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Katrina ParkerKatrina Parker
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traveled in 8 countries Read more Nelson Bay, Australia
  • Katrina ParkerOur European Christmas
    Day 24

    Coldest Day Ever!

    January 2, 2019 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ -7 °C

    Well today we had all the weather features except rain. When we got to brekky, not only could we not see the Matterhorn (our normal view) we couldn’t even see the t-bar next door! It was -3 at that time and lightly snowing, and it only went down from there. It did fine up with sunshine at lunchtime when it was about -4 but at about 3pm the wind picked up. The snow was being blown everywhere but lochie and will wanted to keep skiing with Philipp and Katrin. So after another trip down to the hill to the blue run, they headed up to the 4 person chairlift for one last run down the mountain. Thinking that that side of the mountain would be out of the wind. They were wrong, it was blowing a gale!

    They all came down safely and did really well but lochie was frozen solid and a bit upset cause his hands hurt so much. When we looked up the temperature it was -7 degrees with a 30km/hr wind, giving it a “feels like” temp of -16 degrees. This was the first time I was cold in my ski gear. Philipp said it was the coldest he had experienced in 30 years. Just like Siberia he said.

    We thawed out Lochie’s hands in the bathroom sink, by slowly raising the water temp till he was ok. His hands were always full of colour but just cold so no harm done. Tomorrow is supposed to be the same so we will add an extra layer all over.

    William and lochie are doing so well with the skiing that they have to ski with Philipp or Katrin cause vern won’t go on the runs they go on. As the runs are so big and so far away, they must go with a adult. If we go skiing again this is something we will need to consider.

    Another fantastic day.    Read more

  • Katrina ParkerOur European Christmas
    Day 23

    First serious full ski run

    January 1, 2019 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ -4 °C

    Yesterday Katrin told lochie he was ready for a full ski run from the big chairlift. So first thing this morning lochie was practising his parallel turns on the t-bar run so he was ready whenever Katrin was free to take him. Philipp decided that will and Vern were ready also. After lunch they all took the t-bar then had to ski down a fairly steep section to the 4 person chairlift (the Fiesch chairlift). Then up they went almost to the top of the Eggishorn! I have included the map so you can see where the went.

    From there they made their way down following behind Katrin one at a time. Turning when Katrin did and loving every minute of it. They came down the blue run 74 and joined the 75 then back onto the trainer run. Katrin and the boys left Vern and Philipp behind cause they were slower so when they got to the bottom Vern and Philipp were nowhere to be seen. They did catch up with them on the second run and all arrived together! Yes I do think Lochie’s skiing ability has surpassed Vern’s now. Quite an achievement after only 3 days.

    And again we had picture perfect weather!    Read more

  • Katrina ParkerOur European Christmas
    Day 23

    Happy New Year!

    January 1, 2019 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ -5 °C

    Happy New Year from the Swiss alps! We had an awesome 5 course dinner with great wine, followed by an awesome fireworks display right outside our hotel. What a way to see in 2019! A NYE I will never forget.Read more

  • Katrina ParkerOur European Christmas
    Day 22

    Eggishorn

    December 31, 2018 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ -3 °C

    Well it’s NYE and we are on top of the world! Another fantastic morning of skiing and even better now that Katrin, Nikko and his friend Ethan arrived last night. Louise had a brief go again today but seems skiing is not her thing, but it is for the boys! They can’t get enough of it.

    I had so much trouble getting them to stop for lunch but I really wanted to go up the next cable car to the top of the Eggishorn which is at about 9500ft. It was a perfect day but we did get a little cloud at the top. The Altesch glacier is amazing. I could have watched it all day. We had lunch in the little hut at the top but pretty pricey, particularly in Swiss francs. We had a good look around and watched some skiers take off from there down the side of the mountain. Philipp and Katrin went up a little later than us and skied down. They are both awesome skiers.

    Can I just mention how wonderful the Hotel Jungfrau is. The rooms are just basic but the beds we really comfy, clean and the food is great. But the real winner is the staff. The owner is here working from before brekky till late at night, and nothing is too much trouble. All the staff go out of their way for you regardless of how busy they are.

    We did see the Air Zermatt helicopters a few times today doing rescues and retrieval’s for people that had injured themselves on the slopes. What those guys can do is amazing.

    The afternoon consisted of more skiing from all three males and all really improved dramatically. Lochie would not stop and went right till they shut the t-bar. Then just about collapsed. Those legs were so tired he could barely walk.

    Tonight we have a special NYE dinner but first the guys are all in the bar at the teepee which you can see on the webcam. Apparently its the place to be.

    Happy New Year everyone!    Read more

  • Katrina ParkerOur European Christmas
    Day 21

    Fiescheralp skiing

    December 30, 2018 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ -5 °C

    Another successful day on the slopes today. It was cold and lightly snowing this morning after our fabulous brekky but we pushed on and the weather improved as the day went on.

    The kids had their first private ski lesson and progressed from the magic carpet run to the t-bar run. Lochie doesn’t believe in turning. Just straight down for him. Lou had a stack coming down her first t-bar run with the instructor and hurt her knee, but after lunch and a bit of rest she had another go this arvo. The boys just didn’t stop all day to the point lochie could barely walk when he took his ski boots off at 5pm.

    The difficult part is between 5pm when it goes dark and 6pm when the restaurant opens for dinner. We went through a pile of potato chips and chocolate in that hour. I will organise something better tomorrow.    Read more

  • Katrina ParkerOur European Christmas
    Day 20

    Fiescheralp

    December 29, 2018 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ -8 °C

    Wow where do I start regarding today. It was just so amazing. You see pictures of the ski resorts in Switzerland but they are so much better than I imagined and photos do not do them justice.

    We left cologne at 1.30am and drove in the dark till the sun rose at about 7.45am and we were greeted with the most amazing vistas. Just mind blowing with picture perfect weather.

    We drove the car onto the train which took us through the Furka Pass tunnel and we then drove through the valley to Fiesch. Parked the car and loaded all our luggage into a large trolley that came with us on the cable car to the top. I don’t even know how to describe the view from Fiescheralp at the top. I felt like I was on top of the world looking at a postcard. It was a total bucket list experience.

    The snowplough/tractor took our luggage as well as louise and lochie to the hotel jungfrau where we quickly settled in, after a fantastic lunch. Lochie could hardly contain the excitement and although we hadn’t planned to start skiing till tomorrow, lochie would not wait. So we booked them into ski school from Monday but got the three kids a two hour private lesson for tomorrow to get them underway. But even that was not good enough for lochie who wanted his skis on now cause he had come here to go skiing! Vern and I agreed to give them a go with help from uncle Philipp. Lochie nailed the basic snowplough on the magic carpet on the beginners hill in 20mins, and the other two kids had it after about an hour. They all just loved it and wouldn’t stop till the sun started to set.

    Now I am going to go overboard with the photos here and will text some videos, but they really don’t do the place justice. Although I don’t ski I know I will come back here cause just sitting outside is such a wonderful experience.    Read more

  • Katrina ParkerOur European Christmas
    Day 19

    Day of packing for the ski trip

    December 28, 2018 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C

    Well there is not much to report today as we slept in and then commenced the big repack into soft bags. Yes all that ski gear into 4 soft sports bags for the five of us. But it’s all done and the car is loaded! Lochie had one last look at his skis before they were loaded.
    We are all set. Into bed early to get a few hours sleep before leaving at 0130am for the big drive. Kids taking pillow and doonas to sleep cause Philipp wants the cabin cool.

    Let the adventure begin!    Read more

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