The 2022-2023 winter break fell prey to the perfect storm. With Christmas Eve and New Years Eve’s falling on Saturdays (and after all the missed days from COVID) Berlin decided school would start on the 2nd of January. So rather than 2 weeks, we had barely more than one week for vacation.

But never daunted, Chika made the call to go big. Instead of our usual Austrian ski trips, we were heading to Chamonix, France. I mean now that Kai is studying French it’s an educational investment, right? To maximize our stay, I met Chika and the boys in Strasbourg on Thursday evening. After a long day the boys were tired, so we left them with snacks while Chika and I had a chance for a nice dinner alone. The next morning we headed down to Colmar, an area well know for its vineyards as well a nice Christmas Market. As we were driving, and Chika was a bit under the weather, we only made it for one tasting at Vins NICOLLET Gérard & Fils, which was impressive enough for us to pick up 4 bottles. I think if we didn’t have all the ski gear we would have probably bought some cases.

After we drove through Switzerland and realized we wouldn’t make it in time for dinner to Chamonix so we took a break at the reststop. I admire Swiss for many things, but they do reststops very well. Pleasant and clean, with a proper restaurant with something not out of the fryer. Worth checking out if you are on the road.

Finally, we arrived in Chamonix. Some small adventures navigating how to get the keys from the keybox and then into the underground car park (it was almost like an escape room). But once we settled, we found ourselves in a cozy little flat. Given the convenience of the indoor parking and proximity to town, we definitely would stay there again (but need to find a unit with a washing machine).

By the way, it had been pouring rain all the drive into the mountains. We started to prepare for the worst and started enjoying the most important off mountain activity — eating. Saturday mornings they have a local market in the town which was just lovely. We had an amazing time — fresh cheese and eggs, fresh mushrooms and salads, olives, fresh breads, and even an rotisserie chicken. And of course we couldn’t avoid the patisserie — to not eat Mont Blanc at Mont Blanc would have been a failure.

For the Christmas Eve, we ordered sushi from the local restaurant, supplemented with many goodies like fois gras. As we shared photos, I had many comments jealous in the order of “you are so lucky to have sushi for Christmas dinner.” What can I say, food is my religion and I married a Japanese.

So with the fear of barren slopes, we decided to ski the Sunday in Cormayuer on the Italian side. After a small scare with police officers at the entrance to the tunnel (only 5 minute delay, just some avalanche maintenance work), we were off. It was a gorgeous day and perfect for skiing. Conditions were much better than I had expected, and we enjoyed a pleasant 1st day of skiing as a family.

For Christmas dinner, I had booked a fondue restaurant to meet with our friend Yee Wuen and her son Alexander (unfortunately Chika was still recovering so skipped this one). Or at least I thought I did. They didn’t seem to have my reservation. But after some patience, we got a table and not only enjoyed fondue but a fiery grill with hot coals to cook our meat and melt our raclette. I was in heaven.

The next days were filled with fun on the slopes, lots of good food and drink, and good times with friends. I would say the highlight was on the last day Chika and I managed to fit a day date in with raclette on the mountain and champagne and oysters at O’GARDE MANGER. Needless to say, I am still working off all these calories into February.

While I enjoy skiing in Austria, something is to be said for the French culture as it applies to skiing. It’s something to be enjoyed in all dimensions. A good reason to return.