Transplanted!: xc skiing in Einsiedeln

Since Tom and I enjoyed cross country skiing in Norway during our Belgian stay, we decided we would give it a try in Switzerland. We wanted to find out whether we could still do it 10+ years later and whether we still liked it. Einsiedeln is less than an hour drive from Horgen and with a higher elevation, it has snow when we don't. We went a week earlier to find the trails and where equipment could be rented. The weather cooperated and a fresh batch of snow came the night before our planned outing. The sky was also a beautiful blue and the temperature wasn't too cold.

This is where the tracks start and end. The trail here wasn't too long - a good length for us. The terrain here is flat enough for xc skiing with gentle inclines.

Tom is ready.

And there he goes....

Scenery along our way:

I got nervous every time we had to go over one of the little bridges with a creek on the side. Getting wet would have been very unpleasant, but luckily did not happen.

In case you're wondering, xc skiing is a good workout. We certainly weren't cold - we were drenched. We learned that yes, we can still do it and it was fun too. We didn't push our luck and stay on the skis too long since we knew we'd be aching later - and we were!

That's me on the home stretch. After we returned our skis, we decided to take a walk into the village and we were pleasantly surprised with what we found.

The snowfall added a nice touch to the town.

A friend had told me she had visited an abbey in a town starting with an "E". When we headed out for skiing, I had no idea we were going to the same place. It was just luck that we decided to take a walk and found the abbey.

Gazebo in front of the abbey from either side

I think the snow makes this statue look quite funny.

They don't allow photography inside the abbey so I had to buy some postcards. The interior is surprisingly ornate. We have since learned that it was renovated very recently - last year there was scaffolding inside.