Showing posts with label St. Moritz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St. Moritz. Show all posts

Wednesday 15 February 2017

The Beautiful Town of Silvaplana, Switzerland

My husband Mr F, is taking over the blog today to tell you all about a beautiful location he visited recently in Switzerland called Silvaplana. It is an area that boasts stunning scenery, lovely locals, and a great variety of restaurants to suit all tastes. It is located only a short distance away by bus from the slopes of St. Moritz, and offers plenty for visitors to do in the summer months too, with a wonderful lake that offers a variety of water sports within a picturesque setting.


On arrival in Silvaplana, I took a moment to take in the large mountains, and looked around at all the snow that looked so neatly placed. Having not experienced snow for quite some time, it was lovely to be able to view it in such a beautiful place and the children were jumping and dancing in it very shortly after.


As you can see from the above picture, although it was dark and cloudy at times, the peaks on the mountain were lit up by the occasional sunshine and looked astounding.

Whilst in Silvaplana, we stayed in beautiful accommodation called the Hotel Albana. My family were welcomed with open arms, and the managers could literally have not been more welcoming and friendly, making us feel very comfortable and well cared for. There was a lovely lounge area where you could relax in the evening and chat to other guests, whilst also admiring the snowfall outside.



Our room had a balcony which had the most breathtaking backdrop, and the view certainly rivalled any that I have come across before. I could have quite happily sat on the balcony for several hours a day simply staring into the pristine scenery and mountain tops.


The rooms feature wooden furnishings and are well equipped with a tv, dvd player, and minibar. We were also provided with bathrobes, folded neatly on the beds, as well as a range of toiletries and a hairdryer, which came as a relief as I had forgotten to pack my daughters one from home! Much to my children's delight, there was also free wifi, so they were able to use their laptops in the evening to keep in touch with friends and family and update others on the holiday.

The hotel also boasted two wonderful restaurants, the first being the Spunta Engiadina Restaurant which serves gourmet food with a local touch. We ate here on both nights of our stay, and both the food and service was of a high standard. We ate from a set menu and on the first evening, I chose Potato Leek Soup with Estonian Potatoes, Piccata Milanese with Tomato Spaghetti, and Warm Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream, and all these meals were absolutely divine. My eldest son tried the Barley Risotto with fine root vegetable stripes, and Zucchini Boats filled with Ratatouille and he also really enjoyed his choices. The restaurant also catered well for children and offered a lovely menu offering a variety of dishes.


Breakfast was plentiful, with a lovely selection of both continental and cooked choices. The service was again fantastic, and on both mornings of our stay, we left feeling full and satisfied, ready for a busy days skiing ahead.


The hotel also featured the lovely Thailando restaurant, which offered fine Thai cuisine. We didn't eat here during our stay, but several of the other hotel residents that we spoke to highly recommended it.

Within Silvaplana there is also a ski equipment hire shop, and a small supermarket which is very convenient, and both are also a short distance away from Hotel Albana where we stayed.


Silvaplana is also home to a stunning lake, which in winter hosts a range of winter sports including ice skating and polo. In the summer it becomes a hive of activity again with activities such as kite surfing and wind surfing. The area is also popular with hikers and mountain bike riders too and their are numerous events hosted within Silvaplana throughout the year.

Overall Silvaplana really is a beautiful town, and I hope to have the opportunity to return again with my family, in the not too distant future.

For more information on the Hotel Albana please visit their website here Hotel Albana Silvaplana

Monday 13 February 2017

The Train Journey from Zurich to St. Moritz

As transfers go, the train journey between Zurich and St. Moritz is pretty spectacular, with picturesque views a plenty and stunning scenery at every turn. The large windows allow you to fully take in the beautiful backdrop of your journey and as the train ride takes you higher into the mountains, the landscape and surroundings become quite breathtaking.


The transfer to St. Moritz began in Zurich Flughafen airport, where my husband and children caught a double decker train to the main Zurich Station. Once there, they made a quick change of trains and departed on the 90 minute adventure to Chur. It wasn't long before the children started to spot signs of snow, and as they travelled further, the snow levels began to increase quite rapidly.




The seats were comfortable, and after a short period of travelling, a catering trolley came round where foods and drinks could be purchased. Drinks are very expensive in Switzerland averaging around CHF 6 each which is roughly £4.50.

On arrival in Chur there was a short wait for the next train which would carry my family into St. Moritz station. This was the longest part of the journey, but again the views were amazing and there was always something to see out of the windows which helped time to pass quickly. This train was much busier than the previous train, however with the St. Moritz World Ski Championships 2017 taking place, it was expected for it to be very busy and crowded, and so this was no surprise.

As they continued on their adventure, my husband and children watched as the snow fell outside, and the sky began to darken with snow clouds. The last time my children had experienced snow fall where we live in Wales was back in 2013, and so they were very excited, and eagerly waited with anticipation for the moment where they could depart from the train and jump straight into the waiting piles of snow.



My son Ben has a dislike of heights, and so he was tempted to look away at times as the track ascended, but struggled to draw his eyes away from the beautiful sights of the snow capped mountains.




The total journey time was 3 hours and 40 minutes, although it didn't feel that long as there was always plenty to see and talk about which made the experience seem a lot quicker.

The fare was CHF 162.00 (approximately £129) for an adult return and CHF 81.00 (approximately £64) for a child, though prices may be cheaper dependent on time, day or class of travel. The tickets my family had also allowed them to take any route back to Zurich, and so my husband chose to travel via Landquart on the way back a few days later, which took a slightly shorter time of 3 hours 26 minutes.



Overall it was a fantastic experience travelling from Zurich to St. Moritz. Not only did it help my children to create many picturesque family memories, but it also gave them the opportunity to see some breathtaking scenery.