Like night and day
So, we're back from Arosa and it was truly several days of highs and lows. It started well with a beautiful 4-hour train ride and Baby in high spirits.
We arrived in Arosa to find ample sun and snow, and were pleased to find that we had a beautiful view from our balcony.
It was shaping up to be a wonderful few days, and to top it all off we were able to enjoy our first date without Baby since her arrival last June (more on that later). But then the first night, Baby woke up crying hysterically. And kept waking up. All night long. If we were at home we might let her cry it out, but in a hotel it seemed rude to the other guests, so we did whatever we could to quiet her--constant breastfeeding (boy, are my nipples sore), letting her sleep in our bed, you name it...by the next morning, we felt like we did in the first weeks after her birth. We figured it had to be the altitude and that she'd soon have it out of her system. (I grew up going to the mountains and never noticed the altitude, but in the past 5 years or so I've started to have a sleepless night when I first get to the mountains, so maybe it's the same for her?)
So the next day we were too wrecked to do very much, but we did get out for a walk down to the village and it was as beautiful as the previous day.
We expected a much better second night, so when we found ourselves watching television with a wide-awake giggling Baby at 1:00am (thank God for live classical music on the Swiss Italian TV station) and fighting hysterics the rest of the night, well, let's just say that wasn't exactly what we had in mind for a relaxing getaway. By the next day, she was once again in a good mood but we were at our wits' end. We had one more full day left, but at that point it was almost a foregone conclusion that we should cut our trip short and return home to try and restore a sense of normalcy. Maybe it was the sun outside our window, or perhaps it was the long nap all three of us took that morning, but we decided we would stick it out and try to have a good last day instead of returning home with our tails between our legs.
In the end, staying was the best thing we could have done. At the recommendation of the concierge, we took a bus up to a restaurant with a gorgeous sunny terrace, then took a leisurely walk back to, and through, the village.
To top it all off, we had an excellent birthday dinner at a Thai restaurant in the hotel (we were fully prepared to be disappointed by Thai food in a small town in the Swiss Alps, but it was actually really good and had just the right slow-burn-that-stays-with-you-but-doesn't-quite-leave-you-short-of-breath level of spiciness), and the hotel gave Gretchen a very tasty birthday cake. And while Baby still got up every hour that night, she at least wasn't as hysterical as the nights before.
So, the bottom line? Despite not being able to ski and feeling like we'd been over by a snowcat (or as they call, them here, Pistenbully) for most of our visit, we're now big fans of Arosa and are especially glad we didn't leave early, even if Baby will make us pay the price for the next few days...
We arrived in Arosa to find ample sun and snow, and were pleased to find that we had a beautiful view from our balcony.
It was shaping up to be a wonderful few days, and to top it all off we were able to enjoy our first date without Baby since her arrival last June (more on that later). But then the first night, Baby woke up crying hysterically. And kept waking up. All night long. If we were at home we might let her cry it out, but in a hotel it seemed rude to the other guests, so we did whatever we could to quiet her--constant breastfeeding (boy, are my nipples sore), letting her sleep in our bed, you name it...by the next morning, we felt like we did in the first weeks after her birth. We figured it had to be the altitude and that she'd soon have it out of her system. (I grew up going to the mountains and never noticed the altitude, but in the past 5 years or so I've started to have a sleepless night when I first get to the mountains, so maybe it's the same for her?)
So the next day we were too wrecked to do very much, but we did get out for a walk down to the village and it was as beautiful as the previous day.
We expected a much better second night, so when we found ourselves watching television with a wide-awake giggling Baby at 1:00am (thank God for live classical music on the Swiss Italian TV station) and fighting hysterics the rest of the night, well, let's just say that wasn't exactly what we had in mind for a relaxing getaway. By the next day, she was once again in a good mood but we were at our wits' end. We had one more full day left, but at that point it was almost a foregone conclusion that we should cut our trip short and return home to try and restore a sense of normalcy. Maybe it was the sun outside our window, or perhaps it was the long nap all three of us took that morning, but we decided we would stick it out and try to have a good last day instead of returning home with our tails between our legs.
In the end, staying was the best thing we could have done. At the recommendation of the concierge, we took a bus up to a restaurant with a gorgeous sunny terrace, then took a leisurely walk back to, and through, the village.
To top it all off, we had an excellent birthday dinner at a Thai restaurant in the hotel (we were fully prepared to be disappointed by Thai food in a small town in the Swiss Alps, but it was actually really good and had just the right slow-burn-that-stays-with-you-but-doesn't-quite-leave-you-short-of-breath level of spiciness), and the hotel gave Gretchen a very tasty birthday cake. And while Baby still got up every hour that night, she at least wasn't as hysterical as the nights before.
So, the bottom line? Despite not being able to ski and feeling like we'd been over by a snowcat (or as they call, them here, Pistenbully) for most of our visit, we're now big fans of Arosa and are especially glad we didn't leave early, even if Baby will make us pay the price for the next few days...
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