Graubünden is to date, my favourite place in the world. After spending time in Stuttgart, it was time for us to see some more of Jess’ family in Switzerland. We would be staying with Roberto and Rachel, who had visited Jess’ family in Australia when they were around our age.

We arrived by train into Chur via Zurich. The ride into Chur was very exciting for us. Firstly the lakes amazed us, followed shortly by the mountains. As the time to our arrival became closer, we seemed to climb higher and higher into the mountains and before we knew it we had arrived in the charming little town.

Meeting us at the train platform was Roberto, whom Jess spotted from the train. Jess was 8 when she last saw Roberto in person, but she was sure it was him. Jess was re-acquainted with Roberto, and I was introduced to another member of my new family. We were driven back to Roberto and Rachel’s house, which is in a small village called Domat/Ems. I was introduced to Rachel and the both of us met their two beautiful girls, Sara and Dania. Lunch was waiting for us, and I looked out of their living room window for the first time. From this point on, looking out of their windows towards the mountains became a regular occurrence for me.

When Roberto and Rachel visited Australia it was Easter, so it was only fitting that we spent Easter with them too. Our original intentions were to stay the long weekend until Easter Monday and then leave, however we ended up staying until the following Friday, not only because we loved the area, but the people too.

We spent Good Friday at Tschappina, a ski field that their family frequents. In typical Switzerland style, we were both amazed. We were pulled up via a T-bar lift similar to that at Hammarbybacken, but this one just seemed to go forever. It saw us snowboarding down the slopes for a good 20 minutes before having to take the lift back up. The powder was deep and both Jess and I had a really great day. On the way home we were introduced to Roberto’s parents, sister and the younger generations too.

Saturday we were treated to yet another amazing day. Jess and I took the train with Roberto and Rachel from Chur to Arosa. It was a very scenic ride that gave us an even better idea of what Graubünden encompasses. Arosa is a popular place for skiers and snowboarders, but it is so much more than a ski field. We took the scenic walk up the mountain, taking in the views and the environment. Afterwards we caught the cable car to the Weisshorn summit, some 2657m above sea level. This was an experience in itself as neither Jess nor I had been in a cable car this large (able to carry 100 people!), however the view at the top was incredible.

Easter Sunday was really fun for us. While we weren’t with the family that we usually see on this day, we certainly weren’t without family. We started the day watching the girls run around the backyard looking for eggs, and then began our festive feast at the dinner table with the worlds’ greatest view by our side. I was in heaven! Later in the day we walked to Roberto’s sisters’ house again to catch up with the whole family one last time, and then to Roberto’s parents’ place to look at some photos and talk about our family back home.

We finished off Easter with a visit to the thermal bath at Bad Ragaz on Easter Monday. It was cold outside, but with the sun shining and the warm water, it was a really relaxing day. It was another one of many opportunities we had to get to know the family.

Roberto and Rachel treated us to a great time and we both really appreciate it. I could write all day about everything else that we did but I’m guessing most people have already skipped the text to look for the photos.

Honestly though, I loved staying in Domat/Ems for the week. As I have mentioned a few times before, Jess and I are finding more and more that we aren’t really the city type, so it has been great to spend some time in a quieter place. Not only is the environment amazing, the people seem to be in tune with the life that I want to lead. Riding your bike to the shops is perfectly normal here, along with spending your days outdoors, regardless of the weather. Mountain biking trails are probably a maximum of 5 minutes ride from anywhere in Domat/Ems, and there are more than enough ski fields nearby.

The kids here walk to school, unless they live further away and then they can ride a bike; in fact you aren’t allowed to drive them to or from school at all. This is perfectly normal to the residents, not “insane” like it would be at home in Australia. The people are smart too – most of them would know at least four languages. I can’t think of another way to describe this region other than “healthy”. It just made me so happy to walk out on the street and see the kids all playing, many of them riding their unicycles.

We leave with a lot of really great memories – ones that I would like to think that we won’t forget any time soon. We have not only been able to get to know family, I feel as though we’ve made some great friends. From the day we arrived, Jess and I were amazed by how alike we are as people to Roberto and Rachel.

Our return to Graubünden will be sooner rather than later, I’m sure. In the meantime however – ciao, tschüss, a revair and goodbye!

Easter in Graubünden on the way to somewhere - ..you're only lost if you know where you're going..

A picture is said to speak a thousand words, so here’s my 6000 word post on Snowboarding at Tarvisio in Italy.

I all seriousness though, Tarvisio is a great place. Although others insisted on paying for the snowboard hire and lift pass for us, I don’t believe it was too expensive for the day. I do know that for 4 hours on the slopes it will set you back 24EUR.

It was just over an hours drive from where we are staying in Zompitta, (Udine) and very close to Austria and Slovenia. It’s surreal for us to be an hour away from the snow, and an hour away from the coastline. Let alone at the corner of three countries!

If you’re looking for a place to go skiing or snowboarding, definitely check out Tarvisio. There were very few people around which made it a lot easier for us to keep learning in confidence – Jess and I are really starting to link our turns well!

Snowboarding at Tarvisio, Italy on the way to somewhere - ..you're only lost if you know where you're going..

Imagine how cool it would be if you could finish work at 4pm, catch a tram 5 minutes down the road and go snowboarding (or skiing).

It’s doable for sure – lots of people live in a ski village or in the Swiss Alps, but for those in Stockholm, they are able to do so in their capital city.

Today Jess and I walked from our hostel (in Östermalm, Stockholm) to Hammarbybacken, which is just across the river. It’s about a 30 minute walk, but it’s through quite a nice trendy area full of new apartments. We could have caught the tram or the bus but we had the time and the money saved on transport bought us some varm choklads at the end of the day.

Hammarbybacken is a basic snowfield, for sure. It has three runs, plus a training area and a small skills park. There are two lifts, but no chairs – just T-bars.

Jess and I opted for snowboarding, because we had done it before and enjoyed it. For a 3 hour hire of a snowboarding kit (board, bindings, boots) it was 225SEK each. A 3 hour session was 140SEK, plus 45SEK for the SkiPass-kort, which is essentially a card that you use to swipe through to get on the chairlift. If you were staying for multiple days you’d only have to pay the 45SEK once.

As it turns out we met a fellow Aussie, Ross, in the rentals room. He’d never been snowboarding before so the three of us kind of kept together and laughed at each other stacking it. I think all of us had at least one decent stack at speed.

It was the first time either of us had used a T-bar lift; at Fall Creek we used a chairlift and a poma. As it turns out, T-bars are easier to use than a poma, but for newbies like us it still required a bit of concentration.

Unless you’re both experienced and fit, 3 hours is plenty of time to tire yourself out. We probably got around 12 runs in, with the first three runs taking the first hour or so. It’s been almost three years since we’ve been on a board so it took a while to pick up where we left off. The runs are quick, but the lines at the lift are short and it only takes about a minute to get back to the top.

It’s no ski resort, but to break up the monotony of sightseeing it was just what we needed, even if the top of the “mountain” (hill) was an excellent place to view the city of Stockholm. We had an absolute blast, and we’ll have the memories for days to come by way of bruises.

For 410SEK each (AUD$64) it must have to be the cheapest snowboarding in the world. You can find more information on the SkiStar website.

Snowboarding Hammarbybacken in Stockholm on the way to somewhere - ..you're only lost if you know where you're going..