I learnt to ski in Switzerland and it was pure winter magic - the flight was only 90 minutes
At the end of January, I went on my first ever winter holiday which involved (attempting) to ski, eating a lot of Toblerone, and using a gondola as my main form of transport.
LAAX, is a small town in the alpine region of Switzerland and a key resort for lovers of winter sports.
I stayed for three days and first began my journey from Manchester Airport on a Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) flight to Zurich. The flight was lovely as even in economy class I was given a little bottle of water and a delicious square of Swiss Chocolate. Plus, it’s always great when the plane isn’t too full and the middle seat is left free!
After landing, we then took a two hour train with Travel Switzerland from Zurich Airport to Chur and then had a 30 minute bus ride up into the mountains where we arrived right outside of our hotel. This amount of travelling may seem off putting, but the views and scenery you get of Switzerland is beyond stunning. On this train journey you will see every landscape from beautiful blue lakes to luscious green fields and snow-covered mountains.
Riders Hotel is a modern and cosy escape from the cold which offers a truly unique eco stay. The hotel is LAAX’s first hotel to trial cutting edge solar tech. A green roof complete with solar panels produces 25,000 kWh solar energy each year. This pilot project’s special panels produce energy even when covered in snow, so can be used in winter, which is the hotel’s busiest season.
As a vegetarian, I was also impressed to find out about their entirely plant-based menu, with the cuisine focusing on regional and seasonal products to minimise food miles.
Additionally, the hotel which first opened in 2001, has an interesting history as the go-to nightclub space for the people of LAAX housing hundreds of people at once and even had star guest David Hasselhoff perform there.
On the first day, we started with an early trip up to the mountains in a Gondola where we would begin our ski lessons. As someone who has never skied before, I realised how incredibly hard it is, (if you’ve never done it it’s like trying to ice skate but if the ice was on a slope). It is quite fair to say that I’m no pro-skier but with the help of my amazing instructor Lisa, I was able to give the beginner area a fair go.
If like me, you’re also not the best skier in the world, there is always the option of taking the Après-ski approach or checking out the spa and choosing sauna over snow.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to visit and try the world’s longest treetop walk but that also makes for an interesting and active experience to learn about the local flora and fauna in the area with an immense length of 1.56 kilometres.
On our second day of the trip, we started the day with another trip up into the mountains and above the town of Flims.
Here lies one of only four UNESCO natural heritage sites of Switzerland: the Tectonic Arena Sardona. Because of its geological significance, the area above was designated a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site in 2008.
Here you can see the rugged peaks of the Tschingelhörner, the Martinsloch and the lower and upper Segnesboden.
We explored the area during a wonderful snowshoe hike with our lovely guide Doris and took us around two hours to complete. The surrounding are completely unmatched and unlike anything I’ve seen before. We were surrounded in an entire blanket of snow for miles with frozen waterfalls and a clear blue sky, this truly felt otherworldly and like something straight out of Narnia. I’m told that the area is just as beautiful in summer with stunning plains filled with flowers and a bee keeper who sells his local honey in a small chalet.
Doris brought us some delicious and much-needed snacks for our walk which featured food from the local region such as Birnbrot (a Swiss pear bread) and Bündner Nusstorte (a Swiss caramelised nut-filled pastry).
On the third and final day, we set off on a walk around Lake Cauma. This walk took us to the Rhine Gorge, which is also known as the "Swiss Grand Canyon". It’s one of the most striking landscapes in Switzerland. The viewing platform "il Spir" offers the perfect view of the imposing gorge and the horseshoe-shaped loop in the Rhine.
I’m seriously jealous of the fact that the people of LAAX have this beautiful forest and scenery to go to for a casual walk, this is one place were you can’t help but want to get your walking boots on and explore.
Last but not least, the food in this area of Switzerland is warm, hearty and usually adorned with a lot of cheese (a big win in my book!).
My favourite things I ate would have to be the Pizokels from The Capalari on Crap Sogn Gion, the Capuns from Restaurant Ustria La Cauma and the Toblerone Mousse from Tegia Larnags. Though I have to give a special mention to the entire three course menu at Riders Hotel which felt like Michelin-star quality.
