sLeDgiNg aLL tHe WaY

Crashing through the snow

in an old toboggan sleigh
Around the curves we go
slightly screaming all the way.
Donning boots and jeans
both sinched up quite tight
what fun it is to sledge and say
I'm in the Alps--all right!

Oh, Jingle Bells, curse these hills
I've got 2K to go
Oh what fun it is to slide and scrape,
trying to turn right!
Oh, Jingle Bells, Swiss miss yells,
"Ninja turtle's out of sight?
Oh what fun it is to sit
and take photos of these tykes!"

Despite once again going to bed at 4am (I had Mama Mia in my head) and Amy still under the weather, Kunal, Amy and I packed up our snow gear ... okay I didn't have any, I looked more like a redneck who'd never seen snow before in my jeans and leather boots ...and we headed to Flumserberg.

It was a beautiful drive. Kunal and I passed the time chatting while Amy snored in the back (don't tell her I told you that.) Once we arrived I had flashbacks to Brighton and all my snowboarding adventures in college; I ached to go snowboarding! Instead, I reminded myself I was in jeans and my board was thousands of miles away. No fear, I was trying something new today--sledging! Or, as people outside Switzerland would call it, sledding. We bought two passes to go sledding and one for Amy so she could just go to the top with us, look around and take photos then head back down while she waited for us to finish the 3 kilometer sledging trail. (Did I mention how excited i was to go sledding?! I mean not exactly my life's to-do of snowboarding in the Alps but for the moment, close enough.)

Before we embarked on our adventure, Kunal took Amy for a quick ride in one of the toboggans. I distinctly remember her yelling "Mush! Mush!" as onlookers gave inquisitive looks. Hilarious. From there, Kunal and I gave ourselves a jump start and headed down the mountain. Sure I crashed in a few spots, but it was that or fly over a ledge and/or embankment. Once, a girl stopped in the middle of a turn and I flew right into her... definitely have a bruise or two from that one (although most of my bruises were from going over the bumps in a wooden sled.) It was such a great time, I wish we would have bought more turns. But alas, without Amy it wasn't as much fun! We all went into a lodge for a hot beverage and where Amy could stalk a child eating at the bar with her telephoto lens.

Finally we begrudgingly decided it was time to leave so we could enjoy some more of Zurich on our last day in Switzerland, and we headed out. That is, after we ran into an American family who heard our accents and asked if we wanted them to take a photo of us. Love Americans abroad, always so eager to chat and find commonality. {sigh} If only I had more in common with the filthy rich banker from Connecticut than I could live in Switzerland too. It's okay, I'll take visiting Kunal again, especially for this or if he'll just paint my nails!