With a four day weekend ahead of me, I knew there were a few things on my Swiss bucket list that I could check off. The first one, skiing in the Swiss Alps. Shannon and I hopped in her car early in the morning and drove around an hour and a half north to Andermatt. Andermatt, just north of Ticino and positioned in the heart of the Swiss Alps, is a quaint village known for the excellent snow and ski conditions. It's amazing how different the weather is! It's been warm here in Lugano, around 40 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny with just the snow capped mountains in the distance. However, in Andermatt, it snowed almost all day and was in the 20s, giving us fresh snow to ski on!
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| Getting Ready to ski! |
We arrived at 830 in the morning and were able to rent our skis, boots, poles and helmets for the day. After, we made our way to Gemstocck, the southern mountain and took the two Gondolas to the top. When we got off the visibility was horrendous, and the wind was crazy. By the time we made it half way down the mountain, my eyebrows and eyelashes were frozen and my sunglasses completely iced over! Once we made it down we switched to the northern mountains, Nätschen and Gütsch, where visibility was clearer and the conditions ideal. Andermatt wasn't crowded and most of the time we had the runs to ourselves. A 6 km run, that brought us back down to the base, was open to other winter activities such as sledding and walking and therefore, parts were catwalks. The one thing I cannot stand when skiing are catwalks because I never have the momentum to keep me going long enough to reach the decline again. Needless to say, I got a full body workout navigating that run. We spent the day exploring the different areas of the mountains, taking just one quick lunch break to refuel. By 3:30 after an exhausting day on the slopes, we packed it up and headed home. After not skiing since I was abroad here last time, it was great to get back on the slopes!
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| Bundled up to beat the cold! |
Thursday night also marked the beginning of Carnivale, a week long celebration before lent begins. Bellinzona, the capital of Ticino, hosts one of the largest Carnivale celebrations in Switzerland. This was their 150th year celebration of "Rabadan,", which translates to 'uproar' or 'noise' On Thursday, the mayor of Bellinzona hands over the city keys to King Rabadan, and for the following week a giant party ensues. Bellinzona goes on lock down, with fences surrounding the area of the city where Carnivale takes place. Throughout the week there are parades and scores of people wandering the streets in costume partying.
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| Castelgrande's Black Tower outfitted with a Carnivale Mask |
Friday night, I headed to Carnivale with Shannon and some of her teammates. One of her teammate's mom has made her awesome Carnivale costumes for the past few years so I was able to borrow one for the night. The costumes we were wearing were amazing and the thought and time that goes into making not only these but the many others I saw throughout the night is insane!
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Shannon & I as Robin Hood & a Pink Cow
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| Carnivale Cookie from Münger |
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