(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

My last overseas trip seems like it was ages ago. In reality, it was less than four years ago (March 2020) that I went skiing in Les Diablerets, Switzerland, and Morzine, France. But so much has happened since then.

A global pandemic would be the most obvious intervening factor. But there have also been changes in travel philosophies and a personal reconfiguring of priorities. I did manage to ski in Banff in 2022, but otherwise I haven’t been on the slopes. And other than a brief trip into northern New York, I haven’t been outside of Canada since March 2020 either.

This has been quite a change for me. I used to ski in Europe every winter and spend every other summer vacation in Europe too. And of course there was my travel sabbatical in 2014, which prompted the creation of this blog. That year, I tackled my travel bucket list and went to Europe no less than six times.

So when I made the decision to ski in Europe this winter, I had to ask myself a lot of questions. Which country (or countries) should I visit? Do I try to go somewhere new? Do I return to some old haunts? Am I travelling on a budget? Will I do anything besides skiing?

It didn’t take long for me to realize that much has changed since early 2020. Most notably: the dramatic price increases for flights and hotels. It dawned on me that I probably wouldn’t be resuming annual ski trips to Europe. And my choice of destination was likely going to be influenced by where airfares and accommodation prices were most competitive.

I made the decision to stick with places that had special meaning for me. And so, when I found a good hotel deal in Wengen, Switzerland, I jumped at the opportunity. I’ve skied in Wengen and the linked resort of Grindelwald many times before. Not only is the skiing excellent, but I think the surrounding scenery might be the very best in any ski area anywhere. If you’ve never seen the Eiger up close (or been skiing on it!)…it is beyond spectacular. And then there’s the Jungfrau, the Schilthorn (known for James Bond and “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”)…

All of that is amazing. And then Wengen itself is a car-free village perched on a cliff overlooking the famous Lauterbrunnen valley…reachable only by a special cog-wheel train. For an overall skiing experience, I don’t think it can be beat. Zermatt is bigger, and it has the Matterhorn, but I feel most at home in Wengen.

Trying to book my flights was a very long bout of sticker shock. I had to summon all of my tricks to find a reasonably priced itinerary that also had direct flights from Canada. On a relatively short trip, I couldn’t afford to miss flight connections (or luggage).

Finally, after hours and hours of trial and error, I found something that worked at an acceptable price: I would fly outbound from Montreal direct to Lyon, France, and then return home by a direct flight from Zurich to Toronto. Unusual? Yes. But it’s out of necessity: my flight costs are always increased by the need for additional leg room…and the airlines are experts in extracting every conceivable additional charge.

I am excited about starting my trip in Lyon. It’s the “second city” of France, and yet people rarely talk about it as a destination. It has a beautiful old town, a reputation for great food, and is less than an hour from the Alps. And I’ve never been there. What a great way to begin!

I had a few days to allocate between my stays in Lyon and Wengen. In the end, I went with another sentimental choice. The Swiss side of my family is from the Simmental (Simme Valley), so I happily booked a few nights in the town of Zweisimmen (literally, where two branches of the Simme River meet). This also allows me to ski for a couple of days in the Gstaad ski region, where I have been skiing a few times with friends and family.

The skiing around Zweisimmen is not quite as dramatic as Wengen, but the region has the added bonus of being my ancestral home. And you can’t put a price on that. What better way to visit my roots than by doing something I love? And I have to say that skiing is my favourite way of experiencing the mountains…no matter which mountains I’m visiting! That’s why most of this trip will be spent skiing rather than “touristing”.

So, that’s the trip. It has some very meaningful skiing, and also some interesting new destinations before and after the skiing. I’ll keep the last stop a mystery for now. Besides – all my hotel bookings have free cancellations, so I still have time to change my mind!