Paradise

You are going to think I am a little crazy, and perhaps even more crazy for what I am about to tell you. Know that I have no regrets. It is my favorite mode of transport, and perfect for the landscape architect. It is green and mean. The views are great and the 'road' is ever-changing. No static scenery to get bored with here. My favorite method of transportation: Tobogganing.


Yes, I have talked about and shown you tobogganing before. But I finally made it to the mother of all toboggan runs. THE LONGEST TOBOGGAN RUN IN THE WORLD. Yup, I did it and I loved it and I will go back and do it again. I now have tobogganing cred. I can run with the big dogs. February was a great month.

We took a trip to my beloved Jungfrau Region to do the Faulhorn-Bussalp Grindelwad toboggan run. Not for the wimpy, as it has a pretty good hike to get to the top. You start by taking the various gondolas and chairlifts up to the top. Then you proceed to hike with your sled up another 3 hours or so. This hike takes you through quiet, pristine snowy wonderland, with the exception of the few others doing exactly what you are. The groups tend to be pretty fun, stopping for sausage cookouts and drinks along the way. The hike is strenuous, as it is mostly uphill at a high altitude. But it is so worth it when you make it to the start of the toboggan run. You are about to embark on 15 km of pure, unadulterated snowy tobogganing bliss.


I felt a little like a kid in a candy store. At the top we were so hot and tired from hiking, despite the fact that my handy zipper thermometer said it was 10 degrees Fahrenheit. It was pretty windy and you don't want to stay at the top long. The only thing marking the trail was a simple fence and the knowledge of the others who had done this before. The boys were quickly off, at warp speed.


I tend to really appreciate working limbs and an uncracked head, as well as the views that surround me. So I go a little slower, savoring each view and noticing lots along the way. I periodically jump off and take photos, only to be distracted by even more stuff to photograph. The weather was great that day, so lots of photographs were taken. Eventually, I catch up with the boys and we keep moving.


I was so tempted to take some video along the way. But I wimped out a bit and decided against it. There are no guardrails and lots of curves mean lots of chances to run a muck in the snowbanks. Something that doesn't do good things for electronics.


One curve was particularly interesting. I found the guys waiting for me, expecting me to crash. It was a particularly long steep section with a big curve and a fairly friendly run-away lane. And I did just that. I am always happy to amuse. Then I had to climb back up and you can see in this photo how deep I sunk in the snow, right to my knees.


At one point, around a big curve, we came across an alpenhut, seemingly unavailable to anyone but tobogganers. I suppose it is open for hikers in summer, too, but no skiers were making it here. Many were enjoying sausages and cold beer or warm Gluewein. There was even a DJ. But we weren't there for DJ's, we were on the LONGEST TOBOGGAN RUN IN EUROPE! So on we pressed.


I was overtaken by the urge to take photos again and stopped for a bit to do so. Guess it was longer than expected. I continued down and realized that the trail split. Still didn't see the guys. Hmmm. I asked a fellow tobogganer who also was looking for her mates whether the trails ended up in the same spot. Negative. Hmmm. She politely suggested to just call them to find out which way they went. Have I mentioned that I was the only person in Switzerland without a cell phone? Hmmm. So I decided to think like a guy and see which way I would go if I was them. This worked and I found them. The funny part was that they had been waiting a while and the person I spoke to came by and told them I went the other way and would meet them in town. Apparently my husband didn't think that was so funny and relegated me to the front, so as not to lose me again. But that didn't last too long and I was happily snapping photos in the back again.


Some parts of the trail follow the road, so you must share the road with buses. Yikes. But I quickly learned that toboggans go faster on these roads than buses. And I am sure it is entertaining for the driver, following a good distance behind you, to watch you crash and burn on the icy curves of the road.


The trail ended by passing through a few villages. Unfortunately for us, the lower snow had nearly melted, so we had to walk a little at the end. But I got to see some adorable alpine architecture along the way. All in all, it took about an hour to toboggan 15 km. Not bad. Well worth the semi-painful hike up. I would do it all again tomorrow if I could. And if I could get a job where I could toboggan to work daily, I would do it in a heartbeat.


Oh, I failed to mention what we did before this toboggan trip. After arriving in Grindelwald, we looked up the First Flieger or First Flyer. First is the name of a town. The Flieger is a seated zip line type of contraption. It is 45 m up in the air, parallel to a gondola. The run is about 800 m long and goes a max speed of 84 km/52 mph! It was really cloudy when we did it, so you couldn't see too much except the gondola and an occasional tree top below. It lasts about 45 seconds. I believe that the First Flieger is the only of its kind in Europe to date. And it was created by some crazy Americans. Awesome.


I am so going to miss all the snowy fun that Switzerland has to offer.

Switzerland - The Land of Milk, Money and Snow

Tobogganing again! After a little too much Friday night revelry (Sri Lanken dinner party at a friend's), we got up and started to get ready to go. The car failed to start. Never a good way to begin the weekend. But after a little time, the nice man came and jump started it. We finished getting packed and it failed to start up again. I see a pattern developing. But, our car guy friend decided that all we needed to do was bump start it. This involved pushing the car while the driver pops the clutch to get it to start, or at least that is my translation of what occurred. Off we were to Melchsee-Frutt.

I picked this place, as opposed to the hundreds of other places to go, because they have an 8 km toboggan track! Nice! It was very snowy on the ride up. Thanks, Scott, again, for driving. There was about a foot of new snow and it was still snowing. So we get to the ticket booth and nice ticket lady tells me that all the sleds have already been rented. Grrrrumph. So we go to the rental store to see what nice rental boy has to say. Sure enough, no toboggans for us. But nice rental boy, being a local, tells us of another place to go, half an hour away. He is sure that they will have sleds. So off we go again, this time to Lungern-Schoenbuhl.

At the ticket counter, this time, we are told that the toboggan track is closed because of too much snow. Yes, I just said, TOO MUCH SNOW!!!!! I cannot comprehend too much snow. Ich verstehe nicht! But, I did understand that the toboggan won't make it through unless the snow is pretty packed. But, nice ticket booth lady tells us that we can just as nicely use the ski slopes to toboggan on (um, aren't they a little steeper than the track?). Up we go, on the gondola (which only runs when needed, BTW).

At the top, which is really just a bunch of Doppelmeyer lift equipment perched precariously on a steep point, we head to the rental shop to get our toboggans. Up the lift we go.

Very cold, poor visibility and we can't see if the slopes are groomed or not, from the lift. But there aren't many skiers this particular day. Despite the powder, they chose to stay home. The rest of the story involves the guys being guys and the girl being a girl. They proceeded to go down the steep head walls at full speed, crashing, burning and face-planting their way down. I am no wimpy girl when it comes to snow, but I acted with some caution and self-preservation technique. I chose the less-likely-to-bruise method of keeping my feet on the ground in some form of braking most of the time on the steeper head walls.

Trying to maneuver the toboggan through that much powder was very tricky and exhausting, but fun just the same. On flatter parts we had to walk, but the views were great. Most of the time, we were being serenaded by the sounds of helicopters and avalanche control. An occassional big BOOM coming from the shrouded hills above you is a sound I know and love from skiing.

When we got toward the end of the day, we noticed other tobogganers down near the bottom. There was a nice, even head wall that you could go down and hike back up to do it again, instead of taking the freezing cold, long, slow lift. It was here that we found the real experts.

A bunch of teenage boys and a big plastic sheet. Yup, you guessed it. They weren't having no stinkin' picnic on that sheet, but using it to sled down the hill. They put it down, climbed in, luge style, one behind the next, etc. They pulled the front and side flaps up and around themselves. Off they were, like a big, snowy caterpillar, inching its way, but fastly, through the snow. You could tell that they had done this before.

Near the end of the head wall, the veered to the left, into a very deep, untouched snow bank, to stop. This avoided a longer hike back up. Very efficient, these Swiss. But one time they had a little more speed and kept going through the snow bank and into a little gully. They were pretty much buried. But it looked like a blast. We could tell they were natives!

I learned this weekend that there are different types of toboggans. The plain wooden kind, that has cross members that stick out and really bruise the inside of my knees. Been there, done that. There are also the wonky sleds, that just won't go and if it does decide to go, it goes only in one direction. These are in need of allignment. When I got tired of bruises and veering issues, I upgraded to the Rolls Royce of sleds.

I told the rental guy I needed a faster sled. What I got was fast, very, very fast. And it had a nice comfy seat, too. But, you couldn't stop this thing and you couldn't flip it over to bail out. I had to push it out from under me, in front of me, to get myself to stop on some steep stuff. The key is that you have to tie the leash around your wrist so it doesn't fly down the hill without you.

Scott took the last trip down on that little Swiss Rolls Royce. Yes, his toboggan is still underneath him. Seeing is believing!


Here is the view from laying in a snow bank. Remember, all these snowy Field Trips are about people enjoying what nature gave them. Happy tobogganing!

Busy Celebrating Winter!

Winter is wonderful. Especially here, as I am finding out. Yes, it costs twice as much to go on Field Trips, but it is relatively easy to get around, Switzerland being just a tiny mountain pass of a country. You can get anywhere in less than 4 hours. It is even easier considering my husband drives me all over on the weekends. Thanks dear! I plan it, he drives. Good deal.

Last weekend I planned tobogganing and snowboarding Field Trips. First, we headed to Engelberg to go sledding. This is a serious thing here in der Schweiz. We have done it once before, in Austria and had an amazing time. So much fun. In Austria, it seems as though the kids use it as the primary means of transportation in the winter. I use the term 'winter' lightly. The lovely white stuff is known to stay around until well into springtime here and can show up in the early fall. Nirvana, for me.

Just as we remembered, it was a blast. The track was great and there weren't too many people out. No lines! You take the gondola up and get your toboggan at the top. After the ride down, which lasts about 15 minutes at a good pace, you give them your sled and head back up for another run. The Swiss (and Austrians, too) have this tobogganing thing down to a science. I love it!

I will spare you the snowboarding details for now. Lets just say that I am a skier. I will have a better tale to tell about skiing after this weekend. We are headed out to play in the snow yet again. In fact, my goal is to have a ski or toboggan Field Trip every weekend until we go home.

One of the reasons that I love skiing so much is because of the landscape. All of the senses are engaged up on a mountain or on a chairlift. I like everything about it: altitude and elevation, scenery or lack thereof because of snow and clouds, the smell of trees and snow (yes, I think snow has a very distinct scent), the peaceful sound of woods when you are all alone, the feel of snowflakes on the tiny exposed area of my face, the swishy noise that my skis make in the snow, even the ice. One of my favorite things is to hear the melting water rushing downhill in a stream in the woods near the lift. You may not be able to see it, but you can sure hear it and it is very relaxing.

And now, living in Switzerland, I am surrounded by many people who probably feel the same about winter as me. I have yet to hear any of the natives complain about the weather. So this is another good example of people enjoying the environments that nature gave them, making the best of it all and keeping fit at the same time. Yes, nature is manipulated in the case of skiing, but when I get to design them, they will be sustainable. The Swiss really know how to enjoy snow. I am very thankful for the winter weather and the landscape that surrounds me here.

Off to go plan my next snowy Field Trip! There is hope to live out that ski bum dream yet, even if just for a little while.