Europe/Scandinavia recommendation for a weekend?

I live in London and have done a fair amount of skiing. My wife has never
skied and doesn't like the cold, but has expressed an openess to a weekend
away somewhere in Europe or Scandinavia where she can perhaps be pampered in
a spa or similar whilst I would like to try some cross country skiing.
Nothing too taxing, I've never tried it before, and whilst I like walking, I
am not what I would consider fit. Preferably somewhere with a bit of
scenery.

Can anybody suggest a place that we could go to in February that might fit
the bill, please?

Jonathan Grant wrote:
I live in London and have done a fair amount of skiing. My wife has never
skied and doesn't like the cold, but has expressed an openess to a weekend
away somewhere in Europe or Scandinavia where she can perhaps be pampered in
a spa or similar whilst I would like to try some cross country skiing.
Nothing too taxing, I've never tried it before, and whilst I like walking, I
am not what I would consider fit. Preferably somewhere with a bit of
scenery.
Can anybody suggest a place that we could go to in February that might fit
the bill, please?

My suggestion would be Seefeld in Austria.
Its covered by most of the winter ski tour operators, but as I dont know the spas and hotels I suggest you contact their Tourist Office for accommodation info.
You could fly independantly to Munich or Innsbruck and train for the rest of the way.

As for the skiing, thats excellent. I go to Scotland to ski in the forests on a rough track cut by a snowmobile but in Seefeld there are six lane highways cut by experts and the prepared tracks for all levels of expertise run for miles.
Hire skis and take tuition, that initial tuition is crucially important for you.
Details of the ski hire etc from the Tourist Office, however the tour operators
cost their packages for the downhillers and you may get a better hire and tuition deal thru them for cross country skiing.

Oh and dont try skiing every day for a full week, take time off for a shopping and
sight seeing trip to Innsbruck, your muscles will thank you for that!
Mike

Jonathan Grant wrote:

I live in London and have done a fair amount of skiing. My wife has never
skied and doesn't like the cold, but has expressed an openess to a weekend
away somewhere in Europe or Scandinavia where she can perhaps be pampered in
a spa or similar whilst I would like to try some cross country skiing.
Nothing too taxing, I've never tried it before, and whilst I like walking, I
am not what I would consider fit. Preferably somewhere with a bit of
scenery.

Can anybody suggest a place that we could go to in February that might fit
the bill, please?

Fly to Oslo, stay at pretty much any mountain lodge/hotel you like. :-)

In fact, since we got several snowfalls over the holidays, conditions
have become very nice here in Oslo, i.e. you could stay at Holmenkollen
Park which afaik has a nice pool/spa area, and is situated directly
alongside the Holmenkollen ski trails.

If you require more mountains then you could take the train two hours
north to Lillehammer and stay somewhere along the Birkebeiner trail,
like at Sjusjøen.

The key point is that pretty much every little village and town will
have prepared xc trails, some of them even lighted for evening/nighttime
skiing, and trails fees are still non-existent. :-)

Terje

--
-
"almost all programming can be viewed as an exercise in caching"

Originally Posted by Jonathan Grant

I live in London and have done a fair amount of skiing. My wife has never
skied and doesn't like the cold, but has expressed an openess to a weekend
away somewhere in Europe or Scandinavia where she can perhaps be pampered in
a spa or similar whilst I would like to try some cross country skiing.
Nothing too taxing, I've never tried it before, and whilst I like walking, I
am not what I would consider fit. Preferably somewhere with a bit of
scenery.

Can anybody suggest a place that we could go to in February that might fit
the bill, please?

Jonathan,
I would second the recommendation for Seefeld. It is a wonderful small village with alpine and nordic skiing only a short walking distance from the train station. The nordic trails have a mix of beginner, intermediate and advanced trails. The trails start at a very nice facility with swimming, sauna, ski rentals, etc. You can ski up to some small restaurants along the trails and stop for coffee, pastries, or hot-spiced wine! There are also walking and horse-drawn sleigh trails mixed thru the forest. Very nice ski area.

Gene Kay

Thanks for the suggestion, we are really only looking for a long weekend
type stay, 4 or 5 nights, so hopefully shan't be too exhausted.

Thanks for the suggestion

Thanks for the suggestion, I especially like the bit about pastries and hot
wine!

There are lots of options for a short break in Europe, but I think
a weekend would be a bit short. Some suggestions:

Ramsau, Austria.

I have copied the extract below from a previous post.

"Tourist Board website link: http://www.ramsau.com/Englisch/index.htm


You can get there by train from Salzburg or Munich airport. Nearest
train station is Schladming and bus or taxi from there. The tourist
office in Ramsau also will arrange a taxi from Salzburg and try to fix
up a share or a return trip to cut the cost.
As for accommodation, again the tourist office were very helpful -
there are loads of places to stay at all prices and qualities.
Ski-ing - every level of track ski-ing from total beginner to
World-cup. Snow-sure as it is quite high and there is the glacier as
a back-up. Lots of instructors. First-rate ski-hire and they will
even wax your skis for you. The hotel we stayed in, let us use their
downhill-hire shop waxing room for serious waxing and allowed us free
run of all their tools.
Loads of cafes "mit Kaffee und Kuchen". Swimming-pool - don't know
what that was like as the ski-ing was too good to find out. Some
low-key downhill and snowboarding. Schladming is a major alpine
resort if you want a change.
Scenery - picturesque.

Drawbacks - very popular - don't go there for mountain solitude."

We stayed at the Knollhof, which was excellent and had a little spa.
http://www.knollhof.at/ . I did not try any of the treatments, so I
cannot
vouch for them.

There is a bigger public spa and pool in the village, which is
connected
to the Inntravel hotel. However, if you don't know about German and
Austrian spas, it is not good to be modest. Mixed, and clothes off.

You could also try Oslo. One or two of the holiday operators offer a
short break there. Alternatively you can fly from Heathrow (BA/SAS)
or Stansted (Norwegian/Ryanair) for a good price. Stay in the City
Centre and take the tram to the ski-ing or stay out in Oslomarka, ski
locally
and take a tram or taxi down the hill for the entertainments. Your
wife
can do city things, but don't let her loose with your credit card
unless
you are rich. If you google visitoslo you will get the tourist board
website.
Word of warning, Oslo is a great place, and I keep wondering why I
don't
pack up and move there. However, it can be a bit foggy in the winter
and
the centre can get damp and slushy.

I think Inntravel offer both, if you don't want the hassle of
booking.

I would second Dardruba's recommendation of getting some lessons. If
you
want to try roller-ski-ing before you go, you could try this link for
lessons on London:
http://www.rollerski.co.uk/


I saw you said your wife feels the cold. Is she dressing properly for it?
It is no good expecting to be warm enough in a ski resort in clothing
suitable for the UK. Make sure she buys or borrows some proper gear.
We have just had a long discussion on Lapland dressing, which is full
of
good advice. It all applies to the Alps too. Maybe she would like some

silk thermals as a present?

Have fun and perhaps you would like to report back.

Alex

..

Set your priorities. Make this a learn to ski outing firstly.
Having got the basic skills and enjoyed it, we hope, then you can pick your
locations for the future which can combine social and skiing activities for
both of you.

My wife doesnt ski and is unable to stand the cold. She goes catatonic if left
unattended in the sort of temperatures I enjoy skiing in.(She also doesnt like
it too hot, when I'm happy to bask and surf on the beach).

Only once has she ever accompanied me to a ski race. That was for us 'oldies' in
the Engadine and for her benefit we stayed at a sumptuous hotel at St Moritz
though we could barely afford it.
She enjoyed the window shopping alone and the cafes for the coffee and cake.
But what really surprised her was the sight of the ladies with the bluerinsed hair
walking to the ski centre, changing from fur coats into ski suits, plodding once
around the lake stopping for morning coffee, round again stopping for lunch, round
again once more and then back to the hotel to change for the afternoon tea dance.
She never believed me that once the worst of the winter storms have passed then she
too could be out skiing between cafes in that warm spring sunshine.

Thanks. I'm not sure that seeing the local ladies will convince the wife,
but it's worth a shot.