St. Moritz - third annual trip

dinner with Jazmine

One of the things I enjoy about our location in Switzerland is the opportunity to watch the bobsled races in St. Moritz. We go because one of the USA pilots is related to me:  her grandfather was my first cousin. I'm not sure exactly what kind of cousin that makes us, but it's not important. Knowing her makes it so much fun. I followed her Olympic blog and the blog of another pilot. I feel like I know the team even if they don't know me. 

Since it is the only natural track in the world (no refrigeration system), the races here are always held in January. This year we decided to go to St. Moritz a day early. This area of Switzerland (Engadine) is known for its cross country ski trails - they hold a xc marathon here every year. We skied two years ago closer to Zurich and decided to give it another try before we forgot how or completely lost our nerve (that part probably only really applies to me). The blue skies and sunshine made for a gorgeous day.

nicely groomed trails make it easier for the novices like me

The trails went right by this little church. We heard voices as we approached. Eventually we could see that a large group of small children were sledding on the hill. Doesn't that look like a fun preschool field trip?

more beautiful scenery along the trails

Things we learned:
1. We can still ski although without as much grace as the folks that passed us!
2. More advance training on the Nordic track machine would probably help.
3. We will be stiff the following day.
4. We will be stiff two days later.
5. We may even be stiff on day three!
6. We're not as young as we used to be. (not exactly a new discovery)

Trying not to overdue with skiing left us some time to walk around St. Moritz. It really is a very pretty little town. I understand why the Russians like it so much - I do too. 

pretty chalet across from the bus stop

champagne anyone?

love the wooden bellhops

snow covered statue with dog - I originally thought he was a snowman

proprietor looks like Pavarotti

Recent acquaintances of ours suggested we visit Pavarotti and Friends Wine Bar, so we did. It was an interesting place. There were cases of wine on several of the tables which they gradually unpacked to make room for customers. Seems to me that should have been done before they opened. They also only had a menu for wine. Our waiter said he could put together an antipasti platter for us. We agreed to that not knowing exactly what it would include or how much it would cost.

antipasti

Our waiter also said he could prepare some pasta - truffle or arrabiata. We opted for truffle.

 

truffle and blade to cut it

The finished product was simple, but tasted quite good. A topping of fresh parmesan cheese was also provided.








When we were almost ready to leave, things deteriorated rapidly. The person at the table to my right spilled his full glass of wine in my direction. We were both sitting on a bench along the wall and in between us was my ski jacket. Did you happen to notice that it is white? Not a great color for spilled red wine. I exclaimed instinctively and Mr. Pavarotti (for lack of a better name) came and took my jacket and wiped it off with a towel. Nice gesture, but didn't help much. I then asked the waiter for some sparkling water and napkins. I poured some of the water on the jacket. It's made to repel water - it didn't exactly soak in. Luckily, the larger spots were on the inside of the jacket. Of course, it was the only one I brought with me to St. Moritz - I was going to be wearing it regardless of how it looked. The guilty party was apologetic and his friend gave me his business card telling me to send him the cleaning bill. I have since cleaned it at home: sprayed it with my spot remover and put it in the machine with my fingers crossed. Every drop of wine is gone! I'm very pleased - I didn't want to shop for a replacement. We had a good time (except for the spillage), but I think Pavarotti's was overrated.

Having come here three times, we're familiar with our way around St. Moritz and knew where to find the bus to take us to the club where the bobsled races start. 

track start

The announcer lets each competitor know when it's their turn with "die Bahn ist frei"! (The track is clear.) Tom likes to stand where he has a good view of the sleds coming right at him. It's not a good spot for more than one of us to be so I stand on the other side and we get pictures from different angles.

advertising banners also shade the track

antique sled went down first

the sun was so warm we took off our hats later

Jazmine puts on her helmet at the start box

 ...and they're off! The start (first five seconds) is so important.

Once the sled is out of sight, we watch on the jumbo-tron. 
 
The whole ride down the track takes less than one minute. If you're slower than a minute, you are not at all competitive. The differences are measured in 100ths of a second. After the first run, there is a break for all the sleds to be brought back to the top for a second run. We walked along the track down to the bottom for the second run.

part of the track along the way

Jazmine finishing her second run

 

watching the other sleds finish

We stopped for coffee after the races and were surprised to run into one of my former German classmates - the one who made the restaurant recommendations in Istanbul. Walking around the town again later, we happened upon a band entertaining folks in a pedestrian area. You never know what you're going to run into here!

 

Tom and I choose to stay at the same hotel as the the USA team. It makes it convenient to connect with Jazmine. Good luck with the rest of the season. See you next year!

Before we left the hotel, we saw people dressed in traditional costume outside. (another surprise) I asked at the reception desk why the people were in costumes. I knew she was wrong when she told me they were going skiing! No one dresses like this to go skiing. She just had no idea what I was talking about since she was inside and hadn't seen them.

As we went lower and lower in altitude on our way back to Zurich, we lost the sun and went through patches where it was snowing, but it was a pretty ride anyway. 

our train just came out of that tunnel and curved around to give us this view - impressive engineering

We'll be back here next year or maybe we'll try one of the other race destinations.  Choices!

(obviously, some of the pictures are Tom's)