Switzerland

Swiss Mountain Weekend Getaway

In early December we met several family members for a weekend in the Swiss mountains.  We joined my brother and his family from Zürich, my sister and nephew visiting from England, and my mother from Seattle.

On the road, without a Monday to Friday work schedule, we sometimes find it challenging to remember what day it is. And, being from the Pacific Northwest, we found the bright sun and short-sleeved t-shirt weather of Nice particularly disorienting.  Despite being December, it didn’t feel like Christmas was just around the corner. So the transition to cooler temperatures and mountain setting, finally made it feel like the holidays were approaching.

We stayed near Scuol, in the Engadin region.  Our Airbnb was in the village of Ftan, about 10 minutes up the mountain.  This area is one of the few areas where Romansh is spoken.  Romansh is an official language of Switzerland, spoken by about 1% of the population.  The location also had breathtaking views of the valley. 

The best part about the weekend was the snow!  My niece and nephew had a wonderful time making snowballs and snow angels. We also enjoyed meeting another Swiss Shepherd next door, watching a man take his owl for walks in the hills and around town, and visiting the Spa at my brother’s hotel.

Unfortunately, the weekend wasn’t all fun.  Kate, my pregnant sister-in-law, fell on the second day and broke her ankle.  Her injury resulted in an unanticipated visit to the hospital and surgery. Despite being incredibly bored, she remained in positive spirits as she attempted to appreciate what may have been the most beautiful view from a hospital room. 

Car Transporter Train

When traveling back to Zürich, we rode on one of the car transporter trains.  I have previously attempted to explain this to American friends. This time I remembered to take a video.  This transporter travels through the Vereina Tunnel on the Rhaetian Railway. We boarded in Engadin (Sagliains) and exited at Prättigau (Selfranga).