Switzerland July 2019 - Our arrival in Davos for the hiking week

Hello everyone! Yes, we have arrived safely in Switzerland. By train and after changing trains several times, we have now arrived in Davos.

As you may know, we have booked rooms in a nice hotel here for a week of hiking. We can use all buses, mountain railways, etc. for free. And we will also be well taken care of. The package includes not only breakfast, but also a great multi-course dinner and the minibar is replenished daily free of charge.

In expensive Switzerland, these are really noteworthy advantages. Furthermore, the package also offers guided hikes of various levels of difficulty. There are even more highlights, which I will tell you about later. In any case, the abundance of inclusive services alone was reason enough for us to book.

However, what we did not anticipate at the time was that apparently no one in our age group seems to appreciate such a thing. We are actually the youngest participants here. Annett and I are already young at 52 years old. And Stephanie, as a 19-year-old, naturally lowers the average age even further. Everyone else (except for one younger woman) is retired.

However, all the silver-haired people around us should not be underestimated. To illustrate what I mean, let me describe to you the matter of the hiking lists. Every day, sheets with different levels of difficulty for the hikes are posted here for signing up. The 'Red' group is the most difficult and demanding. Then come the 'Yellow', 'Green', and 'Blue' groups.

So, what do you think is always the fullest sheet? Exactly: the one for the red group with the hardest tours. Now you might have an idea of how many of these retirees are here. Actually, the majority are women. And somehow, I have the idea that these wiry older ladies must have recently retired physical education teachers. Who else in that age bracket is so fit?

And who else effortlessly climbs the mountains. Certainly not us. You can find us in the yellow or green groups. And even though we don't walk as briskly, of course (!), our legs still hurt afterwards.

Have I mentioned yet that there is a swimming pool in the hotel? We go there to splash around and swim a bit. Retirees who can't get enough also go to water aerobics at 7:15 a.m.

So as you can see, a vacation like this can be really stressful. However, we always have to get up early. Today, for example, our hike started at 8:45 a.m. Read the next post to find out how our first two hikes went...