Snowboarding in Switzerland

If you missed me last week it was because I spent an amazing week in Switzerland.

I’m an avid snowboarder and after my first experience in the Swiss Alps last year, I knew I had to go back.

We were able to stay at a chalet in Laax. You take a 10 min walk to the first trail that will bring you to the base. At that point, you take a 50 person cable car. At the conclusion, you can get off and start skiing or take another cable car to one of the higher peaks. In total, this trip from door to the peak takes about 35 minutes. The views are breathtaking and luckily for us, we had 3 gorgeous Spring Days.

  
  

On Wednesday we decided to take a day trip because the conditions were quite foggy. It was suggested to visit southern Switzerland to the city of Lugano, near the Italian border. The drive is about 2 hours but not for the faint of heart. The first hour of driving out of the Alps is highways made up of long tunnels, lots of turns and descents and stunning cliff-like views. It’s amazing what man, engineering and architecture can do within natural terrain.

Once we arrived in Lugano, the weather was clear skies. It’s a beautiful city with a big lake with palm trees and gorgeous mountain views. It reminded me of the late 70’s-early 80’s Hollywood.  This part of Switzerland speaks Italian. (Fun fact: there are 4 languages spoken by Swiss folks, German, French, Italian and Romansh). With it being a weekday and week before Easter and being somewhat off-season, the place was a ghost town. We had a great Italian pasta lunch, walked around, took a 40 min tour bus and enjoyed some gelato before heading back to Laax.

  

We contemplated another ski day on Thursday but opted for a short but hilly run instead – At this point the marathon is 13 days out. We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon drinking beers on the patio and taking in some Vitamin D, which I lacked plenty of this winter.

Friday we cleaned up and closed up shop and headed to our friends flat in Zurich to spend Easter. We continued to be lucky with the weather to be touristy in the clean, artsy, exceptionally well-kept city.

Finally, we made our way back home in France (3:30 hour drive from Zurich – I love Europe) and back to real life. But not for long…2 days until I go to Paris and grab my dad and sister at the airport and meet up with my childhood friend, Dorothy. And if my latest left piriformis/hamstring injury that started on Monday (I think from sitting in a car too long, irritating my sciatic nerve 😡) allows me, I’ll be running the Paris Marathon on Sunday April 3rd. Wish me healing luck!!