Skiing in the Swiss Alps

This past weekend, we went with some of my co-workers to Switzerland for a weekend of skiing. We stayed at Hotel Eden-Montana which was a rustic and comfy chalet. I have always wondered why European double beds are made up of two separate mattresses... but the Swiss take it a step further and each person even has their own comforter and there is a wood beam between them! "I'm sorry honey, no cuddling tonight and no you can't share my blanket... after all, it is 2 degrees outside!" Here is our room: We arrived when it was dark out so we didn't see the mountains until we woke up. Here is the view from our balcony the next morning: The mountains were beautiful. There was fresh powder and you could head down one trail, connect to another, and then to another, skiing all the way across the mountain, without reaching the bottom (don't worry Doug, we had a map!). It was beautiful!!!

There were many places to stop on the trails to get a bite to eat of to have a glass of wine. Be ready to pay 40 Swiss Franks for lunch... but it was a beautiful view and your aching muscles will thank you for the rest! The first day was warm and the sun was out so everyone took advantage of the outdoor bar:The second day was a lot colder and the sun was no where is sight. In fact, when you got to the top of the mountain, visibility was about 20 feet because it was blizzarding so hard. That made for an interesting ride. You couldn't tell if you were headed up or down until your knees were suddenly by your nose or until the ground dropped out from under you. I obviously don't have many photos from that day. Kurt is getting very good at skiing. This was only his 3rd time on skis and he has caught on so quickly! Kurt, the king of the mountain:...and his queen...The little wooden, Swiss homes were adorable!!! They had beautifully carved, wooden panels, lining their balconies. They had flowers in pots outside the windows with bows tied on them and each roof had about 2 feet of pure, white snow on them. They were darling! Here were some of our skiing companions, Don and Robin Lech.

Some of our other companions didn't want to ski and opted for the sledding option. Interesting enough, the only people that got injured the whole trip were from the group that went sledding! One guy went home on crutches and one young woman went home with her face all cut up and swollen. Of course Connie couldn't leave Switzerland without sampling the chocolate :)

And on our last night there, we had a Swiss ice cream parfait for dessert. How adorable (and delicious)!

We wish we could have stayed a whole week! We had such a great time!

Labor and Delivery Christmas Party

We had our Christmas Party about a month ago and I finally got a hold of some pictures from it! (Can you believe that Connie went anywhere without her camera?!) It was held at the home the Jacksons. Richard is one of our doctors and his wife, Becky, is one of our nurses. Here are our lovely hosts:Their home is beautiful! It used to be a barn and they renovated it into a home. It is unbelievable! Here is a guest room that overlooks the living room:One of their many mantles... this is a hint of what every wall in every room looks like!Our labor and delivery team! Not everyone was able to attend the party but here is a picture of the nurses that were there - Santa's little helpers:We did the white elephant gift game. There were some very nice gifts there! Kurt was the first one to open a gift and he got "romantic rose" bubble bath and an exfoliating sponge... everyone got a good laugh from that! I got beer mugs... so we ended up swapping ;) We had a great time!

Garmish - The Bavarian Alps

Since we couldn't make it back to see our families over the holidays, we decided to do something special here in Europe for Christmas. We had our friends, Danny and Kala over for dinner on Christmas Eve and we watched the "Nativity Story": When we woke up on Christmas Day, we opened gifts and ate our breakfast casserole. We were both spoiled this year! After breakfast, we loaded up the car and headed to the Bavarian Alps where our Riessersee Hotel and Spa awaited! It was about a 5 hour drive but as we saw our hotel looming ahead of us, nestled at the foot of the Zugspitze, we knew it was worth the wait! This is the view we awoke to the next morning: Your Bavarian Connie:

On Saturday, we bundled up under wool and fur blankets and went on a horse drawn sleigh ride. I loved it! Here are our drivers:There was a Christmas program and we were able to enjoy Bavarian music and an amazing array of culinary delights for dinner, such as: venison ragout in red wine sauce with cranberries, roasted Bavarian duck with fried apples, grilled salmon fillet with lime and butter, cannelloni with spinach and fontina cheese and tomato sauce and desserts such as cinnamon rolls with hot wine sauce, fig parfait with blackberry sauce, etc. In the evening, after our fabulous feast, we would take our swim suits, comfy hotel bathrobe and slippers and head down to the pool, hot tub, sauna, Roman Steam Baths, etc. On Sunday morning, we went for a walk before breakfast and then after we ate, we took the gondola to the top of the Zugspitze - the tallest mountain in the Bavarian Alps. The view from the top was breath-taking! It was a clear day, so we could see for miles! We warmed up inside one of the cafes over hot apple strudel and gluhwein, at a table overlooking the snow-capped Bavarian Alps... it was beautiful!!! If only we could have stayed longer!