Back in November I started searching for the perfect Winter vacation for us. I knew we had to take vacation in February or early March due to work restraints in the Spring and Summer months. There was no WAY we could wait until our August vacation for any sort of break so I knew I was going to have to make February work for us. Have you ever tried to find vacations spots in February…..? It’s hard. I didn’t want to take a beach vacation or anywhere tropical in climate because we are going to the beach with some friends in August and I really wanted a new experience. That left Europe and Asia. After looking at the calendar I didn’t want to miss too much work with payroll and other duties also a super long-haul flight was out..ie. Asia, Middle East, or anywhere near Australia. Europe is mainly pretty cold in February which is fine it was just finding the perfect spot with plenty to keep us occupied in the Winter months. One night I was just searching and happened upon round trip tickets to Zurich for $450 per person. I stopped and screamed to Hendrik about the amazing deal and started making our February trip a snowcation. Easy searches for best skiing in Switzerland provided St. Moritz as a great spot. A little more searching and I found a snow deal at one of the best luxury hotels in St. Moritz, The Kempenski. We got a room for 6 nights, breakfast daily, and daily ski passes for each of us. As well as a free 5 course dinner at one of the hotels 3 restaurants, and access to the spa facilities each nigh we stayed all for an awesome price. Hendrik was on board so I booked flights first then the hotel. Next I researched train tickets and pre-purchased our round trip train tickets from Rail Europe from Zurich to St. Moritz. In the two months I had from booking to take off we got our snow attire ready and I researched other details in St. Moritz like things to do and where to eat.
Monday February 4, 2019
Before I knew it February 4th was upon us and we flew out of DFW connecting in Newark to Zurich.
Tuesday February 5, 2019
We landed in Zurich on February 5th and easily found the train that would take us to the main station in the city center so we could connect with our train that would take us to St. Moritz for a week. I had heard so much about the Swiss efficiency and time lines so wouldn’t you know that our first train out of the city was 20 minutes delayed and once we embarked on the 3 hour total journey we would have delays of 40 minutes more. The train ride was so pretty and I felt like a bit of my Harry Potter dreams came true!
We arrived at the station in St. Moritz and the complimentary guest shuttle picked us up. We drove in a BMW to the hotel and were given champagne upon our easy check in process. Hendrik was super tired and crashed for a nap while I took a bath, unpacked a bit, and went exploring the hotel and surrounding area to get prepared for our first full day the next day. I took some pictures, found the ski lift, equipment rental shop that already had our reservation, and then settled for a drink in the lobby around 4:30. I was getting tired as well but powered through. I insist on staying up to keep on current time and beat jet lag. I went ahead and made reservations at Le Saison, one of the hotel restaurants for our free 5 course meal that night. I thought that was best so it was all taken care of before hand so we weren’t fighting jet lag and finding some where to go for dinner.
Around 5:45 I woke Hendrik up to get ready for our 7 o’clock dinner reservation. Dinner was so good. We had beef carpaccio with black truffles and a bread basket to start. The next course was a beef consommé soup. For our main course we could chose between a beef fillet or cod and we both went with the beef fillet with artichoke and sweet potato purée. For desert we shared a caramel brownie and ice cream plate. The entire dinner was so good and set us up perfect for food expectations while we where there.
After dinner we headed straight to bed as we were excited for our first full day up on the mountain the next day and tired from all the travel.
We arrived at the station in St. Moritz and the complimentary guest shuttle picked us up. We drove in a BMW to the hotel and were given champagne upon our easy check in process. Hendrik was super tired and crashed for a nap while I took a bath, unpacked a bit, and went exploring the hotel and surrounding area to get prepared for our first full day the next day. I took some pictures, found the ski lift, equipment rental shop that already had our reservation, and then settled for a drink in the lobby around 4:30. I was getting tired as well but powered through. I insist on staying up to keep on current time and beat jet lag. I went ahead and made reservations at Le Saison, one of the hotel restaurants for our free 5 course meal that night. I thought that was best so it was all taken care of before hand so we weren’t fighting jet lag and finding some where to go for dinner.
Around 5:45 I woke Hendrik up to get ready for our 7 o’clock dinner reservation. Dinner was so good. We had beef carpaccio with black truffles and a bread basket to start. The next course was a beef consommé soup. For our main course we could chose between a beef fillet or cod and we both went with the beef fillet with artichoke and sweet potato purée. For desert we shared a caramel brownie and ice cream plate. The entire dinner was so good and set us up perfect for food expectations while we where there.
After dinner we headed straight to bed as we were excited for our first full day up on the mountain the next day and tired from all the travel.
Wednesday February 6, 2019
After sleeping really hard all night we woke up around 9:30 to head to the large breakfast buffet in the main restaurant where we had dinner the night before. I discovered the Asian corner early on as well as made to order hard scrambled eggs and I was set for the remainder of the time there. After breakfast we donned our warm snow clothes and set out for the ski equipment rental shop on the main floor of the hotel. I emailed with the concierge frequently before our stay and they were super helpful in answering all my questions. One was equipment rental and I reserved all our equipment before hand. They didn’t have it in hotel shop but in the shop that was in the same building as the ski lift. That actually worked out better as we could come straight from the slopes and store our equipment there without lugging it back and forth to the hotel daily which was just across the street. We got fitted with our skis and snow board and were off to the top. The first lift is a big trolley car that takes you up the mountain then you can start from there and go down or continue with various chair lifts up to the very top. Since I hadn’t been in skis for years and Hendrik had never been we decided to work our way down from the initial drop point to get our bearings. I told Hendrik I would meet him down the slope a bit but actually ended up going further than I had hoped. I accidentally kept getting further and further down the slope so I figured I should just carry on and finish then I would make my way back up with out my equipment to find Hendrik. I made it down in an hour or so but not without difficulty. My boots where super uncomfortable that first day. Due to that, the steepness of the Swiss Alps, and my general lack of practice I had several wipe outs but never got hurt. Once down I turned in my equipment to the shop for storage and set back up to find Hendrik. I figured I would walk the same way down and hopefully catch him somewhere. Well, I walked all the way down and never saw him but once I was back in the shop I checked with them and he had come through only about 15 minutes before me. I headed to the room to find him…..not in the best of moods. LOL After peeling off my drenched in sweat clothes we rested a bit and then decided to go check out the spa. Boy do the Swiss know how to spa. With our nightly room rate we gained free access to all the spa facilities even if you weren’t having a specific treatment done. These free facilities included an indoor swimming pool, tanning bed, a steam room, four different styles of saunas, different types of showers, a relaxing room, and a foot soak area. We stopped into all areas just checking them out and really fell in love with the foot soak area. The foot soak area has two parts a super cold, like almost freezing water, trough that you walk through to increase the circulation and then you step across to the stone foot baths that you fill up with hot water to your liking. You soak in the hot water and really relax those calves and feet before repeating the process several times. After a hard day/days on the slopes this is the perfect place. The last lift goes up at 4:30 but most people are already down or making their way down by this time. Once down it seems like EVERYONE is rejuvenating themselves in the spa before dinner. We made a couples full body massage appointment for 7 that evening and headed back to the room for about an hour before returning to the spa. Our massages were 80 minutes of perfect relaxation. After our massages I thought there was an international buffet in the same restaurant as the night before but I misunderstood…its an al la carte restaurant and the international buffet is at breakfast. It worked out fine though since there were several things we both wanted to try on the menu and had planned eating at the restaurant again during our stay we decided to go ahead and make it that night.
Our meal this night was not free though and throughout the remainder of the trip we didn’t have a meal that was under 120 CHF (the exchange rate is one to one so you can do the math). To start I got the tuna tartare and Hendrik got the beef carpaccio with rocket salad. I ended up eating the salad portion as he doesn’t like the spicy taste rocket has. For our next course Hendrik had a beef broth with little raviolis and I had the butteriest gnocchi that was ssoooooo goooddd. Our main course ended up being way too much food. Although all our meals were for sure 5 star meals at luxury restaurants the portions were pretty big to our surprise. Hendrik got a Wagyu beef fillet with wild mushrooms as a side as well as mashed potatoes. I got the salmon fillet with herb butter on the side with asparagus and gnocchi as my sides. The sides were so big and we stuffed ourselves I believe but it was for sure worth it. After dinner we passed on dessert as we were just too full. We headed up to our room to get ready for bed and also do a little work.
Our meal this night was not free though and throughout the remainder of the trip we didn’t have a meal that was under 120 CHF (the exchange rate is one to one so you can do the math). To start I got the tuna tartare and Hendrik got the beef carpaccio with rocket salad. I ended up eating the salad portion as he doesn’t like the spicy taste rocket has. For our next course Hendrik had a beef broth with little raviolis and I had the butteriest gnocchi that was ssoooooo goooddd. Our main course ended up being way too much food. Although all our meals were for sure 5 star meals at luxury restaurants the portions were pretty big to our surprise. Hendrik got a Wagyu beef fillet with wild mushrooms as a side as well as mashed potatoes. I got the salmon fillet with herb butter on the side with asparagus and gnocchi as my sides. The sides were so big and we stuffed ourselves I believe but it was for sure worth it. After dinner we passed on dessert as we were just too full. We headed up to our room to get ready for bed and also do a little work.
Thursday February 7, 2019
We barley slept this night and what sleep we did get was after around 3 am...Hello jet lag! We woke up around 9 and got ready to head to breakfast. After breakfast we checked out our equipment and headed to the slopes. Today we got a game plan together and decided it best to stick together. We went down from the lift a bit and had some water and coffee at one of the restaurants set in the mountainside.
Here I decided that Hendrik was getting a lesson no matter what. He had done pretty good so far teaching himself yesterday and today but he was getting aggravated. I didn’t want him fighting himself and learning a new sport for the entire week were we there to ski and snowboard. I knew that if he had a lesson to give him some pointers on a few things he wasn’t able to correct himself that his time on the slopes would be so much more enjoyable and overall our vacation would be way more fun! He reserved a spot with a private instructor for the next morning at 10 am for two hours. The rest of Thursday was spent slowly and making our way down the mountain together. We made it down at around 2 and decided to go ahead and turn in our equipment for the day and head over to the spa. We had dinner reservations at 6 at a restaurant that was set really far up in the mountains all alone overlooking the entire valley.
We had to take a taxi to the lift that takes you to the hotel and restaurant. The cool thing about our ski passes was that we were able to use them on all the lifts around the area not just the one near our hotel. After a quite expensive taxi ride, we took the 4:45 tram up to the top for a stop at Muottas Muragal. It is crazy how steep it was. We went there to view the mountains and valley at sunset but our luck the place that gets approximately 322 days of sunshine was cloudy the day we went up so we only got a small taste of what the sunset would look like. The views that we did have though were equally stunning. We took pictures and wondered around for a bit before getting into the Michelin star awarded restaurant for dinner a bit early.
I ordered Hendrik beef tartare to start and myself a creamy risotto but Hendrik didn’t like the beef tartare at all so I ended up eating almost both of the starters myself. We both got beef fillets with sweet potato puree for our main course. The steak was really good and we had room for dessert. Hendrik got a creme brûlée and I got a pear crumble that was really tasty. After dinner we caught the 7:15 funicular back down and even saw a buck on the way down. We headed to the hotel to rest up as the next day was going to be a long one on the slopes.
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| Muottas Muragal where we ate that night. |
Friday February 8, 2019
We didn’t sleep good again and had to get up at 8 to get breakfast and up to Hendrik’s lesson by 10 so the day was for sure set to be a long one. We had breakfast and Hendrik went ahead of me with the plan to meet at the restaurants at noon when his lesson was over. My plan was to take the initial lift up and then take my chance at going on a chair lift all the way to the top of the mountain and making my way down to Hendrik at snowboard school. I had 2 hours to accomplish it so I worked up my nerve and set out. I went up and when I say up OMG you have no idea how much further up the mountain you go it is really crazy how big, steep, and just grand the Swiss Alps are. I mapped out my trail and took it slow as I made sure to gauge each area on the way down. I made it down to our meeting spot in around an hour and decided to have a coffee and wait on Hendrik to finish before going up and coming back down again. I watched him do great at his lesson and at noon when it was over we were both ready to take the chair lift to the very top.
I couldn’t wait to show him the top and the restaurants that were up there overlooking the entire world it seemed. St Moritz's motto isn't "On Top of the World" for no reason! We stopped and had a water and coke at the little bar area there before making our way down further to the halfway point where we had been beginning for the other two days. We took another chair lift up to the same spot and stopped this time in a different restaurant for a drink and a small snack. From here we went all the way to the bottom of the mountain and turned in our equipment to storage at around 3:30 that afternoon.
After resting our feet a bit in the room we headed to the spa for our daily sauna and soak before getting ready for dinner. We had reservations at a small little family ran restaurant that Hendrik’s snow board instructor recommended. Hendrik had told him how we wanted to try fondue and he said this is THE BEST place for it. We took a taxi and were the first ones in the restaurant, Engiadina We got a meat board with meats and cheese from the area as a starter with some bread. The fondue is a main course and so it came next. Our waiter was nice enough to show us exactly how and what to do when eating fondue.
It was really good but more of a specialty type meal not something I would want to eat all the time. Fondue was created by the Swiss during the Winter months to stretch what food sources they had left by melting cheese and some wine in a pot and dipping the bread and what potatoes where left. We left super full of bread, potatoes, and cheese but super happy with the meal and our overall day. When we got back to the hotel we did some work before our foot massages that we had booked at the spa. Wow, the foot reflexology was so nice especially after so many runs down the slopes that day. We were really relaxed after and with a different style of pillows waiting for us were set to sleep like logs and boy did we.
After resting our feet a bit in the room we headed to the spa for our daily sauna and soak before getting ready for dinner. We had reservations at a small little family ran restaurant that Hendrik’s snow board instructor recommended. Hendrik had told him how we wanted to try fondue and he said this is THE BEST place for it. We took a taxi and were the first ones in the restaurant, Engiadina We got a meat board with meats and cheese from the area as a starter with some bread. The fondue is a main course and so it came next. Our waiter was nice enough to show us exactly how and what to do when eating fondue.
Saturday February 9, 2019
We slept so good and so hard that we almost didn’t make it to breakfast. We made it there around 10:30 when it closes at 11. After breakfast I think we both agreed we needed a break from the slopes for the day and there were things I wanted to do around St. Moritz like visit the city center, wander around the streets, check out the frozen lake, and ice skate. We did all those things or at least I did! We took a hotel shuttle into the city center and started out just browsing shops and such. Stopped at a cafe for a cappuccino then headed on to more window shopping.
We made our way down to the lake which is completely frozen a meter or more thick. I wanted to ice skate but Hendrik didn’t want to so he stayed on the sidelines video ready to catch my ice skating wipe out that NEVER happened. LOL haha! I told him I’m an athlete that I can’t believe he thought I was going to wipe out. I hadn’t ever ice skated before but I had roller bladed and roller skated so I’m sure it was similar and it was. He said he didn’t think I was going to fall but he wanted to be ready just in case! After skating we just walked around more making our way back to the hotel. We had a short time before our horse and carriage was to pick us up for an hour ride. We decided we wanted to take in the forest for our ride and it was so quiet and pretty.
By the time we got back we were frozen. It doesn’t seem that cold until you quit moving for some time and then it sets in. At 6:15 we took a taxi to a restaurant the concierge recommended to us Restaurant Uondas. It was packed like all other restaurants we had been too. Hendrik had another beef broth soup and I had a fantastic salad…dare I say the best salad I have had ever or for sure in a very long time. It was so fresh and tasty with just the right amount of salad dressing. Hendrik got steak yet again with sweet potato fries and I had the tuna burger with shoestring fries. Both were really good. For dessert Hendrik had ice cream and I had an apple tart that wasn’t quiet what I expected. After dinner we headed back to the hotel to rest up for our final day on the slopes the next day.
By the time we got back we were frozen. It doesn’t seem that cold until you quit moving for some time and then it sets in. At 6:15 we took a taxi to a restaurant the concierge recommended to us Restaurant Uondas. It was packed like all other restaurants we had been too. Hendrik had another beef broth soup and I had a fantastic salad…dare I say the best salad I have had ever or for sure in a very long time. It was so fresh and tasty with just the right amount of salad dressing. Hendrik got steak yet again with sweet potato fries and I had the tuna burger with shoestring fries. Both were really good. For dessert Hendrik had ice cream and I had an apple tart that wasn’t quiet what I expected. After dinner we headed back to the hotel to rest up for our final day on the slopes the next day.
Sunday February 10, 2019
We woke up to cloudy skies on Sunday and we knew it was going to snow later in the day but headed out to get our equipment and head up the mountain after breakfast anyway. Once up the first main lift the visibility was really low and I in no way felt comfortable going up on the chair lift to come down in low visibility. Also hardly anyone was on the slopes and very few were going up on the chair lifts. We decided to take it slow all the way to the bottom for our final run. It went well and by the time we were down turning in our equipment for good it was snowing at the base as well.
I am glad we went into the city center on Saturday but was really bummed we didn’t get several good rides in on Sunday since it was our last day. We changed clothes and headed over to the lake where White Turf was taking place. A lot of equestrian events got on at St. Moritz over the Winter and today there was horse races taking place called White Turf. We walked around the lake checking it out but the snow really began to fall and the wind really picked up on our walk back to the hotel. Once back at the hotel it was just time for an afternoon tea so that's what we did in the lobby bar area. It is a real gathering place to chat and grab a snack. We got the At The Top tea which was a mixture of both salty little sandwiches and sweet with scones and little candies. I had peppermint tea and Hendrik had black tea. After our tea we headed to the room.
Hendrik watched some old westerns and I took a solid hour and half nap. Around 5 we went to the spa for the last time to enjoy the sauna and soak before our appointments at 6. Hendrik wanted another 80 minute full body massage and I got a hydra facial that was much needed but not super relaxing. After the spa we had just enough time to dress for dinner. We had our last dinner in Enoteca, one of the other restaurants in the hotel, that serves more Italian style food. We started with bread, Hendrik had a minestrone soup and I had a really good Winter herb salad. For our main course Hendrik of course had steak with more mushrooms and mashed potatoes. He had steak literally every meal except the night we ate fondue. I had a delicious white truffle pasta with black truffles shavings on top. I think other than the salad I had the night before this was by far my favorite dish of the trip. The pasta was so creamy and those black truffles oh my my! YUM! We even splurged and got a bottle of rose'. We took the remaining wine back to the room after dinner for me to finish as I lounged in the bath and we got ready to pack and leave for Zurich the next day.
Hendrik watched some old westerns and I took a solid hour and half nap. Around 5 we went to the spa for the last time to enjoy the sauna and soak before our appointments at 6. Hendrik wanted another 80 minute full body massage and I got a hydra facial that was much needed but not super relaxing. After the spa we had just enough time to dress for dinner. We had our last dinner in Enoteca, one of the other restaurants in the hotel, that serves more Italian style food. We started with bread, Hendrik had a minestrone soup and I had a really good Winter herb salad. For our main course Hendrik of course had steak with more mushrooms and mashed potatoes. He had steak literally every meal except the night we ate fondue. I had a delicious white truffle pasta with black truffles shavings on top. I think other than the salad I had the night before this was by far my favorite dish of the trip. The pasta was so creamy and those black truffles oh my my! YUM! We even splurged and got a bottle of rose'. We took the remaining wine back to the room after dinner for me to finish as I lounged in the bath and we got ready to pack and leave for Zurich the next day.
Monday February 11, 2019
We woke up semi early and packed before heading to breakfast. We had planned on taking the 12:02 train but was done in time to make the 11:02 train to Zurich. It snowed most the day Sunday and all night Sunday night so we woke up to a nice fresh snow fall over St. Moritz and even more tickled our faces as we made our way into the train station. Since there was so much fresh snowfall the train ride back to Zurich was even more picturesque than our ride up the week prior.
We had a nice train ride into Zurich city center before checking into our boutique hotel near the train station. After dumping our luggage we wondered the city a bit browsing shops and just taking it in.
We got back to the hotel and just grabbed take away food before settling in for the night. I got sucked into Outlander on Netflix and now once I’m home I know I’m going to have to subscribe to Starz on Amazon to finish watching the series.
We had a nice train ride into Zurich city center before checking into our boutique hotel near the train station. After dumping our luggage we wondered the city a bit browsing shops and just taking it in.
We got back to the hotel and just grabbed take away food before settling in for the night. I got sucked into Outlander on Netflix and now once I’m home I know I’m going to have to subscribe to Starz on Amazon to finish watching the series.
Tuesday February 12, 2019
We woke up early at 6:30 to check out and catch the train to the airport for our flight home. Tuesday was a full day of travel with flights and a lot of delays in Newark due to weather we landed 5 hours late in DFW and made it home around 2 am Wednesday, just in time to get a few hours sleep and back to work it was!
Recap and Things To Know
Overall, this was a once in a lifetime trip and one that has been on my bucket list from the beginning. I would live to go back to Switzerland in the Summer and road trip through seeing all the green and nature it has to offer. I was really worried after booking this trip. I started researching and talking to people and everyone and everything I read was how luxury and exclusive St. Moritz is, the Winter playground for Europe’s rich and famous. We love our luxury but we aren’t Cartier and fur coats. I worried we would be out of place but once we arrived I saw a mix of people and thankfully I packed nice tasteful clothes. We didnt’ stand out at all but that doesn’t mean that St. Moritz is any less luxury, our hotel is one of several luxury hotels and all the restaurants we went too were very expensive but also very good and had high quality food as we ate at 3 Michelin Star awarded restaurants.
The Kempenski was a wonderful choice in hotel. The staff were so helpful long before we even arrived by corresponding with me via email to help me with questions on equipment rental, spa services, and other things. The comfort of the hotel was beyond first class as well as the food. Everything surpassed our expectations.
We skied and snowboarded Corviglia that overlooks the town of St. Moritz in the Engadine valley. The elevation of St. Moritz is 1800 meters above sea level and the snow trails are around 2500 meters above sea level. The region speaks mostly German but French and Italian are known as well as English. Reservations are a MUST for all things but mostly dinner. Usually the morning of dining will do but it wouldn't hurt to reserve the evening before to ensure your first choice of time and table.
Although Switzerland is smack in the middle of the EU they don't use Euros there they use their own currency...Swiss Francs which currently has an exchange rate of one for one to the US Dollar.
The spa is something to utilize every chance you get but be known that most are co-ed and nudity is the norm but not required just don't be surprised.
Last but surely not least is the scenery OMG it is truly breathtaking... the grandeur of the mountains and all the snow is beautiful.
A wonderful way to start 2019!
