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Published: March 7th 2010
Train traveling
View from the train to Chur. A week of skiing in the Swiss Alps, what could be better? How about getting paid to ski in the Swiss Alps... yeah that sounded pretty good to me last autumn when I agreed to go with my host family on their ski holiday. So after taking a weekend to prepare myself for what would be a nice ski holiday I left on monday afternoon to take the 2 hour train/bus ride to Lenzerheide. The trip up to the mountains was not at all a boring one, after a very warm week the hills that I passed looked ready for the flowers of spring to start blooming. I certainly felt like spring had come, because lugging my backpack around Switzerland was quite a bit of exercise. Upon arrival Dominik picked me up in town and took me to the house that his family owns. Just a quaint 6 bedroom house in the hills, nothing too fancy... uh huh, right. I dd get the feeling of being in a Swiss Chalet, with chirping clocks on the walls and wood paneling on the walls and ceiling.
The whole week I was 'technically' working, so anytime that D or E asked me to
Lenzerheide View 1
I wish I could capture this view better, because these photos do not do this visa justice. help get the kids ready in the morning or set the table I did so without complaint. I honestly worked maybe 2 hours the whole week, because not only was I there but both parents were there as well. So when I wasn't skiing, I was taking a nap or reading my book.
Since it was spring skiing as of March 1st, the weather acted like it was also. The first two days that I went up on the mountains, I had to unzip my jacket and take off my hat because I was so overheated. Dominik had been staying at Lenzerheide since he was a kid, so I had one of the best guides at the resort. While the kids were in ski school, D took me around the resort, taking me to his favorite runs and spots. Luckily I could keep up with him, because he had been on the ski team at Harvard when he was a student there and while my technique is not perfect, I was able to ski without any major mishaps. Only one minor fall were I got a little too relaxed and missed a bump in front of me, causing me
to fall face first, losing my skis along the way. Mildly embarrassing, however I managed to recover quickly, and find D, who had been in front of me and did not see me fall.
My favorite run though at Lenzerheide was one called 'Piste Silvano Beltrametti'. It is a pretty easy run, but the view is fanastic on a clear day, which I happen to have two of the four days that I went skiing (I just wish I had gotten a picture of one of those days). Taking the gondola up to the top of the Rothorn, it is a gradual course across the mountain to the Weisshorn, where there were a few great black runs. Whoever named the mountains was not a creative person because on that side of the resort the names were, red, black, and white horns... D kept saying that his kids wanted to know when they would have a blue or green horn.
On Friday, the day before we left to return to Zurich, the family and I went to a traditional Swiss fondue restaurant. I had been avoiding fondue like the plague for several reasons, mainly because of how stinky it
is. If a person disagrees with me, then they have never had real Swiss fondue. Although not the best smelling food choice to be had, it isn't terrible when eating it. The white wine taste was pretty strong and the kids didn't quite care for it, not that I blame them. The whole point of going to this particular restaurant was because you park at the bottom of Parpan (one of the villages at Lenzerheide) and walk up to the building. Then at the end of your meal, you sledge down the mountain side. A fun atmosphere for everyone. Going down everyone paired up, so I was with Tara, the oldest of the three kids that I watch. The two of us laughed the whole way down the torch lit sledging path. Creating a happy ending for my work week in Lenzerheide.
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Claudia
non-member comment
Ski Trip
Kelli - You mom shared your blog with me. I think it is absolutely wonderful that you are able to have such a great experience as a nanny in Switzerland. How lucky to be able to work for such a great family that is able to give you the experiences as well as freedom to explore Europe. I bet you will miss it when you have to leave in August.