Heidiland and the Moon

Walensee, or Walen Lake in Heidiland

Long weekends are meant for skiing. If I had my way, any old day would be spent skiing. But work impedes on that and sometimes, we need to do other things. So this was a pretty good weekend spent. We headed to Heidiland. I was able to find a good deal on www.mySwitzerland.com. It included 2 days of skiing and 2 nights lodging at Flumserberg. It was the culinary package, so they threw in some amazing dinners as well. And we threw in an extra day of skiing on Friday at Pizol. I want to go back.

The town of Flums overlooks Walensee in eastern Switzerland, also known by tourists as Heidiland. Our hotel, Hotel Schiffahrt, was situated across the street from the lake, so the views were delicious. The package included dinner at the hotel one night and dinner at Sagibeiz in Mols the next. I think the name translates roughly to 'tightrope walker.' It was a funky, rustic old boathouse with fancy wine bar. The food was served on these sculptural, long skinny plates. Quite the presentation and very tasty to boot.

the moon, aka Pizol, aka unbelieveable

The first day at Pizol was like skiing on a snowy moon. There are no trees, but the weather and the hills created crazy shadows on the snow. It was deserted. Nothing like having an entire snowy moon to ourselves. The trails are 'loosly' marked at best, so we skied where we pleased and spent the entire, yes I mean the entire day, in powder. Priceless!

note the marshmellowy peaks in the distance, from Pizol

To get to Flumserberg, all we had to do was drive about 2 minutes down the lake from the hotel, park for free and board a gondala. Piece of cake. The gondola ride provided amazing views of the lake and valley and enough time to get sufficiently bundled up for skiing. Again, for 2 more days, we were blessed with blue skies and great powder. The crowds had grown as it was the weekend, but it was totally manageable. We only went indoors to use the facilities. We took breaks and lunch slopeside, choosing nice snowy perches in the sun to rest and rejuvenate, as needed.

powder, powder powder

The topography at Flumserberg is odd, but good. Just when you think you see a pattern, it changes. You really can ski in just about every direction, up down and across these mountains. If you feel like chasing the sun, you can, but you don't need to to get in great, long runs.

There are two things that struck me about Flums. First, the landscape is full of trees, rock and valleys - never a bad view. Some of the stretches 'in between' can be tough on a boarder. Scott borrowed my poles to get along in many instances. Second, this place is family friendly. There was every age of child here, not necessarily skiing, but hanging out, having fun. They have these cute little goggle-like shades for the babies. Adorable. No one is getting left inside at daycare here.

Scott actually got stuck in the flat, deep snow!

yup, we came from way, way up there...

http://www.flumserberg.ch
http://www.pizol.com/