Winter Wonderland

This past weekend we had good friends Brad & Julia in town for some winter fun. We met them at the Zurich train station and went straight to Grindelwald, a small mountain resort town. The weather here has been much like that of the east coast of the U.S., not quite that warm but still warmer than usual for this area. So we weren't sure what we would find in Grindelwald.

Valcich Griffith Olympics Sporting Chapter I - Snowboarding

When we got there, it was kind of slushy and rainy. But we were determined to get on the slopes. Brad & Julia are snowboarders so Rob and I decided to give it a whirl. We rented our equipment and jumped on the gondola. I have never been skiing before but I think that at most of the east coast ski resorts (can we call them that?) you use a lift and not a gondola. At first I was excited to be enclosed in the gondola rather than legs hanging free on a ski lift but then once I saw how high we were going, I got a teensy bit scared. Okay, gripping Rob's hand for dear life. We survived though and got off on a stop on the mountain. It's pretty much a free for all up there - people just choose their desired altitude, jump off and plow down the mountain. I wasn't too afraid of anyone hitting me - these people are born experts I think, but I was worried about me plowing into something or someone. My goal was just to be able to stand up on the snowboard, not hurt myself too badly, and move it around a little bit. Luckily for me, all were accomplished - thanks in big part to my wonderful husband who would run beside me and hold my hand as I slid down the hill. I told him to let me go though at the end and was kind of able to maneuver it. I didn't learn the proper way to stop though and I all could remember was advice someone had given to me to use the first time I ski and i needed to stop - just fall down. so I did! OUCH! Apparently it is easier in more snowy conditions but my butt did not love slamming into the ice. All in all though, a really fun experience! Except for almost missing the last gondola and having it stop and just hang there swinging half way down the mountain. I'd like to think I maintained my cool. Perhaps it even helped the acrophobia. Rob says if there is anywhere you want to be stuck on a machine, it is in Switzerland due to the superior engineering. Works for me!

Val- Griff Olympic Sporting Chapter II - Curling

On Saturday morning, we got up and headed down to the sport center for our next activity of the weekend. Brad was very interested in curling so Rob had booked us at the ice rink for 2 hours of curling - the first with an instructor. Well, all I knew of curling was that it was on the winter Olympics and probably among the most boring of all sports to watch. Well when you are playing, it is quite different. We had a blast hurling the stone down the ice. Julia must have been a professional curler in a previous life - she was excellent! We took our lesson and played against each other for about half a game. The trick is to curl the stone the right way (by turning your hand when you release it) and to make sure it goes the right distance by your release and brushing the ice in front of it to speed it up a bit. Brad & Julia beat us but no matter - it was so much fun and really wonderful to try a new sport like that. Brad swears they are joining a league as soon as they get back to Philly and told us we need to start one in Baltimore. We'll see about that.


Val - Griff Olympic Sporting Chapter III - Sledging

The first I had heard of this "sledging" was about a month or two ago at a happy hour here. A British guy that lives in Basel was telling Rob all about this trip that he and his friends take once a year into the mountains at night where they go to the top of the mountain and "sledge" from town to town, stopping at each town for a drink or some fondue. I guess "sledge" is the British word for sledding? At any rate, we decided that we should try this "sledging" especially since it didn't look like we'd be able to get back out on the snowboards unless we wanted to face the same icy mess slamming against our bottoms. In Grindelwald there is a little train you can take to the top of the mountain and then "sledge" down. So Saturday evening, we rented our "sledges", dragged them onto the train and chugged up to the top of the sledge run. I can't begin to describe the view from the top of the mountain looking down at the town of Grindelwald all lit up and glowing in the shallow of the mountains. Our camera doesn't really work in the evening so there was no way to capture on film. It was just stunning. So peaceful and quite and beautiful. So we took in the view for a few minutes and then began hurtling down the mountain. Now I had gone sledding before back in Bel Air on Shamrock road by the nursing home and at the country club. Well that is NOTHING in comparison to this. The sledge run is about 2 miles long, windy and steep down the mountain. The track is about as wide as a one lane road and you must maneuver your "sledge" and try to take the turns and get from spot to spot without totally wiping out. This was quite a challenge for me but I took it slow and again have to thank my wonderful hubby for waiting for me around all the steep hairpin turns to make sure I didn't turf it too badly. To give you an idea of this path, the first run took us about 35-40 minutes. We took a lot of breaks and went kind of slowly since we didn't know what was around each corner. Some of the turns were pretty frightening to me - in some places the path cut through rock or was at the edge of the mountain (see fear of heights mentioned previously). We used these old wooden sleds - like the Radioflyer type. I don't think one could go down this path on a plastic sled since there is no way to really control it. We "controlled" the sleds by using our feet to help turn or stop. Thank goodness for those new snow boots.

The second time we went down was much more fun and we were able to go much faster. We completed the course in about 20 minutes this time. It was much better for me because I had less fear and was able to relax a bit. We waited until everyone else had already gone down before we started our run so that was nice too. Only a couple of people came racing from behind. A couple of minor spills here and there but all in all, a thrilling adventure. We went down one other time (this time it only took us 15 minutes) but there were many more people on the course so we couldn't just relax and speed up as much. This is one of the most fun things I think I have done in my life. Sledding down the Alps at night was just unbelievable. I got seriously banged up - bruises behind my knees from trying to control the sled and some bumps on my backside and legs from wiping out. But the experience was just so exhilarating and the view incredibly beautiful. I hope we get to try it again but if we don't, I'll never forget that night.

The next day, we took a train to another sledging path. This one was a little disappointing though. It was not nearly as steep or long as the one from the night before, and this path was shared by hikers and cars. So again, we couldn't really just let go and fly down without control. None of us had any accidents or anything and the snow was a little softer than the ice from the night before. But I think we started out on the daddy of them all the night before so it was a bit of a disappointment. (This seems to funny to me considering how happy I was flying down the hill by the nursing home for so many years.) Of all the we did this weekend though, this is the one I would recommend the most. It's such a high to come down the mountain like that at night under a million stars.

Thus concluded our weekend Olympics. We had so much fun with Brad & Julia in the activities and enjoying the Swiss and Italian meals we had. They were wonderful company and the perfect complement to our little winter excursions.