Adventures In the Alps

This is a submission for Kevin’s No Theme Thursday

Image by Kevin from The Beginning at Last

Skiing on Glaciers

Kevin’s two images reminded me of ski resorts, and I love skiing. I’ve skied in my native country Sweden, in the Alps, as well as the Rocky Mountains. The mountain in one of Kevin’s images above remind of Matterhorn, a mountain in Switzerland, and part of the Alps. Therefore, I decided to write about a couple of adventures that I had in the Alps.

When I was young me and my brother and a friend bought Interrail passes, and we travelled around Europe. I should say that since we lived in Sweden that’s where we started. We visited several countries including Austria (not to be confused with Australia). We stopped in Zell Am Zee to ski on the kitzsteinhorn glacier. It was the end of June, which is a perfect time for glacier skiing. It is warm but you still have snow. We skied in our shorts and t-shirts, and some women skied in their bikinis. The snow was a bit wet, but it was still good skiing.

In the slope we met a Swedish actor and his girlfriend. The Swedish actor was a celebrity in Sweden so to us that was very exciting. We ended up spending the entire day together.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen

My next adventure was more of a misadventure. I was with a group of friends who travelled from Sweden to Garmisch-Partenkirchen in southern Germany for a ski vacation. First of all, we had booked a rather strange youth hostel for our stay and second of all I had a ski accident resulting in amnesia. Having amnesia was a strange experience.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a beautiful Bavarian town, and it is one of the most famous German ski resorts. Zugspitze Germany’s highest mountain is nearby Garmisch-Partenkirchen providing for an impressive scenery. I was there with a large group of Swedish friends, and we stayed at a youth hostel. As is typical for a youth hostel men and women were separated. What was a bit unusual were all the loudspeakers.

Photo by Gabriela Palai on Pexels.com

Achtung! Achtung. Sei jetzt ruhig.

At 10:00PM on our first evening at the youth hostel the loudspeakers came on and someone started shouting “Achtung! Achtung. Sei jetzt ruhig. Alle Gäste müssen gehen und sich die Zähne putzen. Musik ist verboten. Die Lichter beginnen zu dimmen.” We had to be quiet and go brush our teeth. The lights started dimming and women and men had to go to their quarters. The loudspeaker came on every now and then barking orders at us in German and all windows and doors were locked electronically. Being from Sweden we followed orders, but we were laughing about it. Suddenly new voices started shouting in the loudspeaker. It was younger sounding voices. It was still in German but this time we were told to rebel against the hotel management, we were told to refuse to go to bed, and they started singing fighting songs in German. Then, suddenly the loudspeakers went quiet. The hotel management was back. We all had to go to bed. Well, it was budget lodging after all.

The town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Photo by op23 on Pexels.com

The Ski Accident

What happened the next day I do not remember myself, but this is what I have been told. I decided to go down an icy double black diamond slope despite the sign saying that the conditions were dangerous. I fell badly, hit my head (I had no helmet), and I got a severe shoulder displacement. My arm was hanging on my back. I went looking for my skis and tried to put them back on, but some Germans came down to stop me. They were screaming at me and calling me crazy. An ambulance was called, and they sent snowmobiles to pick me up. However, the snowmobiles were unable to get there so they got a pist-machine to get me instead. I had no pain, but I was confused, and I discovered and rediscovered my severe shoulder displacement about 10 times before I got to the hospital. I had no short-term memory, and I had forgotten my friends and most other things.

My memories come back

I remember my friends coming into my room asking me questions such as “what’s my name?”, “do you remember where we are?”. I kind of liked all the attention I got but I understood that something was not right. No one knew whether I would ever get my memory back and going through immigration and customs might be an issue when you don’t remember much. The leader and organizer of the trip was very upset. However, a few days later my memories came back very quickly within just a few hours. It sorts of clicked. I should add  that the 2-3 days that followed the accident are still gone. I have to admit I was happier when I couldn’t remember anything. The world is so much better when you don’t remember how bad it is.

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Author: thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics. I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children. I have two blogs. The first feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers. The second blog, superfactful, feature information and facts I think are very interesting. With this blog I would like to create a list of facts that are accepted as true among the experts of the field and yet disputed amongst the public or highly surprising. These facts are special and in lieu of a better word I call them super-facts.

104 thoughts on “Adventures In the Alps”

    1. Thank you Kymber. I did not have the type of amnesia you get with brain damage. It was from the shock of the hard fall and that type of amnesia typically lasts from a few hours up to a few months, 2-3 days in my case, and then it vanishes. People with brain damage are not as lucky.

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    2. The brain damage amnesia is a sad one. Not only can it take years to fix just part of it, but it is often associated with other impairments as well. The shock amnesia is a little closer to what they depict in movies but it does not last long, and can come back fairly suddenly.

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  8. HI Thomas, I would have thought you could badly scrapped if you skied in a bikini and had the misfortune to fall. I remember your story about the ski accident and I believe it was damage to the cluster of nerves in your shoulder that caused your memory loss. I saw this same thing happen when my husband dislocated his shoulder.

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    1. The slope in Zell Am Zee had wet mushy snow but not ice, but I would not ski in a bikini either. Joking aside I only saw a few doing that. Yes I told the amnesia story before and you are right. The amnesia was from the shock of the fall not brain damage. That’s why it could come so suddenly and completely. I think I remember the story about your husband.

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  9. I love all the images, Thomas! What a story of your injury and memory loss. I th8nk it’s lucky not to remember a painful dislocation, when you felt it or confusion. Happy it had a happy ending. Funny about the hostel stay too.

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    1. We certainly did not expect that from the youth hostel, but we decided to stay. It was too complicated to change lodging and it was cheap. Kevin does a wonderful job with the images and it is a good way to share your work. He makes a post with all the entries every thursday, so this will be in the next Thursday’s post. Anyone can participate.

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  10. What amazing mountains, Thomas. The youth hostel does sound a little odd, even creepy, but what a memory. And that accident, yikes. Another strange experience that you can look back on. And thank goodness, no permanent injuries! You were lucky, my friend.

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    1. Yes you are right Diane, it could have been worse. Like Robbie pointed out above, the amnesia came from the shock of the fall not brain damage. That is why the memory could come back so suddenly and completely. That kind of amnesia typically last from a few hours to a few weeks, mine was 2-3 days. The youth hostel was an unpleasant surprise. We did not expect that, but we chose to say there rather trying to find accomodation for a big group. It was also cheap.

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  11. That German youth hostel sounds so, well, German. Especially the use of loud speakers and (I presume from your story) the use of only German to address the residents.

    I never knew that some confuse Austria with Australia. There are people who confuse Bucharest with Budapest. Once, am Amazon parcel was long to arrive because it was sent from Amazon UK to Hungary. Although the address specifiied Romana.

    What you said last is sad and true. Glad you were safe. I can’t imagine how your Mother must have felt when you returned home.

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    1. The youth hostel only amplified the stereotype of Germans. Hopefully, it is very rare. I’ve heard people confuse Austria and Australia quite often, as well as Sweden and Switzerland, Vienna and Vietnam, and Mexico and New Mexico. I haven’t heard the mixup of Bucharest and Budapest but I can definitely see that one happening. Amazon and/or the post office doing that mistake despite the country name is pretty pathetic though. Machines do a lot of mistakes but that is a mistake a sorting machine would not do. Yes my parents were worried, but luckily they did not find out right away.

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  12. Thomas, you have me laughing at the loudspeaker event and the short lived rebellion to the early night! Oh no, the accident sounds horrendous and you can tell how disoriented you were as you tried to out on the skies – with a shoulder so damaged! Thank goodness your memory came back but it must feel strange to ‘lose’ those days. I’ve been skiing in Switzerland a few times but cross-country – too much of a wimp for the downhill.! Another time I was inter railing with friends and we travelled all the way round Switzerland and ended up on the glaciers in June. No skies, just very careful walking! 😀 Lovely to read your memories inspired by this beautiful photo. Wishing you a great weekend, Thomas.

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words Annika. I should say that the amnesia was of the kind that is caused by a shocking event such as my bad fall and my severe shoulder displacement. It is an amenesia which usually reverts itself within a few hours to a few weeks/months. So except for 2-3 days everything came back and it was fine. I did a lot of cross country skiing too, especially in northern Sweden. I wish you a great weekend as well.

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  13. Great stories Thomas, especially to someone like me who has never been skiing and never done that kind of mountain resort holiday. Your amnesia story is entertaining and… uh… scary as hell. The German hostel meanwhile sounds just as terrifying in its own way. Austria vs Australia made me smile and recall a funny scene from Dumb and Dumber. “Austria! Well then, G’day mate! Let’s put another shrimp on the barbie!”

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  16. Thanks for the story. Your skiing accident does sound very scary. It reminds me a bit of an accident I had when I was an astronomy intern on Nantucket. I decided to explore the island on my own and rented a moped. I actually had made it most of the way through my explorations when I was riding along a stretch of road that had been covered by a thin layer of sand. The moped flipped and I went over the handlebars. Like you, I didn’t have a helmet and blacked out. Next thing I knew I was on a stretcher and being lifted into an ambulance. Fortunately, I didn’t lose my memory or have anything worse than some bad abrasions. Still, it made me appreciate the need to take safety precautions seriously!

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    1. I’ve seen several moped accidents on islands. It is common to rent mopeds on islands and there are many accidents. I am sorry you had an accident but glad you were OK. That is scary. They can go bad. You are right, you have to take precautions, like helmets at a minimum, but it is part of being young and stupid.

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  17. What a terrible accident you had! It must have been frightening, and good that your memories came back quickly, even if the world is full of bad news. Your story about the hostel gave me a chuckle and reminded me of my time in a Swiss boarding school (where I learned how to ski, but wasn’t good at it). They were always yelling “Achtung” and giving instructions too. 😀 I didn’t get the chance to visit Kitzsteinhorn Gletscher, but my late aunt and uncle owned a hotel in Mayrhofen, a ski resort 100 km to the east of there. Fascinating to see people snow skiing in shorts and bathing suits!

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    1. Ha ha it was a funny youth hostel. Staying a long time at a boarding school like that is a little bit worse. The skiing at your aunts and uncle’s hotel sounds delightful. Skiing when it is warm is quite fascinating. For me it was a great experience.

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  18. goodness, I’m so glad you’re ok! I had a bad fall some years ago & messed up my knee. thank goodness I didn’t have a spinal injury because the rescue toboggan was quite bumpy

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    1. Knees are not good things to injure. I hope you recovered well. I have to admit I don’t know what they do when people have spinal injuries in the ski slope. How do they get them down? My guess is that a pist machine is the best option and a toboggan behind a snowmobile the worst.

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      1. The knee injury was quite an adventure and comedy of errors due to being in between insurances and waiting for paperwork to be processed. In the end I learned that non emergency doctors simply won’t see you without insurance. And that despite several doctors saying I needed surgery, Im fine without it

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    2. I have to admit I did not know that non emergency doctors won’t see you without insurance, but I am not surprised. The health insurance mess over here is one thing I am having a hard time to get used to. But I am happy you were fine without the surgery.

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      1. I must’ve called 20 and each said that even though my insurance company insisted they would iron everything out and would reimburse me the doctors bills, the doctors maintained that it was too much of a risk for them to see me even for a run of the mill office appointment. They said they didn’t want to risk that a non insured patient might slip in their waiting room or who knows what worse. Fortunately my needs weren’t immediately dire. But even on the phone with an insurance worker, she admitted that when she was uninsured and pregnant she’d experienced the same! The plights of the truly needy is beyond staggering. Moreover given Los Angeles’s mounting unhomed situation I’ve been staggered by how wickedly many regard these people. Their solution is that the sooner needy people die the better

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    4. I remember waking up in my hotel room a few days later and not knowing how I got there. Those 2-3 days are still gone. The stories about what happened during those 2-3 days and right after the accident is what my friends told me afterwards. I still don’t remember any of that.

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    5. I don’t know any details of what happened the first 2-3 days. For those days I rely on I was told by Eric and a few other friends on that trip. I have fairly good memories of what happened after and before the accident. I also mostly remember what was going on the day memory started coming back. It did not happen in an instant but bit by bit. I remember people coming into my room and asking me questions such as “do you remember who we are?”. At first I couldn’t answer but later I could. Except for those 2-3 days my memory came back in about one or two days but not all at once. I discovered a book on statistical mechanics under my bed. At first I was wondering what it was. Then I remembered that I was a student in engineering physics, then I remembered the class, then I remembered I had a final exam in a week. As my memories came back my day got worse. I probably was distressed during those 2-3 days too but I don’t remember.

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  19. Wow, such a story, Thomas! I found it interesting when you said, “I have to admit I was happier when I couldn’t remember anything.” But then, I understood it better: “The world is so much better when you don’t remember how bad it is.” In some harsh moments, being left without memory or even reason is a blessing. It’s like a protection to suffering. I saw it clearly in the case of my grandmother. Anyway, I think that being able to see it all from where you are now is the greatest blessing. Interesting reading; it made me reflect deeper on life. Sending you lots of light and blessings, my friend; have a peaceful day*

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    1. I think you are right Susana. I temporary lost both my memory as well as my pain sensation. I felt no pain. I think that might have been a protection from suffering like you say. Not remembering can be a blessing for a short while but like you say in the long run it is better to know and remember. Thank you so much Susana and I am sending sending you lots of light and blessings as well.

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  20. What a surreal experience – accident and amnesia! Thank God, you got your memories back quickly. Hostel experience is amusing. But you are an adventurous person. Stay blessed, my friend!

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    1. Luckily it was amnesia without brain damage. It was just the shock. They say to protect you from the pain. That kind of amnesia ends suddenly after a short time, from a few hours to a few weeks. The amnesia from brain damage is more severe. Thank you Kaushal and stay blessed you too.

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  21. I’m so glad your memories came back, that must have been such a scary and confusing experience to have. Although yes, life is easier with no memories. Maybe that’s why we’re so happy when we’re younger and know nothing.

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    1. Thank you Pooja. I still don’t remember the 2-3 days after the accident and what happened right after. The stories I am telling about that is what my friends told me afterwards. I just woke up in the hotel room with my arm in a cast, not knowing how I got there. During the day my memory came back bit by bit and I felt less and less happy. However, the 2-3 days before that morning never came back.

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    2. Yes maybe. Another commenter, you may know her Robbie/Roberta said the same thing happened to her husband, a shoulder displacement with memory loss. Also I had no pain sensation. Despite my arm being obviously dislocated and hanging on my back (according to my friend Eric) I felt no pain. I guess the brain numbed itself.

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  22. Great story, Thomas. My apologies for the delay in reading. 🙏

    The Matterhorn looking image was inspired by On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, one of my favorite James Bond books/films.

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  23. Java Bean: “Ayyy, wow, that sounds awfully scary! But it’s true about the world being better when you can’t remember too much of it. Take me for instance. Sometimes something happens and I get scared, and then Mama or Dada pets me and gives me a cookie, and ten minutes later I don’t remember whatever it was and I am happy again.”
    Charlee: “What don’t you remember?”
    Java Bean: “I don’t know. That’s the whole point of not remembering.”

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  25. Wow, you temporarily lost even more time than I did when I had the aneurysm rupture. I only lost most of a Thursday and part of the following Friday, and that’s because I was unconscious. I think. (I am definitely not getting any memories of that time back at this point, but I probably don’t want it anyway.)

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  31. Article très intéressant et belle photo ! J’adore les voyages à la montagne, mais il faut vraiment bien s’y préparer. J’ai toujours le matériel nécessaire, de bons vêtements et même des chaussettes en laine de rechange dans mon sac à dos. Vous devez être préparé à diverses situations.

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  32. Pingback: Adventures In the Alps – adventures and travel tips

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