FH Voralberg – Dornbirn – Austria

I chose to come to Dornbirn Austria for one reason, to ski. Situated on the swiss border there are quite a few mountains lying about. From my door i can be at the nearest slopes in 15 minutes or the famed ST Anton ski resort in just 45. 1 problem.  I turned up on my first day of exchange on crutches. I couldn’t wait for my exchange semester to begin so i decided to go skiing in Chamonix france with some friends and family 2 weeks before. Only 2 days into some of the best skiing of my life i came a cropper off a jump and landed my self in hospital. After being cleared of any fracture, a swollen ankle and some torn ligaments didn’t seem so bad but i was told i wouldn’t be able to ski for a month. 2 months down the track and i’m still limping around and haven’t ski’d since. You could say things haven’t gone to plan. Fortunately i’ve never heard anyone say they haven’t had a good time on exchange and i’ll be saying the same thing.

Whilst only being a small town, the Dornbirn nightlife punches well above its weight and the locals don’t mind a drink or 2. As one of about 60 exchange students all living together or across the road from each other it’s been too easy to have a good time. This may have resulted in some neglected uni work but i’m sure we’ll scrape by. Austria being located in the centre of Europe has also made for some stellar trips in the space of 2 months. Brno, Prague, Munich London, Copenhagen this weekend and Berlin the next. Wondering around these cities site seeing and visiting the occassional bar or festival haven’t done my ankle any favours but its been spectacular. I’ve found out that travelling along the autobahn at 200k’s plus for 6 hours in a bomb of a ford with a Spaniard behind the wheel, and two guys from Turkey and Finland in the back is a pretty good recipe for a few laughs and stories.

Waking up to the spectacular view out of my window (see picture) and seeing a few feet of fresh powder on the ground hasn’t always made my stay easy as i’m itching to get back out on the slopes. But while the snow is melting in Dornbirn it stays on some of the higher peeks all year round, so i’m sure at some point i’ll be back out there, it might just be in summer. I’ve already extended my flights home and there’s still a lot of travel and a few uni assignments left in me.

Henry Cook