Ski, fondue, Wallis wine, ski, raclette, more wine, ski, rösti… Click for more impressions and photos about skiing in Switzerland over the New Year’s holidays.

No one refuses an invitation to spend winter holidays in great company in Switzerland. So, as soon as Christmas protocols at home were done, Ines, Simba and I set off to Switzerland to visit our friends Tobias and Ursula.
They live in Thun, a beautiful medium sized town on the shores of Thunersee. Less then an hour drive from world class skiing places such as Grindelwald, Wengen, Adelboden, Gstaad and many others…

We were mainly focused around ski touring, and other days were spent on ski lifts and freeriding. Unfortunately, Bernse Oberland got very little snow and options were kind of limited, but on the other hand, lack of snow allowed Tobias and I to go mountain biking, which is always welcome. Thun has a quite nice bouldering gym, so we did that also, as a reminder to sharpen up climbing shape back again.

Over the years, I’ve became a great fan of Switzerland. I went there for climbing and skiing many times, and even spent some university days in Switzerland. The mountains are like nowhere else. Another contribution to my appreciation of Switzerland is the attitude towards nature conservation. Awareness for the environment is a seed planted deeply into society. Switzerland has about 3x higher GDP per capita than Croatia, yet they are not that driven by consumerism. Not everybody has to have an Audi or BMW. Their public transport and cycling infrastructure is great, and for this I am very envious.

The best way to end a day of skiing under Eiger is fondue or raclette. Excellent and simple Swiss melted cheese dishes that work extremely well with white wine. A true treat!