Since my first visit to Switzerland I have been dying to go back. I fell in love with the country in 2007 andafter going back I am pleased to say that it is still one of my favorite countries in the world.
My favorite places in Switzerland are not the cities but rather the small villages and the countryside. It is such a beautiful, clean, natural, peaceful country.
The village I stayed in is called Vals. It is one of the villages I had visited before but I chose this one
because of their fantastic hotel and spa. The hotel is called Hotel Therme http://www.therme-vals.ch and it was built in the 60’ s but Peter Zumthor redesigned and added the Therme in 1996.
While I was there, my time was split between designing, hiking, and relaxing.
My first night there, I arrived on one of the select nights where there is a silent adult only swim in the
Therme. It was such a perfect way to start my stay in Val. The Therme is such an amazing place. It is
comprised of different thermal baths each themed something different. My favorite was the flower pool.
Whenever I was designing I would sit at the main table in the lobby area where I had a view of the
mountains and would watch people come and go from the main lobby to the rooms. Most of the rooms
are in a separate building from the main one so you would have to take a bridge to get some from one
to another. The door to the rooms is in a back door in the corner of the room, which if you didn’ t know
otherwise you would not have expected it to be the one you entered.
I only went on one major hike this trip. I first took a gondola up the mountain from Vals. From there I
hiked about one hour and a half to an area called Zervreila. The man working at the gondola said that
it was not going to be a possible walk for me because of the shoes I was wearing. I was wearing Toms,
which were the closest to a hiking shoe I said so I said it was ok. I did notice that everyone around me was properly dressed for serious hiking but I wasn’ t too concerned by the fact that I was in Toms, leggings, and a long dress shirt. Once I started hiking I quickly understood why the man said I wouldn’ t be able to walk it in my shoes. It wasn’ t because the terrain was difficult but it was because the weather was still fairly mild and the ground was really wet. My first couple steps and my feet were soaked. All I could do was deal with it so I just kept walking. It was such a beautiful trail. All I could keep thinking in my head was “ I am in the most beautiful place in
the world” . I would stop occasionally to take pictures and at one point just lay down on a big rock area to just enjoy the air. There were other hikers around me but all older and all probably thought I was crazy for hiking in what I was wearing.
The ground started to become muddier the higher I went and the last stretch of the trail was all up hill.
Once I got to the top I came around the bend and found this magnificent lake. The colour was astonishing and it was blocked off by a gigantic dam. I knew that I was walking toward a lake area but I was not expecting this. From there I walked down, over the dam, and to this spot where I learned I could rent some sort of bike to take me back to Vals.
Once I got there I said I wanted to rent something to take me back to Vals and the lady explained to
me what I would take. I don’ t remember the name of it since she said it in German but it’ s essentially
everything a bike has minus the pedals.
Since I had hiked from Vals at 1245m to Zerveila at 1864 m, the road back to Vals was all down hill so all you needed were brakes and a little platform to put your feet. I decided a helmet was probably a smart idea, but I felt like I looked like a total nerd sitting on this thing.
Anyways the women said it was really fun and sent me off.
So literally all I did was sit on this German bike and squeezed onto the break handles as I coasted down the road. For the first ten minutes I just kept laughing and smiling I couldn’ t really believe what I was doing. At one point I came to a tunnel and it was one of the older ones where you are literally driving through the mountain. At first I was hesitant because from the outside it looks pitch black and there is water dripping from the ceiling so it was not the kind of place I wanted to go in willingly. Once determining it was the only way through I just had to go for it. Luckily there were some lights and once you were in it wasn’ t that bad but I kind of felt like I was in the bat cave at the ROM. It was really cool and I wanted to stop and take some pictures but at the same time I was too scared to stop and really just wanted to go to the other side.
I finally made it back to Val and headed straight to the hotel to wash my muddy feet.
The entirety of my hike and bike ride was about 3 hours. A couple hours later I went for a spa body
treatment. It was so relaxing and really brought me to a new level of calm. It was first 20 minutes of an
exfoliating cream then shower then 20 minutes of a soothing cream. Then they wrapped me in a heated
blanket and I lay there for 20 minutes. What I noticed was that there was no spa music as there is in most Spas in Canada. It was such a silent place that it was nice to have no music. I am not sure when I have ever been so still for 20 minutes.
After my treatment I lay on one of their lounge beds with tea looking out the window at the mountain, then went and relaxed in the Therme.
At night I would spend my time at the hotel bar. From 9-12 there is live lounge jazz music played by a
pianist and saxophone player. It was such a great atmosphere. I became friends with the bartender who
introduced me to Espresso M artinis. My new favorite drink however only made by him. They were the best.
The best part about this hotel is that it is an amazing five star resort but it has the best vibe. It doesn’ t have that same pretentious feeling that some chain resorts have. The staff is so friendly, laid back, and relaxed. It is such a posh place yet people can walk around in North Face sweaters and not look out of place. The bar is pure sophistication but rarely any of the ladies were in heels and defiantly no fancy dresses. It just has such a humble feeling and I think that is one of the reasons it is such a calming and relaxing place.
My favorite places in Switzerland are not the cities but rather the small villages and the countryside. It is such a beautiful, clean, natural, peaceful country.
The village I stayed in is called Vals. It is one of the villages I had visited before but I chose this one
because of their fantastic hotel and spa. The hotel is called Hotel Therme http://www.therme-vals.ch and it was built in the 60’ s but Peter Zumthor redesigned and added the Therme in 1996.
While I was there, my time was split between designing, hiking, and relaxing.
My first night there, I arrived on one of the select nights where there is a silent adult only swim in the
Therme. It was such a perfect way to start my stay in Val. The Therme is such an amazing place. It is
comprised of different thermal baths each themed something different. My favorite was the flower pool.
Whenever I was designing I would sit at the main table in the lobby area where I had a view of the
mountains and would watch people come and go from the main lobby to the rooms. Most of the rooms
are in a separate building from the main one so you would have to take a bridge to get some from one
to another. The door to the rooms is in a back door in the corner of the room, which if you didn’ t know
otherwise you would not have expected it to be the one you entered.
I only went on one major hike this trip. I first took a gondola up the mountain from Vals. From there I
hiked about one hour and a half to an area called Zervreila. The man working at the gondola said that
it was not going to be a possible walk for me because of the shoes I was wearing. I was wearing Toms,
which were the closest to a hiking shoe I said so I said it was ok. I did notice that everyone around me was properly dressed for serious hiking but I wasn’ t too concerned by the fact that I was in Toms, leggings, and a long dress shirt. Once I started hiking I quickly understood why the man said I wouldn’ t be able to walk it in my shoes. It wasn’ t because the terrain was difficult but it was because the weather was still fairly mild and the ground was really wet. My first couple steps and my feet were soaked. All I could do was deal with it so I just kept walking. It was such a beautiful trail. All I could keep thinking in my head was “ I am in the most beautiful place in
the world” . I would stop occasionally to take pictures and at one point just lay down on a big rock area to just enjoy the air. There were other hikers around me but all older and all probably thought I was crazy for hiking in what I was wearing.
The ground started to become muddier the higher I went and the last stretch of the trail was all up hill.
Once I got to the top I came around the bend and found this magnificent lake. The colour was astonishing and it was blocked off by a gigantic dam. I knew that I was walking toward a lake area but I was not expecting this. From there I walked down, over the dam, and to this spot where I learned I could rent some sort of bike to take me back to Vals.
Once I got there I said I wanted to rent something to take me back to Vals and the lady explained to
me what I would take. I don’ t remember the name of it since she said it in German but it’ s essentially
everything a bike has minus the pedals.
Since I had hiked from Vals at 1245m to Zerveila at 1864 m, the road back to Vals was all down hill so all you needed were brakes and a little platform to put your feet. I decided a helmet was probably a smart idea, but I felt like I looked like a total nerd sitting on this thing.
Anyways the women said it was really fun and sent me off.
So literally all I did was sit on this German bike and squeezed onto the break handles as I coasted down the road. For the first ten minutes I just kept laughing and smiling I couldn’ t really believe what I was doing. At one point I came to a tunnel and it was one of the older ones where you are literally driving through the mountain. At first I was hesitant because from the outside it looks pitch black and there is water dripping from the ceiling so it was not the kind of place I wanted to go in willingly. Once determining it was the only way through I just had to go for it. Luckily there were some lights and once you were in it wasn’ t that bad but I kind of felt like I was in the bat cave at the ROM. It was really cool and I wanted to stop and take some pictures but at the same time I was too scared to stop and really just wanted to go to the other side.
I finally made it back to Val and headed straight to the hotel to wash my muddy feet.
The entirety of my hike and bike ride was about 3 hours. A couple hours later I went for a spa body
treatment. It was so relaxing and really brought me to a new level of calm. It was first 20 minutes of an
exfoliating cream then shower then 20 minutes of a soothing cream. Then they wrapped me in a heated
blanket and I lay there for 20 minutes. What I noticed was that there was no spa music as there is in most Spas in Canada. It was such a silent place that it was nice to have no music. I am not sure when I have ever been so still for 20 minutes.
After my treatment I lay on one of their lounge beds with tea looking out the window at the mountain, then went and relaxed in the Therme.
At night I would spend my time at the hotel bar. From 9-12 there is live lounge jazz music played by a
pianist and saxophone player. It was such a great atmosphere. I became friends with the bartender who
introduced me to Espresso M artinis. My new favorite drink however only made by him. They were the best.
The best part about this hotel is that it is an amazing five star resort but it has the best vibe. It doesn’ t have that same pretentious feeling that some chain resorts have. The staff is so friendly, laid back, and relaxed. It is such a posh place yet people can walk around in North Face sweaters and not look out of place. The bar is pure sophistication but rarely any of the ladies were in heels and defiantly no fancy dresses. It just has such a humble feeling and I think that is one of the reasons it is such a calming and relaxing place.
I <3 Switzerland
