A Long Weekend Getaway to St. Moritz

I should preface this by reporting that I actually did not see anything in St. Moritz other than the bank (to exchange Euro for Francs), the grocery store (to get a few snacks), and the Hockey rink.  The Hockey rink was the center of this entire trip.

We set out from Köln to St. Moritz on a Thursday morning, well before the rest of the world would ever dream of waking up.  Dirk did the driving on the 7.5 hour trek to Switzerland.  I did a little bit of napping, and  the occasion pointing out of cows and sheep along the way.  (Just in case he didn’t see the cows and sheep on his own.  We saw some goats and ponies too).  We chose to drive versus fly for a few reasons:  The cost to fly with all of Dirks goalie gear as well as our suitcase, and we thought it would be nice to see all of the sights along the way.  Like, the goats, cows and ponies I made sure to point out to Dirk.  We also got to drive through the Alps.

So, as it turns out, my fear of heights, falling and general anxiety related to roller coaster type rides has become quite pronounced over the years.  I about lost my shit on the drive through the Alps.  MY GOD THOSE MOUNTAIN ROADS ARE A NIGHTMARE!  Driving along the edge of the mountain, no guard rails, circling curves up the damn mountain.  AAGGHH!, I am starting to hyperventilate just writing about this!

The views were indeed spectacular, just stunning.  Well, the views that I could see through my hands that were covering my eyes because I was certain we were going to plunge to our deaths off the side of the fucking cliffs!  Now, I have driven through the Blue Ridge Mountains several times, and I did feel some anxiety, a little fear.  But NOTHING like the way I felt in the Alps.  Is this an age thing, am I turning into a big wuss as I get older?  Or was it just that much more intense to be in the Alps versus the Blue Ridge?  By the way, Dirk LOVED the drive through the mountains.  Of course he did.

We did finally make it to our destination, a beautiful hotel called Hotel Schloss in Pontresina, just a few miles from St. Moritz.  This is the view I had from my hotel window.

The rooms were very nice, so was the pool and the saunas,  (I did not use the spa services) and the views were just stunning.  (The food on the other hand, was terrible!  Well, let me clarify, the breakfast buffet was nice, it was the evening meals that were just horrible).  I absolutely recommend the hotel as a place to stay,  just be sure to get your meals elsewhere.   Eating out wasn’t really an option for us, this was a package deal that included our breakfast and evening meal.

The real reason we made this trip was for the hockey tournament that Dirk and his team were taking part.  This is also the reason that I did not see any of the nearby sights, we spent each day at the ice rink watching hockey.  Lucky for me, I really do like to watch hockey, so it was a great time.  We could not have asked for better weather, the sun was shining bright each day,  with a slight breeze to cool everyone off.  Just perfect for an outdoor rink.

Dirk, in charge of the Cologne Huskies battle flag.  We all took turns carrying this thing around with us.

The games were great, lots of excitement and best yet….The Cologne Huskies ended up the Champions of the tournament.  Not too shabby for some “old boys hockey”.  This was the first annual St. Moritz cup, and from the sounds of it, the guys want to go back next year for another round.  I am looking forward to it!

That being said, the ride home was the longest ride through Switzerland ever recorded.  It took us 5 hours to get out of Switzerland.  5 hours!  The country is not even 5 hours long for crying out loud!  The traffic was a nightmare.  The ride home took us a total of 10 hours!  Dirk was exhausted by the time we made it home, and so was I.  There are only so many cows and ponies you can point out before you get tired of it.  Plus, it was dark, I couldn’t even see them anymore.

So, we have already made a plan to travel to Switzerland again next year.  But next year, we will travel via train.  Maybe I will even get to see some of  the little town of St. Moritz!  I’ll let you know how it all goes next year.