Day 70: cool stuff

Today we head up to one of the mountains. Oh what a stunner. I love the snow that sits pertly on top of the little houses. It reminds me of a gingerbread house and the story of Handel and Gretel. We walk around and watch enviously at the skiers because it is an absolutely perfect warm day. We chose not to ski here it was way expense. We hiked back down the mountain along a trail for half the way and sort of lost the trail for a bit (and had to trudge through knee deep snow for just a short time). The view of the city in the valley below was truly lovely. Then we went back to the chocolate shop because we got a voucher yesterday but couldn't even think about any more choc at the time. So we went and had some cake and truffles before getting ready to go night sledding! We were picked up and taken up the mountain in the dark- no lights apart from a flashlight on our back so people behind know there is someone there. Then we sledded down the mountain in the dark. It was hard work keeping to the track and not smashing into people. You have to put out 1 leg when you want to turn and lean to the side. I definitely was responsible for a few crashes... The run was 15 km long and lasted about an hour. That's not to say we were going 15 km/hr. There were definitely times where I was speeding along and felt uncontrolled and we stopped a few times to admire a frozen waterfall and to take some happy snaps. At the end we had a traditional Swiss dinner followed by cheese fondue and beer at a cute restaurant at the bottom of the mountain. Then it was back to the hostel for party times at the bar for it was Friday night and an entire crew of American exchange students had arrived for the weekend...