EUROPEAN ALPS

Arriving in Switzerland
Arriving in Switzerland was like a breath of fresh air, the country just seems so organized and together it gives you space to relax. No wonder Zurich has been voted most livable city in the world so many times. We crashed at Niki (Daniel’s cousin) and Fabi’s place for a few days (thanks!), before heading to Germany for Christmas. Even with only a few days we managed to sneak a day on the slopes at Engelberg (which has previously hosted the world downhill skiing championships) and sample the raclette, a Swiss specialty involving a lot of cheese.

 White Christmas in Germany
We celebrated a white Christmas European style (photo from the Christmas dinner table) in a small Bavarian town (Kempten) in southern Germany with Sabina’s family. Here Christmas is celebrated on the night of 24 December with presents, dinner and wine and finally attendance of midnight mass at the local church (quite different from the backyard BBQ lunch back in Australia). It was a special night as Sabina’s parents and her sister and husband joined us, all the way from Australia.
 
We also had a chance to visit the Christmas market in Nurmberg, renowned as one of the world’s best (photo of us with Sabina’s family trying to stay warm with glühwein – warm spiced wine).

Walking the hills of Bavaria
We had some great days hiking the foothills of the Germany Alps (photo from one of the walks), stumbling across small mountain huts which served up large portions of bratwurst, sauerkraut and steins of Bavarian beer. In between all the eating and drinking, we also had a chance to pick up a bit of culture at the famous Richard Wagner opera hall, King Ludwig II’s fairytale castle, Schloss Neuschwanstein, and the German Science Museum.

Austrian Alps
Shacked up in a little village high in the Austrian Alps with a choice of ski resorts, there are definitely worse places to spend the first week of the New Year. Surrounded by snow capped peaks and glaciers at 3000+m we watched the sun setting after a magic day on the slopes (photo). Before long we realised it was past 5pm and we had to get back to 1000m where the car was parked before dark; a tough ask with more than a few Jäger teas under our belt!!

Fasnacht
Back in Switzerland we were persuaded to attend a Fasnacht Ball. Somewhat akin to the ‘Carnival’ in Brazil at the same time of year, the Swiss dress up in all types of costumes and party all night long, aided by dance beats blasted from amazing brass bands. Luckily Niki had a spare pig and frog outfit that we could borrow for the night and we joined her and her friends who were dressed as Christmas trees and stars in an eye opening night out.

Laax and Grindelwald
Escaping the Fasnacht festivities, we headed for the Alps again, to Flims/Laax where they we just wrapping up the Burton European Snowboard Championships. We had amazing luck with the weather, dumping half a meter of snow mid week and clearing to blue skies the next day. We finally had our first taste of champagne powder (photo), and we made sure we rode fresh tracks all day including some very memorable off-piste lines. This we followed up with a few days at Grindelwald (another resort near Luzern; photo) with Daniel’s cousins.


So now we’re staying in the Valais, near Geneva, planning the final stage of the trip, Japan before we finally decided to return home to Australia in March. It’s been an amazing way to see in the New Year and we’re looking forward to a great 2008 and to catching up with everyone back home soon!