28 February 2020

An unexpected week-long sports holiday in February came as a surprise. In Switzerland, schools close for a week or two between the end of January and mid-March to give people the opportunity to go skiing. The December holidays are very short, and often the snow has not fallen yet. With great excitement about the ski holiday, people book their cottages in the mountains well in advance.

When I tried to make a booking, I realised that demand for accommodation was greater than supply. I also realised that a ski holiday is a very expensive outing between accommodation, ski equipment, clothes and passes to get to the top of the mountains. We have the additional problem that we cannot ski and with Charl working at a hospital group, well informed about the number of ski accidents per year. Day trips were a great way to make new discoveries and gain more information for the future.

Thermal spa’s

One of the wonderful discoveries was the thermal spa’s that one finds in the European countries. We visited two of them and both were a big treat. The Swiss understand what a welcome pampering the hot water is for tired muscles. There is usually one large pool with water sprays on the side massaging your body. Visitors stand in a row and move from one high pressure spray to the next every two minutes. The first water spray aims at your calves and the last one ends at your shoulders.

I love the steam baths that release different aromas of steam. Most spa areas have an outdoor pool where you stand with your body in a lovely warm 38-degree water while looking at white snow-capped mountains and feeling the icy air on your face. It feels unreal and is breathtakingly beautiful. One spa has a salt bath in an underground cave-like area with soothing sounds. At the entrance there are long explanations of the health benefits of salt for the human body. It made me look with new eyes at the benefits of a sun, sea, and beach holiday.

Rhine falls

One of our day trips was to the waterfalls in the Rhine River close to the German side. It was beautiful to see the masses of water, hear the roar and feel the light spray on your face. We decided that we would return in the summer to experience the spray from a rowboat on the river.

Sledging at Elm

Fortunately, there are several ways to enjoy the snow if you are not proficient on skis. As South Africans who are not really used to snow and all the options are a bit overwhelming. One option is sledging, when you slide down the hills with a wooden sledge. Another option is snowshoeing. Large flat extensions are attached to your shoes to help you walk on top of the snow. Cross-country is another option for those who are skilled enough to walk long distances with their skis in the snow. We decided to start with the sledging to gain confidence.

Unlike previous years, almost no snow has fallen near us and the Swiss attribute this to global warming. There were at least two light snowfalls that provided great excitement. Fortunately, there was more snow in the French and Italian parts of the Alps. Arriving at Elm, a cable car took us five hundred meters higher, from where we slid down the mountain on a sledge for a twenty-minute ride.

The ride was sometimes very bumpy and scary as we picked up speed while we can see the steep drop right next to us. We braked fiercely with our shoes to keep the sled in the road while the snow splashed in our eyes. Our shoes, socks and pants were soaking wet, but we enjoyed the adrenaline pumping through our veins.

Kind regards

Emsia