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NewsFlash! Download MEO with 2007-2008 Trips |
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Flims, Switzerland/Lech, Austria | |
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Switzerland & Austria |
January 12-27, 2007 |
INCLUDES
Price $4775
FACTS
| A few years ago, former OTHGI Executive Director Dennis Beasley wrote of Lech, Austria as one of his“…favorite places in Europe to ski [offering] great runs, and lots of them, superb views and the best ambiance. There is a charm and genuine feeling that is incomparable.” Some things never change, as current OTHGI President Doug Lofland views Lech exactly the same way – the “Ski Nirvana of the Snows.” Envision a picture in a calendar that represents everything you would want in a European village. Fantasize skiing from a train, tram, lift, or gondola and having a six-mile run home. Visualize going to a glacier ice palace and eating apple strudel in a hillside hut, all in one day. Imagine sitting in a beer tent up in lovely Oberlech on top of the mountain, and watching the snow gently fall while you enjoy the next round, or watching the sunset over endless chains of Alps, then skiing down in the alpine glow to one of Switzerland’s loveliest and most genteel towns, Flims, and the beautiful Sunstar-Surselva Hotel. You can just dream about all that or you can experience it with us in Flims and Lech . The queen of European skiing, Lech is a classic and authentic Alpine village with great little cafes for mulled wine and strudel and superb restaurants, all located at the center of the Arlberg, a huge ski area made up of five towns all accessible with one lift ticket. The onion-domed church in Lech, its horse-drawn sleighs and chalet roofs packed with snow – all provide the charm that resort designers in the New World try to emulate... but this is the centuries-old real thing. It retains the air and feel of its nationality. What a great opportunity to sample this icon of ski classics. The Swiss resort of Flims Laax Falera, or the White Arena as Switzerland’s third largest ski area is known, is the very definition of reliable snow, with almost three-fourths of the ski area located above the tree line, and, thanks to the massive Vorab Glacier, is assured a long season. You will have plenty of time to enjoy the endless slopes, hike through glistening snowy landscapes and relax on a number of sunny Alpine terraces. Less renowned than its Austrian counterpart, Flims Laax is nevertheless a beautiful, albeit serene and quiet, resort in a corner of the Swiss Graubunden Canton known as the Grand Canyon of Switzerland. Both Flims and Lech are part of enormous “Ski Circuses,” the European term for a series of interconnected ski areas and runs. At Lech, you can start up the gondola first thing, have lunch in the ritzy village of Zurs 15 km. up the road and after three more lifts, finish with a 5 km. run back to the village. At Flims Laax, you take the gondola up to Cassons, then either ski the endless runs over Crap Sogn Gion to Falera or over to the Vorab Glacier, or down a multitude of runs back to Laax. In any case, you can ski all day, never take the same lift, never use the same run, and ski to or through several other villages. Both resorts offer numerous lifts (Lech: 33; Flims Laax Falera: 27) both have excellent facilities for novice skiers and cater to intermediates, and both have superb off-piste and expert terrain. This twosome also offers lots of other things to do besides ski. At Flims, you can take a sleigh ride to the Grand Canyon of Switzerland or a bus/train down to Chur, one of Switzerland’s oldest towns. Lech has every imaginable winter activity, from snow golf to curling to paragliding, all within walking distance. We’ll arrive into Zurich, then we’ll have a charter bus to our first stop. Your lodging in each resort will be in chalet–style hotels that have the warm, charming feeling and atmosphere one expects in an Alpine hotel. The 4–star Sunstar Surselva in Flims Waldhaus is our first stop. A short ride from the lifts, it is located in a beautiful snow-covered forest and has an indoor pool, jacuzzi and sauna/steambath. The rooms look out on some of the most beautiful Alpine scenery in Europe. The highly-rated Hotel Kristberg is owned by Egon and Lotta Zimmermann; he’s the former world champion and Olympic gold medalist in downhill skiing; she’s a Swedish royal. It is located in the heart of the village and has superb views of the mountains and ski runs. We return to Zurich at the end of the trip and stay at the four-star Hotel Glockenhof in the heart of the city, only a 15-minute ride from the airport. As we enjoy our last night together we’ll look back and realize why any serious skiing pilgrimage has to pass through two of Europe’s finest ski resorts: Lech and Flims Laax Falera. |