The nature of our trip commanded a lot of driving so it was a relief to finally arrive in Interlaken, in the heart of the Swiss Alps on Boxing Day night. We were treated to a real roast pork meal and a quick walk around the town before an early night. Surprisingly, there was no snow on the ground in Interlaken unlike most of the drive from Paris but I wouldn't say it was balmy.
For the next two days we skiied, sledged and rode cable cars around the mountains. We had lessons in the beginners area on our ski day which were good fun and only fell over a couple of times! The weather packed it in on the second day but we still wandered around and enjoyed the wintery atmosphere of being in Grindewald - a pretty little village in the heart of the the Jungrau region.
Our next little stop was a one night stay in Boppard in the Rhine Valley, Germany, before heading on to our New Years destination, the mighty Amsterdam.
As it turns out, skiing is actually much harder than it looks.
Who would have thought that sliding down a hill on two planks, while holding two sticks, would be a difficult thing to master? Anyone?
I knew it would be a tough skill to pick up, that’s why I put it off for years. Even living in Christchurch, with some brilliant slopes only an hour or so away, I never learnt to ski. Considering I don’t really like the cold, going fast or risking my life unnecessarily, and I’ve already demonstrated a propensity for hurting myself (I broke my wrist the first time I went ice skating), skiing became something of an irrational fear, practically a phobia.
Nevertheless I decided that I had to get out of my comfort zone and finally give it a go, or forever blush at the mention of skiing. Besides, it’s almost un-Kiwi to have lived for so long on the South Island and never been skiing.
I’m glad I took the plunge. It may be harder than it looks, but it’s also a whole lot more fun. The adrenaline kicks in and you feel a tremendous sense of satisfaction when you do manage to ski down a hill and stop at the bottom (stopping is definitely the hard part).
It’s also really beautiful at high altitude, with white below and blue above. The Swiss Alps are just spectacular. The quaint ski village of Grindelwald in Interlaken is like something out of fairy tale.
Learning to ski was a blast. Four of us from the tour group paid for a private lesson up on one of the mountains, right next to what I think was an intermediate slope. We’d hold on to this rope that pulled us up a little kiddie slope, while we watched in admiration as proper skiers and snowboarders shot down the mountain no more than 50m away. Talk about making us feel inadequate.
I’m always going to remember learning to ski fondly. It was a beautiful day, with nary a cloud in the sky. It was hard work though. They tell you to bundle up in lots of layers, which is understandable, but you sweat like a pig. It’s definitely a lot more physical than I thought it would be. I think next time I’ll try snowboarding: they have more comfortable boots and you have less to carry.
I'll leave you with this observation: I find it fascinating that what’s fashionable on the slopes – bright primary colours – aren’t fashionable anywhere else. I mean you wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a bright pink jacket with blue pants in the real world, now would you Nicola?
Snow pics are here!
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