld in Austria"

by Frau Easy Hiker “That’s where you will be billeted.” the shuttle bus driver bringing us to Oetztal proudly informed us, pointing to a spanking new complex right in the middle of a valley.

Cue Easy Hiker and I exchanging perplexed glances, silently saying “But that’s so detached from the village.”

Well, as a matter of fact it is.

 Aqua Dome is an oasis.

Almost organically integrated in the valley of Oetz, encircled by 5 mountains, this premium spa center in Längenfeld near Soelden is a 4-star wellness resort where you can literally float away from the daily grind.

Leave downtown behind and soak away your stress.

Aqua Dome  has a number of outdoor and indoor pools for a dip during the day or even by moonlight.

Even in the deepest and coldest of Alpine winters

. . . → More Easy Hiking: The Oasis That Is Aqua Dome

September 18th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , | Category: Austria, Reviews | 3 comments

Ramp Up The Adrenaline In Area 47

"Hanging out way up there in Area 47 Soelden Austria"

When we were in Aqua Dome during our recent blog trip, we were truly sorry that we forgot to bring any swimwear.

In Area 47, this became a handy excuse so as not to have to try out some tricks to land on the pool from a sliding platform at least 10 meters long.

This video was produced by Easy Hiker Jr. from clips we took on our visit there.

As part of our blog trip sponsored by the Austrian Tourism Board, we were brought to visit Soelden’s noteworthy places and Area 47 is one of them.

 Area 47 is where you go for that adrenaline . . . → More Easy Hiking: Ramp Up The Adrenaline In Area 47

September 6th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , | Category: Austria, Reviews | 6 comments

Apres Hike Pampering In A Spa Hotel

"Spa hotel Bergland in Soelden Austria"

Easy Hiker escaped the pedicure to do some easy hiking on the Gaislachkogl while I, Frau Easy Hiker, sampled the spa delights of Hotel Bergland in Soelden: It seems that nowadays, in a premium spa hotel, it is commonplace to have a bathtub in your bedroom.   How exciting!

That’s just one of the little details that amused me when we were brought around spa Hotel Bergland (as part of our blog trip after the Travel Bloggers Unite conference in Innsbruck, Austria. )

A few years ago, the 60 year old Hotel Bergland was razed to the ground to be rebuilt and modernised, and was reborn as one of Tyrol’s luxurious spa (Wellness) hotels.

This feature is just one of many it offers its clientele who book a “Wellness Suite” to be pampered to the bone. (Details like this have been introduced . . . → More Easy Hiking: Apres Hike Pampering In A Spa Hotel

August 31st, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Category: Reviews | 3 comments
 
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