A man wearing protective clothing and a helmet is working with a brush cutter in a flowering meadow. He smiles at the camera. A woman sits relaxed on a brown leather sofa in a bright room with a view of green mountains. A smiling man stands in a lush vegetable garden with a mountain backdrop. He is wearing an olive green shirt and points to the vegetables with his hand.

Came to stay

Dave, Alejandra, Adji

The Arlberg is a magnet:

 it's easy to come here, but hard to say goodbye. And if love comes into the equation, you never want to leave. Many globetrotters have chosen to make the Arlberg their home. May we introduce you to three of them.

A smiling man stands in a lush vegetable garden with a mountain backdrop. He wears an olive shirt and gestures toward the plants.

Dave Bradley,

Australia – Pettneu


Dave Bradley, born in 1979, came to St. Anton am Arlberg as a ”ski bum“ in the 2001/2002 season and managed to eke out a living with various jobs. It was enough to survive and meant he could indulge in his passion of skiing every day: ”I grew up in a tiny Australian village, which is basically just a petrol station with a few houses, but I trained with a local ski club in the ski resorts of New South Wales.“


How did he end up in St. Anton am Arlberg?

”Mayrhofen and Ischgl were too hard to pronounce at the ticket office,“ he says jokingly, but adds that friends told him that the Arlberg was a ski paradise with great slopes and a fabulous vibe. And so one day, the adventurous lad found himself at the train station in St. Anton am Arlberg, with just five pounds in his back pocket, freezing cold and a real need to find some warm clothes and work.


Talented jack of all trades

”After that I held around 35 jobs, for example as an event manager, bartender, waiter, secretary at St. Anton ski school and lifeguard!“ He grew to like life more and more on the Arlberg, even more so after meeting and getting together with Miriam from Pettneu. ”Miriam is a diehard Tyrolean, she wouldn't have moved to Australia, so we made a life for ourselves on the Arlberg.“  They bought the former Edelweiss inn in Pettneu and turned it into the charming ”Arlberg Boutique Hotel extern“ with a small café, which they opened in 2017 and has since gained notoriety thanks to a Netflix series extern. Dave feels firmly anchored in the Arlberg: ”I have more friends in Tyrol than in Australia and, as a member of the mountain rescue team, I am also integrated into community life. I will never become a Tyrolean, but I have made it my home!“

A woman sits relaxed on a brown leather sofa in a bright room with a view of green mountains.

Alejandra Wasle-Andino,

Peru - St. Anton am Arlberg


Alejandra Andino, born in 1980, ran a successful travel agency in Peru. One day, a late booking came in for a Peru round trip, which Alejandra, who had taken over the (German-speaking) tour guide herself, nonetheless accepted. That is how she met the love of her life.

At first, Alejandra didn't believe that a serious relationship would come out of it because of the distance. ”Bye bye, we'll probably never see each other again,“ she thought wistfully when he left, but Andreas Wasle didn’t give up and invited Alejandra to St. Anton am Arlberg. ”That's when I really fell in love: with the place, with Andy's wonderful family and above all with him. They are now frequent travellers between Austria and Peru: the couple live in Peru during the Tyrolean low season and spend the Tyrolean high season in St. Anton am Arlberg.


Peru is ever-present

After starting a family, the decision was made to make the Arlberg their permanent home. They were married on 9.9.2009 in the museum extern in St. Anton am Arlberg, and their first child was born in 2010; they now have three. The dynamic Wasle-Andino duo established the ”Andino Bergwelten extern“ four-star hotel. Andreas also runs the ”Bodega“ tapas restaurant. Alejandra's beautiful homeland is present in many ways: Andreas Wasle has been the Austrian Honorary Consul in the southern part of  Arequipa/Peru since 2009 and the ”Andino Bergwelten“ hotel combines Tyrolean tradition with  South American flair.

A man in safety gear and helmet works with a brush cutter on a flowering meadow. He smiles at the camera.

Adji Becker,

West-Java/Indonesia - Strengen


Adji Becker, born in 1971, from West Java/Indonesia also came to St. Anton am Arlberg for love. Back in 1994, his future wife Sonja was on holiday with a friend and was obligingly served by head waiter Adji, who came to visit the Arlberg for the first time in May 1996. ”The nature was wonderful and I also adapted quickly temperature-wise. But when I experienced winter here for the first time, it was a shock - a completely different but fascinating world!“


A Christmas gift

Back home, he contemplated where he wanted to spend his life; after all, it's not easy to build a new existence in a foreign culture. So, he gradually learned more about Austria and took German courses. And then he came to stay for good in December 1997.


”As a Christmas present for Sonja, because I arrived on 24th December in the evening. My visit then turned into an all-in-one package, because my birthday is on 26th December!“ They got married in 1998, and the couple now have two children and live in Strengen. After a year in hospitality service, Adji worked as a landscape gardener in Zams and now works with the St. Anton am Arlberg tourist board ”Green Team“ in summer and ski rental team at Sport Jennewein extern in winter. ”I was only  homesick for the first two or three years,“ says Adji. That has worn off now, my home is here.  Because home is where the heart and the family are.“