A recent trip to Davos, Klosters and Zurich, courtesy of Switzerland Tourism and Edelweiss; Switzerland’s leading leisure airline, allowed me to experience these dramatic landscapes first hand, and if possible should be on everyone’s bucket list. Three full days in Switzerland doesn’t sound like much, but my fellow journalists and I squeezed the most out of our time there experiencing and embracing the culture as much as we could. And with a direct flight from Cape Town to Zurich (no nightmare eight-hour layovers) via Edelweiss Air you get the maximum amount of time to add to your trip.
The first point on the itinerary was a train trip to the skiing town of Davos, just two hours outside of Zurich. That day it was overcast and snowy, iced-over lakes, snow-capped cottages and moody dramatic skies flashed by, framed by the train windows. In contrast, the train scenes on the way back showed lush green fields, turquoise lakes and cloudless skies. Switzerland is a country of contrasts.
Davos, a town of 13,000 people, is said to be considered the slightly less glamourous, more urban cousin of the well-known skiing resort town of Klosters, which is favoured by celebs and royals; however, Davos, even if less glamorous and pretty, is more practical and trendy, and offers more shops, bars and restaurants than Klosters, as explained to us by our excellent guide, born-and-bred Davos(ian?) Martin Accola from Davos Tourism.
Martin an ever-gracious host made sure we sampled the local delicacies and took part in the local sporting activities. In fact, these two acts really define the Swiss lifestyle. You might be somewhat perplexed as to why there are so many fit and healthy looking Swiss of all ages when you take into account the incredibly carb and fat-heavy diet: potatoes, bread, cheese and meat being the traditional staples, and generous portions of them; however this rich diet seems to be burned off on the ski slopes and snowy walkways.
Wasting no time in getting into the Swiss mindset after our arrival in Davos, we set off to Sertig to dine at the quaint Walserhuus Hotel and restaurant, a short bus trip from our hotel, the Sunstar. A hearty lunch of schnitzel, potato rostis, bratwurst and capuns, a traditional dish of sausage wrapped in Swiss chard in a cream sauce, did well to fuel our -14C hike along a secluded walkway behind the hotel. Pretty much being a snow virgin (I don’t think some thin mucky ice in Ceres really counts), this was a truly magical experience. Gentle snowflakes fell upon us and the landscape was shrouded in thick, pure white powder so light and fluffy you can blow it from your hand in a puff of sparkle. Farming cottages, a tiny church and pine trees draped in thick white snow icing offered the only contrast to the otherwise all-white and grey landscape.
After this, we continued to burn off our lunch by taking part in a toboggan ride down the SchatzAlp back in Davos. Side note fact: Davos played host to the first official toboggan in 1883. Okay, so I can be somewhat directionally challenged and ended up careening into the icy banks a little too often; however, about one-third down the SchatzAlp I started getting the hang of it and for the rest of the stay was wishing we could go back to toboggan again.
That evening saw us dine at the wonderful Hotel Alphenhof. Imagine a typical Swiss log cabin with roaring fire, cheese fondue and red wine. Yup, it was all so hearty, toasty and welcoming. Even Zuma deemed it worthwhile when visiting Davos for the annual World Economic Forum. Feeling supremely spoilt we were presented with dish after dish of deliciousness created by Swiss-Italian chef Roberto Pirelli, the stars of the show being a massive cheese-and-bread fondue and generous lashings of homemade limoncello. Safe to say we practically rolled home to our hotel that night. No cheesemares for me.
Read Part 2 of the Swiss Adventure – Curling and Klosters
For more info on Switzerland or to book a flight via Edelweiss go to www.myswitzerland.com/en/home.html and www.flyedelweiss.com
