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Jul on 3 February 2007 |
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If there’s one thing the Swiss do right, it’s sledding. OK, they actually do several things right (melted cheese, dark chocolate, public transportation, yodeling…), but sledding is one of the most fun. It’s a completely different activity here than the sledding I grew up with in the US, which consisted of trudging up a small hill dragging a plastic disc and then flying down said hill on said disk, landing in an uncomfortably cold pile of icy snow only to brush off and trudge back up the hill.
In this country, sledding (or sledging, as they seem to think it is called in English) is much longer on the downhill, and much less strenuous on the uphill. A more satisfying experience all around. Here’s how it usually works:
(1) You spend around CHF 10 on renting a quaintly old-fashioned-looking wooden sled (or sledge, if you speak that wonky British version of this language);
(2) You get into a big ski gondola or other mass-uphill-transit device and ride to the top of an Alp;
(3) You get on your sled(ge) and ride it down said Alp along a narrow groomed path, dragging your feet and leaning your body to and fro in vain attempts to control the trajectory of your vehicle;
(4) Assuming you managed to make it to the bottom without losing consciousness or a limb, repeat steps 2-3 until it’s time to start the apres-ski (apres-sled?) part of the day.
You’ve never seen grown-ups laugh, shriek, and tumble around as much as our merry band of responsible adults did during our last couple days in the Bernese Oberland. Even though we had gone sledding in Switzerland a couple times before, we weren’t prepared for the steep icy bits we encountered on the first day in Grindelwald. Luckily there were a couple of old Swiss ladies walking nearby who instructed us on the proper method of breaking on such hills (grab the front of the sled and pull up, while gritting teeth and trying not to pee pants).
The lower parts of the runs were closed (due to inadequate snow), but we still got to sled for over an hour at a time, down 10-15 kilometer trails. We came home a little banged up and bruised here and there (who knew that sled runs had moguls?), but at least we got to have some good old-fashioned winter fun in the Alps.
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Tags: Alps, sledding, Switzerland, winter
Posted by
Jul on 14 March 2006 |
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We just got back from a glorious long weekend in Mürren, an excessively adorable little skiing village in the Swiss Alps. To get there one must take an incline railway to a cog-wheel train to the town. Once you get to the town itself, the only way to get your luggage to your hotel is to drag it through the snow (which we did), or go get a giant sled from your hotel to put it on and push (much easier). Luckily it was only about a 5-minute walk to our hotel, even though it was completely across town.
We spent the majority of the time skiing on the fluffiest snow I’ve ever seen. The lifts were a few meters away from our hotel, and we could ski all the way to the front door. Scott had a blast snowboarding off-piste in knee-deep snow, and I was delighted to have so many different long easy slopes to choose from.
On the third day we rented little wooden sleds and sledded down to Gimmelwald, a village that made Mürren feel like a bustling metropolis. The Swiss do sledding the right way—none of this trudging up a hill to ride down for all of 5 seconds. We sledded on two different groomed runs, each taking about 20 minutes, and then took efficient Swiss public transportation (a ski gondola or cog-wheel train) back to where we started.
We also ventured up the hill to Piz Gloria, a revolving restaurant 3000 meters above sea level which offered, of course, breathtaking views of the snow-covered Alps. Apparently this revolving restaurant rose to international fame in some James Bond movie. The side of the gondola, all pamphlets about the restaurant, and every item in the gift shop made sure that I was aware of this James Bond movie connection (although they weren’t diligent enough to make me remember which one).
The après-ski locales offered by Mürren did not disappoint. The best meal we ate (well, the best one that didn’t consist primarily of melted cheese) was at Alpenruh. The casual atmosphere didn’t adequately prepare us for the elegant food and service we received. The view and the white Glühwein are also not to be missed.
We aren’t usually the types to vacation in the same place twice, opting instead to explore new places, but we have already talked about going back to Mürren. I think we’re even considering going next weekend, before the ski season ends… although maybe we’ll just stay home and rent a James Bond movie. I’ve never seen one.
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Tags: Alps, Bernese Oberland, Mürren, skiing, sledding, Switzerland, travel, winter
In this country, sledding (or sledging, as they seem to think it is called in English) is much longer on the downhill, and much less strenuous on the uphill. A more satisfying experience all around. Here’s how it usually works:
You’ve never seen grown-ups laugh, shriek, and tumble around as much as our merry band of responsible adults did during our last couple days in the Bernese Oberland. Even though we had gone sledding in Switzerland a couple times before, we weren’t prepared for the steep icy bits we encountered on the first day in Grindelwald. Luckily there were a couple of old Swiss ladies walking nearby who instructed us on the proper method of breaking on such hills (grab the front of the sled and pull up, while gritting teeth and trying not to pee pants).
