Tag Archives: hiking

Mountains and Water

Cascade in FerleitenCascade in Ferleiten

This pictures were taken “behind” the Walcher Wasserfall (Cascade) – in Ferleiten. Ferleiten is a part of Fusch an der Glocknerstrasse – here is the toll station for the Glockner Hochalpenstrasse. You can visit this cascade doing an easy hike of about 2 hours.

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Switzerland, as we love it

Stauberen

Stauberen and Stauberen Hut

This picture was taken on a short hiking tour from the Stauberen hut to the Hoher Kasten. As I can see this mountains every day it was great for once to be on top of them and whenever I see the Hohe Kasten or the Stauberen I feel the urge to go hiking again …

When we had to chose an image for our companies brochure, we decided that this was the one for the title.

I hope you like it, as much as I do … enjoy your weekend!

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My top five winter activities

Winter is one of the best times in the year … in my opinion. There are some many great things to do – here you can find my personal Top 5.

5 – Reading

Winter time is reading time … when it is as cold outside as it is now, what better can you do than use a complete weekend to just read. We all have books we put away during summer or spring, as the weather outside was just to nice to read. Winter is the time to get back to this books. Put some firewood in your oven, have a nice cup of tea and take your time to read again.

4 – Tobogganing

For years I declined any offer to go tobogganing. It was so much part of my child hood, that I just felt too adult to do it. Little did I know – it´s one of the greatest social events to do ever. Hike up a long and winding run (taking the lift does not count), sit on a traditional hut, have some mulled wine and some delicious food – and then go for it!

3 – Hiking

Hiking in Winter is great … the snow covered landscape, the calmness of nature, the chilly experience of cold wind on your skin – and then the feeling of warmness, when you enter a small restaurant to enjoy a nice break. Starting in February it gets even greater, when the sun is getting stronger again and you can feel the coldness of the snow and the warming sun at once.

2 – Skiing

I just love Skiing. A great day in one of the best skiing resorts in my vicinity (you can read about them here) is just too much fun. With a group of friends, who are all good skiers it gives you physical exhaustion, you might go to your limits and it´s a great social event, too. Do not forget to visit a sunny hut in your favorite skiing resort, to indulge in good food and have a drink. Aprés Ski afterwards should not be missed either.

1 – Ski Touring

Ski Touring is my favorite thing to do in Winter. Enjoy nature off the beaten path, do something for your body and enjoy incredible views at top of the Alpes before doing some powder runs: it just perfectly sums up all the great things you can do in Winter. A day on a nice tour with a friend or a group of friends is just the thing I need to recharge my batteries. Best thing about it is, that the season is very long. You can start as early as November, and some of the best tours can be found at the beginning of May.

Of course there are other great things to do … visiting a spa, ice-skating.

So what are your favorite things to do in Winter?

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Vals – a great place for relaxation

At the moment it is freezing cold in Vorarlberg and there would be nothing better than a couple of days of relaxing in a beautiful Spa – and one of my favorite Spas lies in the heart of Switzerland. Vals is a small Walser-community in Graubünden, which lies in a beautiful valley, formed by the Valser Rhine. The village is famous for its thermal spring and it´s typical Walser Architecture.

The thermal spring is used for the production of bottled water – Valser Wasser is one of Switzerlands leading mineral water brands. But they use it also for their spa. It was planned by Peter Zumthor, Prizker price winner 2009, and the building is simply breathtaking. It is built out of Valser quarzite slabs and on top of it there is grass, which gives the cubic building a  look as if it has been there for ages (it was build in the 90ies).

Inside the spa is as minimalistic as outside, but the different pools and treatment areas offer anything you can ask for. A day inside this spa is simply incredible relaxing. Moreover there is a very nice restaurant in the Hotel, which belongs to the spa – so everything is set for a perfect day. But when you visit Vals you should also have a look at the Village – a short stroll through the village gives you the feeling of going back in time, as the houses are build in a very traditional way. You can also have great views of the village, when you do one of the hikes up the surrounding hills, which are not too steep at the beginning. And if you love the mountains you get plenty of opportunities to do longer hikes up on one of the surrounding mountains.

The Valser Valley is not too easy to be reached – the next village is a couple of miles down a winding road – but this is probably the reason, why the village kept so much of its historical charm. Whenever you get into this region, you should treat yourself with a great day at Vals – a hidden gem inside the Alps.

 

More information about Therme Vals on their website: http://www.therme-vals.ch/en

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