Last skiing day
December 28, 2012

We woke up this morning to find about an inch of fresh snow had fallen overnight in the town. It was the last day of skiing for the boys. I took them to the cable car station again and drove a little more carefully down the hill because the road was a combination of snow and ice. It stayed overcast the whole day but it didn’t rain at all and we saw the odd snowflake fall (very occasionally).

Helen and ChloeHelen and Chloe took the train into Interlaken to go and do some shopping and they had lunch while they were there.  Of course the simple lunch (of spaghetti) cost close to R500 for the two of them.  Switzerland is really expensive when it comes to eating out.  There aren’t many cheap things in Switzerland. In fact I reckon the only cheap thing (by SA standards) is cheese. You can get some ridiculously good quality cheese at very low prices. I bought a goats milk cheese for about R40 – it would probably cost us R70-R80 for the same thing in SA.  We also bought the no-name brand Brie from the supermarket and besides it being exceptionally good it was only about R25.  If you want to do Switzerland on the cheap then it has to be bread and cheese! Helen and Chloe did get some free merchandise at the station. We reckon it was a ‘Where’s Wally’ promotion they were running.

Michael wanted to go and help the Japanese skiers again this afternoon so he went to Bodmi again for his afternoon ski.  He also reckons that he had to make maximum use of his expensive ski pass. I reckon he has gotten his value for money. He skied back to the chalet (as he has done every afternoon from Bodmi).

Dad braaingWe had an earlier than usual supper tonight because there is night skiing at Bodmi on Friday’s.  Switzerland are a sophisticated country but when it comes to plumbing and electricity they need some help. My Dad has an electric braai on the balcony of the chalet and we were cooking Veal Bratwurst for supper. In order to use the electric braai you have to turn off pretty much all the lights inside the chalet. Felt like back in SA when the load shedding was happening. You would think that in such a sophisticated country they would be able to provide sufficient power into a chalet so that you could use braai at the same time as the lights. The other issue is that they don’t have hot water cylinders. They heat the water centrally for the whole complex of chalets and they only do it twice a day. So if too many people bath after the water heating has taken place then you run out of hot water until the next morning. That definitely is a problem when you have 7 people staying in the same chalet and all wanting to warm up after being outside skiing or tobogganing. Apfelstrudel(@Josie – we had Apfelstrudel for desert as well – you can see in the picture how excited Helen was. Problem is you might not see the Apfel past all the cream on Helen’s Apfel.)

The one thing I failed to mention that Michael has not only improved his skiing but also improved his plumbing skills. On two occasions the toilet was not re-filling and Michael the Plumber stepped up to fix it. I am very chuffed with his new found skill as it will save us a fortune at home. We have a problem with the guest toilet that I am looking forward to having him fix when we get home. He is also now sorted for a future career … I was always a little worried what exactly he would end up doing.

After dinner my Dad took Helen, Stephen, Michael and Chloe up to Bodmi.  The boys were skiing for the last time (as we have to take the boots back tomorrow) and Helen and Chloe tobogganed. I stayed and looked after my Mom (and did some work).

Tomorrow is our last full day in Switzerland before we start the 24 hour journey home again.

Bodmi nightStephen skiing1Michael skiing1Helen toboggan

2 thoughts on “Last skiing day

  1. The electrical problem is not general. Just the one circuit breaker can’t handle the kitchen and lounge lights at the same time as the electric braai!

  2. Sounds like a good day all round. Can you send Michael round to Lakeside when he’s done your guest toilet?! And has he mastered the Japanese accents? The cream with Apfel garnish looked delish, Helen, and you look very fetching in your Where’s Wally hat. Maybe we could include it in the school branding? All quiet on the nuclear physics front now?

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