Though Switzerland is a very small country, the weather can vary drastically between regions.  In Basel, we have enjoyed clear skies and 70-degree weather.  It has been so lovely that we spend most evenings playing backgammon down by the river [insert: joke about us being a married couple in their 80’s].  On the other hand, the mountains (a mere two hours away) have seen freezing temperatures and decent snow.  So even though we had “put away our boots” back in February, we decided to squeeze in one more ski trip. Bright and early on Saturday morning, we headed to Andermatt, Switzerland to meet up with some other ex-pat friends for yet another skiing adventure.

Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day for skiing – clear skies, decent powder, and 35-degrees.  Wanting to have our cake [springtime] and eat it too [skiing], we both wore pretty ridiculous outfits.  Chris (master of silliness and protégé of Billy Madison) chose to wear the penguin onesie we had purchased for Fasnacht.  Knowing that wiping out while wearing a dinosaur onesie would be horribly embarrassing, Sarah opted for a less preposterous Hawaiian shirt.

There was one major accomplishment from Saturday: Sarah went down a black run (most difficult) with (almost) no objections, and she made it to the bottom without falling or freaking out.  Clearly, she should have worn the dino costume.

We had planned to ski on Sunday as well, but we woke up to very dense fog and a mixture of rain and snow.  Wanting to end the season on a high note, we called an audible and bailed, but the day was still a success:

1. We finally bought skis.  Due to some bad advice, we didn’t actually bring our skis to Switzerland. We each purchased new ski boots after Christmas, but we have been renting skis in the hope that someone could bring ours over before next season.   After sending both parents on a wild goose chase to locate them, we discovered that our skis are unfortunately in storage and therefore inaccessible.  Given this information, we asked to purchase our rental skis, and because we are nearing the end of the season, the rental company was happy to offload them for a pretty decent price.
2. Though the weather was terrible in Andermatt on Sunday, it was spectacular back in Basel – blue skies with a high of 65.  Still wearing our ski gear and carrying our new skis, we looked a bit out of place when we first got home; however, after a quick wardrobe change to jeans and t-shirts, we were off to the park.  We spent the afternoon soaking in the rays, napping on our picnic blanket, and playing backgammon.

Sunday was a little taste of what spring and summer will bring, and now that we are officially done with ski season, we are ready to embrace longer days and warmer weather.