SWISS BLISS IN GRAUBUNDEN CANTON
Like many, my resolution for the New Year has been to get active. So you can imagine our excitement when Fused got invited on a ski trip to Switzerland.
The resorts of Arosa and Lenzerheide – part of the Swiss canton Graubünden are linked by a cable car, making it the second largest continuous ski area in eastern Switzerland with 225 kilometres of runs and slopes. Lots of room for a novice like me to fall on then.
While we head to Davos on a winding train, our ears pop and we pass Klosters famed for being frequented by the royals. St. Moritz is also located in Graubünden, the south-easterly part of Switzerland – more flash and famous, and certainly worth ‘Harry Hunting’ there if you have the mind to.
Arriving at our first port of call is a little like a rebirthing experience on ice. For the new InterContinental Davos is shaped like an egg set amid the mountains. It’s gold too, continuing the regal theme.
While Matt Damon is said to have visited, it’s more Royal Variety than Royal family though. I think Jay-Z with all the wall to wall cigar and cognac cabinets in the bar. The views from my room are spectacular too and give me a taste for where I’ll be in the morning.
Once I have my skis fitted I head to the beginners slope, along with all the children. It wasn’t quite as demoralising as it sounds – the kids are on their backs and I’m not. Yet. The test is the beginners’ slope which really hits when using the rope lift. I allow it to drag me half way up the mountain (which bar from a few kids we have to ourselves) and then I fall backwards to the bottom. This goes on for a while. I don’t really mind. Apparently I can burn 3000 calories a day doing this. I do as well, I’ve lost a pound when I get back to the InterContinental and weigh in.
The following day we head to the PRIVA Alpine Lodge in Lenzerheide by bus then shuttle car. It’s cosier. More woody. And less grand. Each apartment comes with its own sauna too. What stands out to me though is the Tibetan singing bowl massage they offer with their spa facilities. Very subtle and not a little quiet.
There are lots of activities to try here including sledging and snowshoeing. Tonight we head to a hut titled Tschugga just outside Parpan and atop a mountain. It’s picturesque, a sight to feast your eyes on. Almost as good a feast as the cheese fondue they serve inside.
We finish off the evening meal with a Roteli or two. It’s a regional drink made with fermented cherries and sits somewhere between a liqueur and a schnapps. I then go on and take several Grappas.
After a few too many shots and eyes glazed over like a glacier, we sledge back down to Parpan which stands in nicely for the ice ‘scream’ desert I couldn’t manage.
Sadly, I missed the final day of snowshoeing due to those Grappas. And Heathrow follows shortly after. A familiar feeling descends on me. I’m suddenly falling backwards down the mountain again. But I’m also three pounds lighter now after my fun-packed active adventure in Graubünden.
Fused travelled to London from Birmingham on Virgin trains and stayed at Equity London with HostelBookers to access the Heathrow Express in Paddington. we then flew from Heathrow to Zurich with Swiss Air (www.swiss.com/) and stayed at the InterContinental Davos and PRIVA Alpine Lodge (www.privalodge.ch).
