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Juhi’s Austrian escapades
Actor Juhi Chawla and her family visit Austria every year. It is ideally a week-long or 10-day trip, which has become more of a ritual now. Juhi says, “We stay in Zurs, which is a small village in the Austrian mountains. The drive up to the mountains is fascinating, as you first see green farms and a lake, which at some point starts merging into a completely different horizon. The green landscape turns into an uphill mountainous snowy region.”
Zurs is an intimate place with few resorts and hotels, a handful of boutiques, provision stores and souvenir shops. The bigger town is Lech, which is around 4km from Zurs. A free bus shuttle service ferries people every 10 minutes. “Lech is buzzing with tourists and has all the lights and noises. Jai (Mehta; husband) chooses to stay in Zurs, as it is quaint and nice. However, we have to make lunch and dinner trips to Lech, because Austrian food is predominately nonvegetarian and we are vegetarians,” the actor says.
The trip to Austria is basically a ski holiday for the family. Juhi shares, “Jai has been coming here since he was a kid. My children have been visiting since they were three. He had enrolled them in a ski school and I remember them being tiny and yet wobbling their way to the ski school. They have been skiing on the slopes since then. Every Friday, there are competitions held for the kids, and my children have won quite a few cups at these events.”
A typical day during Juhi’s ski holiday starts with the kids waking up at about 7.30am and moving towards the slopes by 9am. “They are on the slopes till around 1pm, after which we move for lunch to Lech. We are normally around 12-15 people every year during this vacation. At 2.30pm, they set off to the slopes again to return at 4.30pm. Then they just laze on the couch and enjoy hot chocolate and snacks. We then gather for dinner in the night.”
The actor recounts her first skiing experience 19 years ago. “I started out with baby skis on baby slopes for three days. On the fourth day, my instructor changed and he felt I was pretty good and ready for the higher slopes. I began following him, but I was nervous and anxious. I ended hurting my knee and tearing a few ligaments. I wasn’t in much pain, but it was embarrassing to be brought down in a stretcher. Well, since then I haven’t tried it again.”
Juhi recalls another interesting incident during her Austrian trip when she accidentally got on to the wrong bus. “I thought I read Zurs, but it actually read Zug, and when I got in, I saw the route was different. When I approached the driver, he asked me if I had time. When I nodded, he said okay then just sit. I am so happy I agreed to sit, because what I witnessed next was straight out of a picture book. A little town on the mountain, Zug is a residential area with tiny homes and sloping roofs. It was breathtaking and magical,” she says.
The restaurants in Lech are interesting and Juhi has her favourites there. “You have the homely cottage types as well as the fancy fine dining places. As a whole, the food is fresh and tasty. Also, the people and staff are friendly and warm. They are helpful and approachable too.”