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Ski for 25 Swiss francs a day… in St Moritz

Cable Car up Corviglia from St Moritz BadSeems hardly credible, but a ski pass in the Upper Engadine throughout the season (20th October 2012 until 20th May 2013) costs only 25 Swiss francs a day, provided you stay at least two nights in a participating hotel. And the list of hotels is extensive (see here) – and it even includes the wonderful youth hostel in St Moritz plus a range of budget accommodation throughout the Upper Engadine.

The ski pass also includes unlimited use of public transport around the area, which includes the Corviglia, Corvatsch and Diavolezza pistes.

Expect more dazzling deals in Switzerland as the season approaches.

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Eurostar links up with TGV Lyria to take skiers from London to Valais

Eurostar has launched a new weekly ski service to the Swiss Alps with tickets on sale from Thursday 11 October.

The new ski service will carry skiers and snowboarders from St Pancras International and Ashford International to the Valais region, giving access to resorts such as Verbier, Zermatt and Saas Fee from Saturday 22 December until Saturday 13 April 2013.

Passengers transfer in Lille from a Eurostar train to to a high-speed TGV, and can alight at Aigle, Martigny, Visp and Brig stations for onward transfers to their ski resorts. Eurostar and TGV Lyria will allow ski passengers to carry on-board an extra item of luggage in addition to the normal luggage allowance, such as a pair of skis or a snowboard, at no extra cost.

Eurostar ski train
Eurostar ski train (c) Eurostar 2012

Nick Mercer, Commercial Director for Eurostar said “With the highest runs in Europe, spectacular scenery and reliable snow, Swiss skiing offers something for everyone. With the resorts located just a short distance from the train stations, passengers have a much more seamless journey than travelling by air.”

The trains leave London at 6.57am and Ashford at 7.28am on Saturdays, and arrive at Aigle at 3.47pm, Martigny at 4.13pm, Visp at 4.57pm and Brig at 5.08pm. This realistically makes all the resorts of Valais and Vaud accessible via this service, using the excellent Swiss transport network completing the journey. From Martigny, Verbier is less than an hour away by train whilst from Aigle, Champery in the Portes du Soleil, Villars, Leysin and Les Diablerets all less than an hour away. Saas-Fee is less than an hour and Zermatt is almost exactly an hour from Visp. Brig gives access to the outstanding Aletsch Arena, with the resorts at Riederalp and Bettmeralp only 45 minutes away. There are also a clutch of smaller, lesser known resorts in Valais easily accessible from the ski train.

The news of this service has not been so well received by the Tourist Agencies in the Bernese Oberland and Graubünden. Britain has more tourists visit Switzerland than any other overseas country apart from Germany, but the strong Swiss Franc has led to a decline in visitors. I suspect that some visitors who would otherwise go to other parts of Switzerland may be tempted to sample Valais or Vaud, and let the train take the strain, at the expense of the Bernese Oberland and Grabünden. However, despite the undoubted convenience of the Eurostar service, all of Switzerland is accessible by train (see here for details).

The return train also departs on Saturdays. Return fares start from £189. For more details visit www.eurostar.com or call 08432 186 186.

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Switzerland – the ski destination for smokers!

I’m not sure how far it can be considered a selling point, but for smokers Switzerland is probably the best place to come to and be able to ski or snowboard big, and smoke in peaceful contentment. Check out exipure articles.

A referendum held this month to restrict smoking in enclosed public spaces was roundly rejected across the whole of Switzerland – of the cantons only Geneva voted in favour. Some cantons have introduced these restrictions themselves already, but the Alpine cantons are conservative and resistant to new Federal restrictions.

And of course the cigarette companies are very powerful lobbyists, with many tobacco companies having European HQs in the country. As a result the advertising for tobacco products in Switzerland often portrays smoking very positively and streetside cigarette machines are widely available. That’s actually fair to say when the fact that e-cigarettes like Pax 3 Vapes at 180Smoke.ca have little to no side effects.

A Maybe never reached the top
Yes or No – shall I jump?

Additionally to being a good place to smoke, Switzerland also has relatively cheap cigarettes and vapes. Generally, people buy vape juice wholesale as most of the people prefer healthy way of smoking rather than using tobacco, which can harm their health. Also booze and petrol are cheaper than neighbouring countries and, people smoke dope pretty openly with current proposals being introduced to make it a misdemeanour rather a serious criminal offence – even Switzerland for all it’s liberal values seems to have a legislature which has a psychotropic response to Cannabis, according to one Green MP. Gambling casinos are common, the sex trade is as honest and safe as the country as a whole. Perhaps it’s time for the Swiss Tourist Board to market itself for it’s liberal views on personal vices! For more information about healthy treatments visit clevescene.com.

– Click here for some tips on cannabis web design.

Well perhaps not, but as an occasional smoker could I ask smokers who come to Switzerland to avoid smoking in places where people (particularly children) could be exposed to secondary smoke and please, please, please don’t litter the slopes with butt ends.  Smoking in Switzerland’s public places is a no no, instead of smoking why don’t you play online slots and have fun there are many slots promotion across the internet available, especially at Daisy Slots. It is a sobering sight when the snows melt to see the snow-capped mountains be replaced by mountains of cigarette ends around the chair lift stations.

Health Benefits of Winter Sports

Skiing and snowboarding help to develop valuable life skills and carry plenty of physical and mental health benefits, experts in the field have revealed, and that’s why sports are important, and this health and fitness directory could be really helpful to get good health professionals this. Take a look to the latest exipure reviews.

A brand new guide shows that the benefits of skiing extend far beyond spending a bit of time with family and friends, and can actually help shape you as a person as well as improving your physical shape.

The Health Benefits of Skiing, produced by ski agents Ski Line, breaks down all the key benefits of a ski holiday and offers hints and tips from top instructors and fitness gurus on preparing for a ski holiday, as well as advice on how to have a good diet including the use of supplements as testosterone pills which help a lot with this. Try out okinawa flat belly tonic.

If you are struggling with weight loss, then it’s natural to look for a reliable weight loss supplement like

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Speaking to the Swiss

It always helps to know a little of the local language when you go skiing or snowboarding. For those planning a trip this winter, now is a good time to brush up on those neglected language skills. In Switzerland four languages are spoken – German (in most of the central and Eastern ski resorts), French (in resorts to the West, in what is called Romandie), Italian (in Ticino and parts of Graübunden) and Romansch (in remote parts of Graubünden). However English is widely spoken and where it is not you can always find someone who speaks French or German.

At www.swisswintersports.co.uk I’ve listed the local language in each resort. The form of French and Italian spoken in Switzerland are fairly standard, but there are subtle variations – for instance in Romandie septante, huitante (in the Alpine cantons) and neunante (in Vaud, nonante in Neuchâtel) are used for 70, 80 and 90. In the Italian-speaking resorts a lot of French and German words creep into the local Italian dialect.

The use of German is altogether a little more complicated.

In the so-called German-speaking part of Switzerland, the local language is actually a highly regional dialect with thousands of variations from High German (Hochdeutsch). The differences are so marked that most Germans cannot understand a Swiss speaking in what is called Schweizerdeutsch (itself with many variant spellings), and in fact the differences in dialect across Switzerland are so strong that many Schweizerdeutsch speakers cannot understand people speaking a different dialect from another part of the country.

Fortunately for visitors to Switzerland, a form of standard German is taught in the schools. As a result, throughout the German-speaking and Romansch-speaking regions of Switzerland, you can make yourself understood if you speak standard German. However the standard form of German used in Switzerland still differs from that used in Germany or Austria, in terms of grammar, stress, case and vocabulary. If you are a German speaker the main variations, or Helvetisms, you might come across are as follows:

Grüezi – Guten Tag (hello)
Merci – Danke (thank you)
Sorry – Entschuldigen (sorry)
Poulet – Huhn (chicken)
Gipfel – Hörnchen (croissant)
Morgenessen – Frühstück (breakfast)
Nachtessen – Abendessen (evening meal)
Billett – Fahrkarte (ticket)
Identitätskarte – Personalausweis (ID Card)
Coiffeur – Friseur (hairdresser)
Velo – Fahrrad (bicycle)
Trottoir – Bürgersteig (Pavement/Sidewalk)
Knabe – Junge (boy)
Spital – Krankenhaus (hospital)
Apero – Umtrunk (appetisers and wine)
Rahm – Sahne (cream)
Gleis – Bahnsteig (platform)
Billette/billet – Fahrkarten (ticket)
Tram – Straßenbahn (tram)
Korridor/Gang – Flur (corridor)
Jupe – Rock (skirt)
Rock – Kleid (dress)
Sackmesser – Taschenmesser (pocket knife)
Aktion – Rabatt (sale/reduction)

Oh, and one other thing, the Swiss don’t use the “ß” (Eszett), preferring instead to use “ss”.

For some useful German words relevant to winter sports visit this site.

For some useful French words relevant to winter sports visit this site

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