We woke up Saturday morning to gray skies, but opted to ski anyway. After all, people had traveled a long way to ski on the Swiss Alps! Engelberg also presented the opportunity to ski on a glacier.
Friday evening, we went back to the slopes for night skiing and a fondue dinner. This event was the highlight of the week for the entire family. Even Abbie, yelled "That was the best thing ever!" when she reached the bottom of the mountain. I couldn't convince her to trade pole position with John for caboose with Mom. Poor Lucky got rejected from the sled course, and I had to take her back to the hotel while everyone else completed their first run.
C.J. chats with another sledder at the start:
We were surprised to see C.J. so talkative, and the fellow sledder was just as shocked when C.J. said he lived in Zurich.
Abbie waiting for John to hop on the back of the sled:
Brian ready to go:
Craig and Ginny:
Per the restaurant's recommendation, everyone completed their first run, stopped for salad, headed up for a second run (my first), and then returned to complete the fondue dinner and dessert. Even though the sled run was officially open from 7:30-9:30 pm, the first train didn't go up until about 7:50 and the last train left before 9:00, so you could probably only get 3 runs total completed.
Saturday was a much clearer day.
You can see from the first gondola ride that there was a lot of "green" intermingled with our snow. Our ski resort had great coverage, but there was limited "powder" as it hadn't snowed in a long time. There were definitely patches of ice, but conditions weren't too bad. Across the valley you saw completely green hills.
We really appreciated the amazing views from the top of Mt. Titlis.
Ginny joined us for lunch on the mountain. You'd think it was a Spring day!
After lunch, Craig and Ginny explored the glacier a bit while Brian and our family headed over to the other side of the mountain. We stopped for some free tubing:
Everyone appreciated the magic carpet ride back up the hill!
There was also a sledding hill. Brian tried his luck on the "snail of death." Fortunately, he lived through the experience!
John, gathering material for the feature video -- to be released shortly!
All in all, it was a great trip. We loved the views from the resort, but it probably isn't a resort we will return on a "regular" weekend. The slopes were steep and it was difficult to traverse across the mountain. It takes several gondolas and chairs to reach the top of the mountain.
2 comments:
Engelberg is gorgeous! I loved the views from the valley and from the mountain.
I agree that the ski runs and layout was better in St. Moritz though. But, for some reason I liked the town of Engelberg better. Sure wish my Swatch had worked as a lift ticket. Maybe next time… I also look forward to skiing in the famous powder they speak of.
Sledding was a blast! The first run was tricky as I tried to figure out how to maneuver the sled, but the second run was great. If only we could have taken a third run. And, the nearly full moon was beautiful. Too bad we didn't capture a picture of it.
I wish we could have seen the ski jump in action. That would have been cool to watch in person.
I would return here for sure. The Ramada was great. The room was very nicely decorated with outstanding views. I would be tempted to stay in a lodge up on the mountain or in the Igloo Village one night. Renting some sort of apartment would be a good option too.
The Snow and Rail pass was a great deal for those of us that took the train. Train travel in Switzerland is fantastic. (Car travel with the Cassidy's is quite nice too and definitely cheaper.)
One thing I miss about winter in Switzerland is the cows. The landscape was just missing something without their presence, scent, and the sounds of their bells.
Loved learning about your time together.
Mom
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