Is Kitzbuhel More than Tourists from Germany?

After a long and productive (wrote my story) train ride from Graz, finally reached Kitzbuhel about 3:30 pm. Taxiied to my hotel a guesthouse up in the hills, where the owners raise dairy cows and chickens. My first question of my innkeeper, of course was 'do you have wireless?' and my crestfallen reply said it all. No, of course not. So I don't know how many nights I'll be bunking with the moo cows up there.

So far Kitzbuhel looks like a place I would go out of my way to avoid. Tourists, droves, driving black Porsches with little D's on the back. Slickly dressed couples hand in hand, strolling shops full of expensive and unneccessary things. My first reaction is that it is a bit like Stowe, full of people who don't live here. But I am gonna give it a better look, tomorrow we hike and bike and get to know some of the farmers.

It's terrible to prejudge, so despite my spending three hours walking the streets looking for the 'there there' I will keep my mind open and hopefully the alpine beauty and a strenuous hike will dissipate any misgivings about this place. I've gotta hand it to the tourism board, they worked really hard to get on GoNOMAD's radar, inviting us to a big luncheon in Boston and keeping in touch. They deserve some coverage so my job, and I've accepted it, is to go find the Kitzbuhel behind the tourists. I'm off to meet my guide Stefan, and ask him some questions.