Klosters, is an Alpine ski village, in the Prättigau Swiss tourist area, in southern Switzerland, below Liechtenstein. Its full anme was Klosters-Serneus, after the municipality in which it finds itself, but it's now, just Klosters. There's the Dorf (Village) and Kloster Platz (Place), and some small settlements. It's also famous for celebrities and especially, as the Royal family’s resort of choice. There's even a cable car, named after the Prince of Wales. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem any more exclusive or expensive than the rest of Switzerland, bearing in mind that Switzerland always burns a large hole in your wallet anyway. Apparently, it specialises in 'discreet luxury'. Also fortunately, the Royal family aren’t here.
I'm with friend Lenka instead. And we've travelled 93 miles in a bus from Zurich, the nearest international airport.
Ski areas include the Madrisa, also home to the Madrisa Land Adventure Park, and the whole of Davos (six miles to the north), which is connected to Klosters by the Gotschnabahn cable car. I’ve skied in Davos before, on a day trip from Italy (there wasn’t any snow in Livigno where I was). There’s the famous mountain railway, which is fun to ride - a different experience - and the slopes are wide, cruisy and attractive. Unfortunately, at the weekend they can be appealing to a lot of folk, so descent then can be a little stressful, unless you don’t mind how many Germans you take out, whilst emulating Franz Klammer.
Crowds are a good excuse to retreat to the mountain huts and indulge in Tiroler gröstl (a sort of bacon, potato and onion left over fry up with a fried egg on top) or one of the delicious melted cheese concoctions on offer.
Apres Ski in Klosters
In the village there are cuckoo clock shops, as well as the predictable designer gear – skiing or otherwise. The, there's the Nutli-Hüschi Folk Museum, in a cute 16th-century wooden house. It exhibits artifacts depicting life in the Alps and village over the last two hundred years. The chalets are pretty and the bars elegant and surprisingly quiet. Very different to raucous Austrian après ski. But there's usually someone for us to chat to.
Read more about Switzerland here.
