And we’re back and off to Pontresina! If you missed Part 1 of our Switzerland recap, you can read that here.
Pontresina is the quintessential scenic mountain town. It was the highlight of our trip for me, and I think, again, it had a lot to do with our hotel. But let me backtrack a little.
We took the train from Lucerne to Pontresina, making it about a 3 hour train ride. The scenes from the train were absolutely beautiful, and it truly looks like you’re staring at a post card the whole time. My pictures from my iPhone do it no justice.
Our family friends who live in Switzerland recommended we take the Bernina Express to Pontresina, but it just didn’t work with our schedule. Boo. Next time!
Still, the train rides in Switzerland are magical regardless of which one you take.
We went from a lower elevation to a really high altitude in the mountains, and you could definitely feel it. The trains in Switzerland go in and out of the mountainside and wind slowly around. It completely blew my mind.
Pontresina is a tiny little resort town, and in the winter it’s ski central. It’s a hop, skip, and a jump from St. Moritz, the ritzy Olympic ski town that we did not get a chance to go to. But we loved it so much in Pontresina, we didn’t want to leave.
DAY 3
Once we arrived at the train station, we were picked up by a complimentary car sent by our hotel. The service here was AMAZING.
Grand Hotel Kronenhof has my heart forever. It’s the only 5-star hotel in the village, and I’m so happy we were able to experience and enjoy it. The architecture and the traditions and the service made me feel like I was walking into a scene from Downton Abbey.
I can’t imagine how beautiful it must be in the summer! Anyway, back to our trip.
Once we arrived, we were able to check in early and head down the street to finalize our ski lessons and rent our equipment. I highly suggest Pontresina Sports AG and Skiservice Corvatsch, Hotel Rosatsch for rentals.
Walking down the street of this little village was the best.
It was super cold (especially for us Texans), and snow was falling off and on our entire time we were there. In the middle of March, you chance it, and this time, we were happy to see it.
When we were back in our hotel, we had drinks and tea from our hotel bar area. I’m still pinching myself.
Each night, dinner was served in our hotel ballroom, so each evening, you got to dress up and have a four-six course meal. The menu changes daily, always keeping things interesting.
We were there for three nights, and each night was delicious. Oh, and did I mention they also served breakfast every day in the same spot? My dream come true! Pastries, and mimosas, and eggs, OH MY!
Day 4
This day was our big ski day. We had private lessons booked, and we had the best instructor! He was so patient and really worked with us until we were comfortable to go out on our own.
I’m actually a pro, which I failed to mention before. Just kidding. Skiing does come really natural to me, but I still had my falls and awkward moments.
After three hours of practicing and learning, we called it a day and headed back to our hotel.
Michael booked me a massage that evening, and again, I’m running out of adjectives because it was purely magical.
Could not have been more serene here.
Then it was time for another fancy dinner with my date! I think each night we were there, we didn’t go to bed later than 10 p.m., and even that felt late.
Day 5
Our last full day in Pontresina, we went skiing by ourselves on the mountainside where we had our lessons. It was the smallest slope, but we felt comfortable there. And we had so much fun together. The town was actually super quiet that day because of a ski marathon, which meant we had the slopes all to ourselves. Again, it was a dream come true.
After skiing alone for a couple of hours, we called it quits when it started snowing. We changed and headed to a little restaurant and bar down the street from our hotel, and snacked on smoked salmon and hot tea. I love the hot tea tradition, and I honestly think I was meant to be European. ;)
Then we just relaxed and took advantage of our pool and hot sauna. I wish we would have done this every single day we were there. One of the hot sauna rooms actually was filled with eucalyptus. Talk about an epic experience for your sinuses. I actually needed this since I had been nursing a cold for the entirety of our trip.
But lounging by the pool. I mean.
Our last dinner here at Grand Hotel Kronenhof was so special. They sat us front and center and stepped up our service even more than they had been because it was our last night.
I didn’t take many pictures while were here it felt like (for my standards), because I really was living in the moment. This dinner though. Five courses and every single bite was amazing.
Day 6
We had one last spectacular spread of a breakfast, and then hopped on a train to Zurich. It was bittersweet leaving.
Seeing the “tata” as Colin calls trains made me almost ready to go home though. Almost. We had one last day to spend in Zurich before we hopped on a train back to the states.
If you ever are in Switzerland, I cannot recommend this tiny village enough. It was absolute perfection, and I most definitely will go back.
Zurich coming up next!
