A first skiing experience..

Yesterday, along with a big group of Cognizant and Satyam people, I went to Flumserberg for skiing.. Flumserberg is one of the biggest and affordable winter sports resort in the eastern part of Switzerland and is located between Chur and Zurich. One can reach Flumserberg in a couple of ways. One can either get there by public transport (train / buses) or even drive directly by car or taxi. Flumserberg has something for everyone. There are a couple of steep slopes for the expert skiers, a few moderate slopes for the intermediate skiers and a couple of simple slopes for the beginners.

All of us were supposed to gather at Zurich HB at around 9.45 AM and take a 10.12 AM train to Unterterzen. Besides a few people missing the train, we were pretty much as per the plan. From Zurich HB, it was an hour’s smooth and enjoyable journey to Unterterzen from where we took the aerial cable cars (gondola) to reach the top of the mountain i.e. Flumserberg. The cable car station is located exactly in front of the train station and one can get there easily by following the directions. (I am simply in love with Switzerland for its systematization.)

From the aerial cable car one can get a breathtaking view of the lake of Walenstadt down until the lake of Zurich on one side and the snowy mountains on the other. You can see quite a few chalets on your way up. If a family or a group is planning to spend a couple of days, its a good idea to book the chalets well in advance rather than staying in the expensive hotels.

After reaching to Flumserberg we had a small meal and then we were all set for the fun! We rented the skiing equipments and got a ski-teacher as almost all of us were beginners. He taught us a few basics of skiing and asked us to practice the basics. I think its a good idea to hire a personal teacher or a teacher for a small group rather than hiring a single teacher for a large group. This way you get the personal attention and you can learn skiing much faster.

We practiced the basics for a few hours till we could not handle it. Though all of us were drained out of energy, we were energized by mind and resolved to visit the place again for getting some advanced lessons.

From the last couple of days I was emotionally stressed so I was in two minds about going out for skiing.. But thank god, I decided to go with the hope of cheering myself up out of the stress.. And I was not simply destressed but even forgot all my worries or dare I say, I forgot the rest of the world and just enjoyed skiing.

All in all, it indeed turned out to be a life enriching experience!