Strenghtening mountain air

We spent our Christmas holidays travelling. First to Milan, then to Switzerland. We stayed in a small village in Unterengadin (region Graubunden) named Scuol. The weather was rather fine (most of the days, we had some sunshine, and the temperature circled around the zero degrees Celsius). Each day, we made a walk to either another village or came down the Motta Naluns, which is the mountain on which the village is built. 

Mountain air became me. Each night, at the hotel, we had a 5-course dinner ... and I could finish every course! At home, for the last two years or so, I haven't been able to eat bigger portions and certainly not more than one course. 

Even now, when back home, I still eat better than before and have already gained some weight. For me that's important. Before the holidays I weighed less that 47 kilo. My sister says I'm a walking skeleton. But yesterday I weighed already 49 kilo, so that's good. I hope to reach 50 soon. 

I suppose I should spent some time in Switzerland every year! Unfortunately, it's quite an expensive country. Our euro is worth less than their Swiss frank. It used to be the way around, one euro worth about 1,50 Swiss frank. 

Switzerland is well-known to be good for people who need to build up strenght. My mother was sent to Switzerland during World War II. That was a program from the Red Cross for children of prisoners of war (granddad was taken prisoner after the Battle for Britain, but he escaped the prisoner camp in Germany and went into hiding in France). As my mother was the only girl, with three brothers, grandma decided to avoid problems between the boys and chose my mother. She would originally go for three weeks or such, but ended up spending 4, 5 months in Switzerland as the Germans blew up railway bridges and the trains could not run. She was there in a nunnery, who also had an old people's home. She had the time of her life there. She was pampered by all the inhabitants, learned to ski and even did her Holy Communion when she became 12 years old. When she finally returned home, she could not close her coat anymore, so much weight she had gained!

It's thanks to mum that Chris and I also love the mountains. We went every winter when we were kids and teenagers. We also learned to ski and Scuol became the place to which we always returned. 

Nowadays it's become a question of making choices. We want to see something of the world, and then you can't go every winter skiing. But perhaps we can return to Scuol next year in summer. That would be great.