The Switzerland Traveler

If money’s no object, then the new spa at the Gstaad Palace Hotel might interest you.
You may have already heard of the Palace, but the Spa is new.
It was opened a couple of months ago, and covers 1800sq meters, which must be about 20,000 sq ft.

With spectacular views over the mountains, it’s sure to be a place you won’t want to leave in a hurry, so make sure you are there for as long as you can be. 
Rooms at the Palace start around 700CHF/night for a double.
Or, if you are lucky, you can book as an external guest for …read more

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No, it’s not bad news, just another attempt by the Swiss to make something sound cool in English.
Quite simply really. Go to Gstaad. Pay 10 CHF to enter, take something, preferably designed and made by yourself, and then slide down the snow on it.
Most spectacular descent wins the “Master of Disaster” prize.
Alternatively, you could just go along and watch…
Action takes place at the Eggli lift station.
Oh, there’s also a party with bands, DJs etc that will probably run long into the evening, but that’s not for me!
Saturday March 10
www.slidedisaster.ch (in German)

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If you’re not looking for peace and quiet in a ski resort that isn’t massive, Stoos could be for you.
Located in Central Switzerland, Stoos is located at 935m high and is a car free village.
There are amazing views over Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee) from the Fronalpstock, and the skiing isn’t bad either, having hosted the Swiss National championships at least once.
You can get to the village by cable car or rack railway, I must confess to preferring the latter, but as they run from different sides of the mountain, you either need to choose in advance, or be prepared for …read more

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It’s amazing just how many awards there are in this world.
I never knew there was such a thing as an Alpine Town of the Year, but Brig seems to have won the big prize this year.
Probably the main attraction is the lavish Baroque palace known as Stockalper Castle, the largest private 17th Century building in Switzerland. Again, that seems like a very tightly defined title, but it, and its gardens, is certainly worth a look.
It also shows just how wealthy merchants could be, Kaspar von Stockalper must have made or bob or two in his time.
A relatively new …read more

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Literally, the doors to the sun, the Portes du Soleil does what it says on the tin.
Snow and sun, and 650 km (400 miles) of downhill skiing trails.
The area  spreads across parts of Switzerland and France, but I’m only going to tell you about the Swiss bit.
It’s located near the eastern end of lake Geneva, about 90 minutes by car from both Geneva and Berne.
Champery is my favourite entry point to the portal, but Morgins and Val-d’Illiez are also good starting points.
And the charming village of Troistorrents also has a few inexpensive places to stay if …read more

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No, not training how to start an avalanche, what to do if you, or someone you’re with, gets caught by one.
Flumserberg has recently opened an Avalanche Training Centre. Andermatt and Diavolezza (St Moritz) already have one, and given that the Avalanche Research Institute is in Davos, I’d happily bet they have one there too.
If you ski or board off-piste, it’s probably a good idea to know what to do.
The official text says” Skiers and snowboarders straying from marked and secured ski runs are now required to carry safety equipment consisting of a search device for avalanche victims, a sensor …read more

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I’m happy to admit I have no idea how this works, but the people that run the lifts on the mountain at Sedrun claim to have the area’s first children’s restaurant.
Now clearly, most restaurants accept children, so this can’t be something new, and as they also say it’s family-oriented, then I’m presuming they allow adults in as well.
And anyway, if they don’t allow adults, who’s paying? Not many children I know have credit cards…
But it looks quite cool (although sadly I can’t find any hi-res pics) so maybe children will be happy to go there.
And as Disentis/Sedrun is  nice …read more

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I know I keep going on about St Moritz, but it is special.
And here’s a reminder that the horse racing takes place this Sunday.
So if you are in Switzerland this weekend, cancel your plans and get down to the frozen lake for a truly fantastic spectacle.
www.whiteturf.ch

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I hope you are not getting bored with winter sports and Fasnacht, but if you are, here’s a quick change of direction, courtesy of marco kalmann

Next, from jgraham, a photo at Zurich main station. I esecially like this as I had to catch the train to Geneva from this platform on Monday.

Seems some people are reacting against Euro 2008, months before it even starts, I have to say, the adverts are getting a bit wearing, I mean, it’s not like we don’t know it’s coming…

And finally a photo, courtesy of julie, from our trip to Kanton Schwyz …read more

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A slightly different take on winter sports today.
There’s a 2 km-sledge run from Col de Soud to Villars, as well as another at the nearby  Cergnement, so if your little ones are too young to ski, why not try hurtling down a mountain on a few sticks?
There’s also a children’s ski lift and sledge run at Frience, so maybe slightly older children can play on the slopes there?
In a nutshell, Villars-Gryon seems a pretty good place to head to for non-ski winter fun.  
The main sledge run is accessible from the Villars-Bretaye train. From the Col de Soud train stop, …read more

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