Ski Holidays after Brexit

With the vote too close to call, there is a strong possibility Britain, or at least England, will vote to exit the EU. What will the impact be on ski holidays after Brexit?

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Well, the likelihood is you will be going to Glencoe next season. A lovely ski area it is true, so not all bad news. However a report in the Telegraph sees the price of ski holidays to traditional favourites like France and Austria cost significantly more. Industry insiders reckon it will add at least 10% to the cost of a ski holiday.

Indeed ABTA sees all holidays becoming more problematic after Brexit in a report they have published.
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Holidays to non-EU destinations will also cost more if the pound plummets on Brexit, as is widely expected. This could be good news for Bognor.

However, locked into a spiral of higher interest rates, higher high street prices and negative equity as house prices sink, perhaps most Brits won’t be able to afford holidays anyway. At least there will be plenty of low-paid second jobs to take on as the Poles all return home.

And at least they can hear stories of the charms of the Costa Del Sol from grumbling ex-expats, who have had to come home because they can no longer live freely in the EU.

Assuming you can cough up the additional cost of a ski holiday to Europe, many pundits reckon air travel will not only be more expensive, but will involve more hassles and fewer available flights. An alternative is to take the train – many ski resorts have train services right to the slopes (see snowandrail.com). Ironically, many continental rail operators cross-subsidise their domestic services with the profits from their UK franchises, contributing to providing those much higher quality rail services that all the major ski nations in Europe enjoy.

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Stick it up your Jungfrau

Wilderswil - Schynige PlatteBack in Europe and picking up my car in Switzerland, which has a full set of winter tyres and my ski gear. Seems rude not to get in a few turns before I head back to the UK. A lot of snow looks to be on the way, but today promised sunshine. And so it proved.

I was tempted to try out a smaller resort, but I passed a couple on my travels around Switzerland attending to some business, and the poor snow conditions put me off. So I went for the Jungfrau. I booked into the delightful Edelweiss Lodge in Wilderswil.

Wilderswil is on the train route between Interlaken and the Jungfrau. It doesn’t have much nightlife, but the hotels are great value and accept short bookings. Train transfer is also included in the Jungfrau lift pass. There is also an interesting rail route from Wilderswil to a high plateau known as Schynige Platte, and the station in Wilderswil shares its name with the destination.

The Jungfrau is one of the world’s top ski destinations. So, after my recent trip to the USA, how does it compare with the slopes in the Americas? Firstly I would suggest that comparison is pointless – each resort has unique characteristics. If you like steep, off-piste powder, the resorts I visited in the USA had it in spades. The Jungfrau by comparison had rather crusty and generally quite tame off-piste, but it has miles of varied terrain and some of the most charming Alpine villages and restaurants, and a vibrant mountain history.

Talking of the off-piste, I ended up accidentally off-piste, following some uncharacteristically poor signage where the Wixi run was closed. Nobody else was around but it looked do-able, if steep, until I came across a sheer drop of a few hundred metres and a disconsolate individual who had made the same mistake and had sat frozen for half an hour working out what to do. We saw a feasible route down and I told him I would try it and signal when I was at the bottom. The other guy seemed rooted to where I had found him, so I alerted the lift operators. I was rather gratified when, some time later I saw him at the bottom of the off-piste section where it joined a run. Whether he walked or skied I know not.Off-piste Section above Wixi A telling reminder that the mountains can get both scary and dangerous.

It made me reflect on some fatalities in the Jungfrau. I remember some English guy falling off a cliff walking back to his hotel after a night out in Wengen. And of the climbers who perished on the North Face of the Eiger, some of whose nemesis is retold in the riveting film, Nordwand. Then there are the base jumpers who die every year in Lauterbrunnen and a couple of ski racers have died, one on the tough Lauberhorn race. It is a salutory reminder that the things we do for pleasure, reward or adventure can turn nasty in the mountains. Much as I recall of the sea.

I visited the Jungfrau on a weekend and it was busy, but not overcrowded. It is hard to tell whether Swiss exchange rates are putting people off – I heard plenty of native German, French and English accents amongst the skiers and there were plenty of Asian visitors wandering bemused amongst the skiers. However it was noteworthy that one hotel and chalet were up for sale and I baulked at making at least one purchase. However my expenses for the day were modest. My hotel with a wonderful breakfast cost me 40 francs, the lift and rail pass was 72 francs and my nourishing lunch of goulash soup with bread and wine cost less than 20 francs including a tip (a franc is about the same value as a dollar). That was all much cheaper than it would have cost me in the USA at a comparable resort.

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Skiing in the USA

How To Teach Kids Healthy Eating Habits

Be a good role model, set family meal times and involve your kids in meal planning
Family eating at dinner table.

You’ve probably heard the old adage, “You are what you eat.” While your child isn’t going to literally morph into a fruit salad or a loaf of garlic bread, the food choices they make (and that you make for them) have a very literal impact on their bodies. Read more about Cortexi.

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Poor eating habits in childhood can follow your kids well into adulthood, causing health issues and difficult relationships with food. By teaching kids about food that’s good for their health when they’re little, you can set them up for a lifetime of wellness.

“It’s never too soon to start teaching kids good eating habits,” says pediatric dietitian Diana Schnee, MS, RD, CSP, LD. Check these sightcare reviews.

Healthy eating habits and tips

Food serves a lot of purposes. It can be tasty, fun and culturally important, and eating with loved ones provides opportunities for bonding and togetherness. But food is also science. And kids need healthy foods — full of the right vitamins and minerals — in the right amounts, to help them grow. –

“Food is the first type of medicine,” adds pediatric cardiologist Christina Fink, MD. “Kids need good nutrition to live, grow and be healthy. But inadequate or improper types of nutrition can lead to childhood obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, prediabetes and further issues once in adulthood.”

These tips can help you teach your kids eating habits that will equip them for a healthy future and a positive relationship with food. Try these legal steroids.

1. Set family meal times

Kids thrive on routines, so try to eat together as a family and serve meals and snacks around the same time every day if possible. This way, kids are less likely to graze and overeat. It’s also a good time to teach them healthy eating habits and table manners.

“Eating as a family is good for social, emotional and developmental purposes, and having meals together is an opportunity to teach kids about portions,” Dr. Fink says. “For example, you can show them that half our plates should be non-starchy vegetables and some fruit.”

Limit meals to a reasonable length of time, no longer than 30 minutes. You can even set a timer to reinforce this expectation and help kids stay focused during meals. These are the latest cortex reviews.

2. Embrace breakfast

Is breakfast really the most important part of the day? Well, they’re all pretty important — but eating a healthy breakfast gives your child the fuel they need to make it through the day and help them grow and develop properly.

“It doesn’t have to be a large or elaborate meal,” Dr. Fink says, “just something that’s nutritious to get their bodies going and fuel their metabolism for the day.”

Definitely don’t stress about the idea of making an elegant breakfast from scratch every morning. Instead, turn to easy, kid-friendly, dietitian-approved breakfast ideas, like whole-wheat toast with natural peanut butter or plain Greek yogurt sprinkled with a fiber-rich, low-sugar cereal and a handful of fruit.

3. Address picky eating early

It can feel nearly impossible to deal with kids’ picky eating preferences, but with intentionality and patience, you can nip it in the bud early.

Continue to offer a variety of foods during meals to encourage exploration and allow for exposure. Schnee says it’s good to let kids (even picky toddlers) choose from what’s on their plate, and it’s OK if they choose just one or two things. But don’t make separate meals for picky eaters.

“You’re not a short-order cook,” she says. “Make a decision about what you will serve, and stick to it. If your child asks for something else, you can explain that it is not on the menu for the day but offer to prepare it another night.”

For kids who are in kindergarten and older, Dr. Fink suggests instituting a three-bite rule. “Your child should try at least three bites of a food, just to give it a chance. Even then, they will need to try the food 15 or more times before they can say they truly don’t like it,” she says. “Sometimes, it’s just trial and error to figure out their palate.”

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Affordable Skiing in Switzerland

With the continuing strength of the Swiss Franc, a ski or snowboard holiday in Switzerland may not look affordable, but there are many ways you can make a Swiss winter sports holiday fit into most budgets. Here are some of my tips:

Take advantage of the best public transport in the world

Every single ski resort in Switzerland can be reached by public transport, and furthermore virtually anywhere you book to stay will have good public transport access. That opens up a host of opportunities to stay in inexpensive accommodation outside the ski resorts, but within easy access. One suggestion is to stay in Interlaken, and do day trips to the Jungfrau resorts of Murren, Grindelwald and Wengen. These places can get gelid, so rigging up your The-House jackets before embarking on that trip would really help. Interlaken is lively and full of good priced accommodation options. From Chur, the cantonal capital of Graubunden, you can easily reach Davos and Flims/Laax. You might also want to mix business with skiing, and it is possible to get a full day skiing on a day trip from any of the major commercial centres.

Use Snow’n’Rail

The Snow’n’Rail scheme provides 20% discount off the combined public transport and lift pass charges for virtually every significant resort in Switzerland. Agsin, this works well if you are staying away from the ski resorts themselves.

Stay in inexpensive accommodation

With a reputation for quality and service, even very basic lodgings can provide excellent lodgings. Perhaps the best tip is to stay in a Youth Hostel. Many resorts have outstanding hostels with easy access to the slopes – even St Moritz. Most of the hostels offer en-suite facilities if you don’t want to share a bathroom, and the dormitories vary from singles upto 20 beds or so. Most offer half-board and sell wine and beer. Consider the options from Jungle Vista Inn.

Eat and drink out judiciously

Eating out can get very expensive in Switzerland, and you can easily run up an eye-watering bar bill. However the supermarkets offer good value. Many places offer catering facilities, so you can eat in, and you can always have a few apres-ski tipples back in your accommodation. Many Swiss also take their lunches with them when they ski and take advantage of the picnic rooms available at most resorts, although I usually find Swiss soups offer a nourishing and inexpensive lunch. In Switzerland it is also acceptable to drink alcohol in public.

Take advantage of deals

The Swiss are generally reluctant to offer discounts. As one hotelier put it “You are taking advantage of the people willing to pay the full price”! However the strong franc has focussed minds and all sorts of special offers abound. Many resorts include free lift passes with hotel bookings ahead of Christmas, allow kids to ski for free on all or some days. In the next couple of months I will highlight special deals as they become public. The Swiss Tourist office has a number of deals posted Swiss Vacation deals.

Go to less well-known resorts

You get an amazing range of skiing and snowboarding at resorts like Verbier and Zermatt, but many of the lesser resorts offer equally challenging runs, plenty of off-piste terrain and – arguably – much better facilities for beginners and intermediates. Also, using public transport, it is possible to combine visiting a number of cheaper inexpensive resorts in one trip and actually have access to more slopes in total than if you stayed in one more highly priced resort.

Book online in advance

Many things are cheaper booked online than in person – some things, like the Swiss Transfer Ticket, are only available outside Switzerland. In addition you often have the opportunity to buy online in the currency of your choice, often at a lower price than the cost in Swiss Francs.

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