New Year

[smellingbottle]

We got back from Switzerland late last night, after a week with friends at their chalet in the Bernese Oberland. We’d spent the end of December down by the lake, as G. had the final nights of an opera run, so we spent New Year’s Eve eating fondue with the cast and crew after the final performance of a very silly opéra bouffe, and danced to the

Comments

[cassandre]

It's good to see you posting. The Swiss holiday sounds magical.

[smellingbottle]

I realise it's been a while! I was leading a fairly quiet life, mind you...

[chamisa]

Wow. You had me at friends with a chalet in Switzerland. It all sounds impossibly magical, even (or maybe especially) falling down an icy slope in formal clothing in the wee hours.

Good luck with the plugging away...

[smellingbottle]

I wasn't so keen on that bit, as I have very poor balance, honestly, I was wearing the smoothest-soled shoes on the planet, and we'd passed the scenes of about five car accidents on the drive back... It was one of the very few moments in my life where I needed a Strong Man to (literally) Lean On.

[chamisa]

Oh, dear. That does sound rather scary!

[antisoppist]

I cross country ski very, very slowly and take the skis off to walk up or down anything resembling a slope. Frozen lakes are good. Frozen lakes with a cafe selling hot chocolate at the other end are even better.

[smellingbottle]

That's impressive. Did you find it difficult to learn, and do you also ski downhill, if that makes a difference to acquiring the technique?

[antisoppist]

If I can do it, anyone can. I am clumsy and terrified of falling over and far too scared to ski downhill. I was living in Finland with a lit cross country ski trail starting practically from the door of my flat. It was what people did after work instead of jogging and everyone I knew had been skiing since school PE lessons when they were seven. Proper lessons would probably help but I haven't had any. The bit I'm not sure about without a native guide is how much grease to put on or what kind. It varies depending on the temperature and if you get it wrong you can end up either with no grip at all or glued to the ground at an angle.