LAAX and rocksresort in winter: Our travel report
After we were able to fully enjoy the summer in the rocksresort (you can read about it here in our blog article ), we are now conquering the slopes of the sustainable ski area LAAX.
By e-car from Allgäu to LAAX
From us in the Ostallgäu it is only about 2.5 hours to LAAX, so we set off in the morning in a relaxed manner. It is a wonderful day in spring, just before Easter. Unfortunately, the snowfall this winter was not very plentiful and everything around Lake Constance is currently blooming. Nevertheless, the Swiss mountain peaks in front of us are still white and invite you to spend warm days skiing. Franzi loves it when it is spring in the valley and still winter on the mountain. Even as a teenager, the highlight of the year was to race down the slopes wearing only a sweater and sunglasses. The distance is easy to cover with our e-car, and we simply charge it at one of the many charging stations in the underground car park, but we use the car for the days in Flims.
Tobogganing fun on the toboggan run in Nagens
We arrive in Flims around lunchtime, the cable cars are right in the town center with a large parking garage. We park quickly, grab a quick snack and get straight into the next Arena Express gondola towards the summit. I regret not having taken my cross-country skis with me, because the Plaun high valley lies below us and we get a wonderful view of the perfectly groomed trails below us. But we continue on to Nagens at 2,127m and into the winter wonderland - only the warm sun reveals that spring is here. With the sledges, although racing bobsleds would be a better term, we race down the 1.5km long toboggan run from Nagens to Scansinas and up again and down again. Lotta, our snow-loving Labrador, is allowed to whizz along for a run, but it's better to take a break at the lift station while the children can't get enough. With a broad grin we take the last descent back down to Flims and then to our accommodation for the next few days in
The rocksresort in LAAX
Nice to be back here! Like last time, we have an apartment in the rocksresort with two bedrooms - the perfect size for us as a family of four with a dog. Each apartment has a fully equipped kitchen and a living-dining area. The absolute winter highlight is the bathroom with a large stone bathtub, steam bath and rain shower. Perfect for regenerating your muscles after a long day of skiing. It's a different apartment than last summer, but just as beautiful and spacious.
If you want to find out more about the rocksresort , you can read about it in detail in our last blog article . Since it is already evening, we head towards Riders, another super cool hotel and restaurant in the immediate vicinity of the rocksresort.
The Riders: Casual hotel & restaurant next to the rocksresort
We would also check into Riders straight away, the atmosphere is super relaxed and the design is absolutely on our wavelength, and there are regularly changing exhibitions and events here. Maybe without the kids, but tonight we are guests at the Riders Restaurant for a special evening. Oh, and you should know that the Riders Restaurant is purely vegetarian-vegan - how cool is that! We are greeted with the words "Do you know what kind of evening it is tonight?" and are immediately surprised. Tonight, two lovely wine specialists and Demeter landowners from South Tyrol are presenting their wine in the Riders Restaurant , accompanied by a vegan 4-course menu. All guests sit at a 20m long table, just like at Nonna's. The children are served their children's pasta quickly and parallel to the starter, while we start with the first wine. We toast, the kids dig in and fall asleep on the chairs as soon as the plate is empty. Franzi and I toast to that with the second course and the third wine - the evening promises to be pretty relaxed and it was. The menu was wonderful, delicious, earthy, and the wine was a journey through the vineyards of the small estate above Bolzano, with old grape varieties and a very clear view of how wine should be made: natural, ecological and unadulterated.
Thank you for this wonderful first evening!
Up to the mountain: skiing in LAAX
Last night is really taking its toll on us. It was beautiful, but it also got a bit late. With a hearty breakfast in the Signina Hotel, we fill up our nutritional stores and gather strength for the upcoming day of skiing. Unfortunately the weather is rather mediocre, but we are still looking forward to the ski slopes in LAAX . After breakfast, we and the kids go to the LAAX School , where Linus, Leo and Casper's ski instructor for the next two days, is already waiting for us. As there is no longer much snow in the valley and in the Ami Sabi snow wonderland, we all take the cable car up to Crap Sogn Gion at 2,263 m. The light rain in the valley gives way to snowfall on the mountain and rather poor visibility, but the mood is still good.
Leo has already been able to cover a few kilometers of slopes with us this year and is relatively safe on skis. So Linus grabs Casper and practices the basics with him while the three of us explore the ski area. We keep whizzing past our little ski student and watching him and his instructor. Linus looks after his almost 4-year-old student so patiently and motivatingly! After about 2 hours, Casper and Leo's strength wanes and we all ride back down the mountain in the gondola.
We quickly stow our ski equipment in the locker in the ski depot; each apartment has its own heated locker right next to the lift. And now we're starving!
Perhaps the best Asian restaurant: Grüzi Panasia
Opposite the cable cars on the other side of the campus is the pan-Asian restaurant Nooba , with delicious dishes from Thailand to Vietnam and Japan. We love Asian cuisine, not least because of our trip through Sri Lanka. Within minutes, the kids have their syrup and a bowl of edamame on the table before the delicious main courses are served. The gyoza and paneer makhani are highly recommended. With full stomachs and the sweet aftertaste of the mochi still in our mouths, we head to the apartment, rest a bit, play and, of course, jump into the bath.
Spring hike in Nagens, Flims
Back at the apartment, Lotta is already waiting for us and is naturally adventurous. So while the boys use the cozy apartment to relax and swim, I take Lotta on the local bus (free with the guest card) to the valley station in Flims in 10 minutes. The FlemXpress has also started operating here at the start of the season, a kind of gondola taxi that runs on demand. So I choose my destination "Foppa" and press the button - whoosh, a gondola is ready for Lotta and me, and when it arrives at Foppa it automatically drives out to the side and stops! How cool and sustainable is this innovation.
From Foppa we take a beautiful winter hiking trail to Scheia above the village of Flims. The round trip takes about an hour and the view up here is beautiful.
Sofa gourmets at s`nani
Time flies and we are already on our way to dinner. The s'nani is highly recommended to us, we walk the short way from the rocks and enjoy the fresh air and the 180º alpenglow. When we arrive we immediately feel at home, the restaurant is furnished like a living room, our table even has a couch, which the kids naturally take over immediately. The menu is characterized by regional ingredients and contains exciting combinations. We order mushroom ravioli on cauliflower and celery cream with parsley caviar and roasted hazelnuts. And for the kids there are homemade chips, which are also served directly with our starter, roasted pumpkin with Malanser walnut mousse, purple potatoes and parsley oil. As soon as the last chips have been eaten, the children's eyes close and both fall asleep on the sofa. A little deja vu of yesterday evening, but understandably a day of skiing with lots of fresh mountain air is exhausting and makes you tired. So the two of us enjoy the main course and then a delicious dessert, chestnut cream in shortcrust pastry made from chestnut flour, flambéed meringue and glazed chestnuts.
Perfect weather in the LAAX ski area
The next morning is the complete opposite of the day before, the sun is shining brightly with the white mountain peaks. But first we have to go to the pancake machine again, which the children have been looking forward to all morning. Here at the breakfast buffet there is a children's breakfast buffet and this really ingenious machine. Then we go to the cable car and back up to Crap Sogn Gion. Casper has his second day of skiing with Linus from the Laax School and Franzi, Leo and I are off to explore the 214km ski area. There are 5 snow parks here - let's see if the kids discover freestyle skiing for themselves in the next few years. We go over to the Plaun high plateau station, where we went tobogganing two days ago, and we enjoy the perfect conditions. After a good 2.5 hours we meet up again with Casper and Linus, who have since moved to the next bigger slope to practice. Exhausted but happy, the little skier falls asleep right on the slopes, giving Leo the chance to pick up a few tricks from the ski instructor. His stomach is slowly rumbling, so it's off to the valley with a tired big child and a sleeping little one.
Sun and treats in the Piazza
We quickly take our ski gear to the depot and stay in the Piazza - Cafedeli . The kids fortify themselves with pizza and pretzels - a wild combination, but if it makes you happy. We also have a vegetable quiche with salad and a delicious cappuccino. Relaxed with the sun on our faces, we watch the hustle and bustle around the valley station and the Piazza in the Rocksresort. It's always nice to see how laid-back the people here are and yet so different. It's a lively bunch from all over the world and everyone is united by their love of sport. We relaxed a little in the room, but the children were full of energy again after eating.
Shopping and rocking at the Stenna Center Flims
Because it is so easy and quick, we take the local bus back to Flims and get off at the Stenna Center. I and the children go to the KIDS Freestyle Academy again, while Franzi strolls through the shops in the Stenna Center. The KIDS Freestyle Academy was so much fun in the summer that we promised them we would come again. They rush straight onto the trampolines and do backflips into the airbag, jump from the different heights of the heels into another airbag and slide down the fast wooden slide what feels like 150 times. I can hardly follow the hustle and bustle with my eyes, they go up, down, over, etc. so quickly. Then they grab their balance bikes and skateboards and, equipped with the protectors provided, they conquer the pump track. I didn't think they would have so much energy after half a day of skiing. But after two hours it's fine and their stomachs are demanding a new supply of energy. The
Varied and stylish food at The Hide Deli
One floor above in the Stenna is The Hide Deli , a restaurant with a stylish interior. The dark green velvet combined with gold gives the whole thing a really classy feel. The straight and modern details make it so round and stylish. The attentive staff clearly recognized that our two rascals came straight from the
Slow morning with mystical mountain view
The morning is still quite cloudy, it is drizzling and the mountain ranges are covered in transparent groups of clouds. The perfect reason to start the day quietly. We enjoy the cozy apartment again, the children spread out their toys while we sit comfortably on the windowsill of the panoramic window with our first coffee and watch the clouds. The thought briefly crosses our minds to heat up the steam bath again in the gray weather, but we are already leaving today and want to experience something despite the weather. So after a very slow start to the day, Franzi goes for a walk with our Labrador dog Lotta and we arrange to meet for breakfast in half an hour. For the last time for now, the kids go to the pancake machine and we enjoy the extensive breakfast buffet. A little sad but looking forward to the next time, we check out before we head to the treetop path.
On the back of the dragon “Senda dil Dragun”
If you have read our blog post about summer in LAAX , you already know the treetop path . We were already on the longest treetop path in the world in the summer, However, it started to thunder halfway through and we had to turn around. But because it is so beautiful, we want to walk the whole thing today, despite the light drizzle, because we haven't tried out all the marble runs yet. But first of all, we get another dragon's tear (those are the big wooden marbles) from the info point on the Piazza and decorate it. Then we go straight to the slide, because the kids are really excited about it. We whizz down three floors on special carpets and I can still hear the shrill cries of joy. Then we go to the treetop path. There are lots of information boards and discovery games here, so the kids can easily keep on track and have fun walking. The highlight is the marble run on every platform. The 1.56km treetop path, the longest in the world, runs through the treetops of the alpine LAAX nature towards the LAAX village or the other way around to the
Lunch at the lake house
After the fresh air and the many marble runs and small and large discoveries, our stomachs are rumbling, so we head to the Ristorante Ustria Lags, which is located right on the lake. The friendly team welcomes us frozen hikers warmly and immediately provides the children with painting materials. We treat ourselves to something really traditional and enjoy the vegetarian Capuns, one of our favorite Swiss dishes.
After an espresso it is finally time to say goodbye to the winter holiday in Flims LAAX Falera, but not for long, we will definitely come back, this place has become magical for us.
