36 Hours in Davos, Switzerland

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 26 Februari 2013 | 17.35

Many equate Davos with the World Economic Forum and the masters of the universe who attend the yearly conference in this Swiss municipality perched 5,120 feet above sea level. But raise your eyes to the mountains and behold the inspiration for the adventures of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (he wrote about skiing here in the late 1800s), the landscapes of the Expressionist painter Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and the setting for Thomas Mann's novel "The Magic Mountain." For nearly 200 years, the crisp Alpine air drew patients to sanitariums that have since been converted to belle époque hotels with brilliant views. With an endless array of activities, from lounging in solariums and saunas to skiing the nearby mountains and visiting museums, travelers to Davos and its environs will find plenty to keep them busy.

FRIDAY

4 p.m.
1. High-Altitude Beer

Marketed as "the last beer stop before heaven," the brewery in the nearby village of Monstein was founded in 2001 in a vacant dairy — one of the younger buildings in the village at just over 100 years old. BierVision Monstein offers unguided tours (free) and beer tasting (3 Swiss francs per glass, about the same in U.S. dollars) every Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. Because of the altitude, the brewers work with pressurized equipment and a special strain of yeast that is capable of fermentation at over 5,300 feet. The brewery also makes schnapps, whiskey and cheeses. (Monstein brewery, Hauptstrasse 36, Davos Monstein; biervision-monstein.ch)

6 p.m.
2. Capuns, Pizokel, Oh My

For now, skip the fondue and try the lesser-known specialties this region, known as Bündnerland, produces. Those would be capuns, a kind of inverted dumpling made from dried meat, wheat flour, eggs and herbs wrapped in Swiss chard and cooked and served over a cream- or milk-based sauce; and pizokel, a dish somewhere between German spaetzle and a noodle-based hash, usually made from hand-cut buckwheat noodles, potatoes, dried meat, and spinach or chard. Most of the Swiss restaurants in town have these on their menus (15 to 30 francs), though the cafe at Schneider's (Promenade 68; schneiders-davos.ch), Bündnerstübli at the Central Sporthotel (Tobelmuehlestrasse 1; central-davos.ch/en/restaurant_bar.html), and the restaurant at the Hotel Alte Post (Berglistutz 4), are good places to start.

8 p.m.
3. Steamy, Starry Night

After the sun sets, skiers and others in need of pampering opt for a couple of hours of sauna, massage, swimming and general relaxation. One of the best places for this is eau-là-là (Promenade 90; eau-la-la.ch/index.cfm), a complex attached to the Davos Congress Center. Entrance to the pools — including a 25-meter swimming pool, an 80-meter slide, solariums and a heated outdoor pool — is 9 francs. For an additional 17 francs, you'll get access to the wellness area, which includes saunas, hot- and cold-water areas, silent rooms, solariums and outdoor hot-tubs, many with mountain views. Leave your modesty at the door: the wellness area is mixed sex and strictly a "naked zone."

SATURDAY

9 a.m.
4. Two-Horse Open Sleigh

Romantic clichés of the Swiss Alps tend to include the jingling bells, crunching snow and heavy blankets of an open, horse-drawn sleigh — and for good reason. Head out early while the sun still sits low in the horizon, and everything from the sky to the snow-covered buildings and trees take on blue-to-purple pastel hues. Starting from Davos Platz, near the train station, horse-drawn sleigh tours by Kutschenzentrale Davos, with a stop for food at a rustic local restaurant or mulled wine, range from as short as 45 minutes (70 francs for up to four people) to as long as four and a half hours (190 francs for up to four people) for a trip through the beautiful Sertig valley. Don't forget to bring extra layers against the cold.

Noon
5. Artist and Architects

Twenty years ago, the architects Annette Gigon and Mike Guyer built a museum of concrete, glass, steel and wood (12 francs) to house a large collection of works by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Today, visitors from around the world stop by the Kirchner Museum Davos (Promenade 82; kirchnermuseum.ch) as much for the building as for the paintings inside. Enjoy the interior space, illuminated by skylights, large windows with sweeping views and geometry of light and color. And then marvel at some of the paintings that kicked off the Expressionist movement — using visual distortions, as opposed to realistic portrayal, to express emotions.

1:30 p.m.
6. Big Ice

Every year since 1923 the Spengler Cup hockey championship has taken place at the Vaillant Arena near the Davos Sports Center, home of the much-loved HC Davos team. If you're lucky, you can catch a regular game. Or head outside to skate (free) or curl on the largest natural ice rink in Europe, covering an area of 193,750 square feet, with great views of the mountains in all directions.

3 p.m.
7. Magic Mountain

Take a ride (8 francs one way) on the "Magic Mountain" funicular (Talstation Oberestrasse; schatzalp.ch/p.cfm?s=12) from near the main promenade street in Davos to the Berghotel Schatzalp, formerly a sanitarium, built in 1898, and mentioned in Thomas Mann's "Magic Mountain." It takes only four minutes to ascend nearly 1,000 feet through a fairy-tale forest. As the sun gets lower, the mountaintops take on a golden hue, and a 45-minute walk along the groomed waterfall loop trail, through a 116-acre forest park, is pure peace. Afterward, warm up with coffee (4.50 francs) and cake (6.50 francs) at the cafe, or head to the hotel's red- and purple-illuminated X-Ray Bar, the sanitarium's old X-ray room, for a shot of schnapps (8 francs). There are three ways back to the valley: the funicular, the charming path through the forest, or you can rent a sled (10 francs) from the cafe or nearby kiosk and brave a 1.7-mile-long, groomed sledding trail that is floodlighted until 11 p.m. And yes, Mann wrote about this too.

6 p.m.
8. Fondue With a View

After a long day, there's nothing like fondue, and Davos has a few standout places to try this quintessential Swiss dish. The quirky, tiny Bistro Gentiana (Promenade 53; gentiana.ch) offers traditional cheese and meat fondues, including its signature version (39.50 francs) with mushrooms, dill, cubes of pork, bacon and pearl onions. Or head over to the trendy Pulsa Fonduestube (Talstrasse 3; hotelgrischa.ch) at the Grischa Hotel, where a long picture window perfectly frames the passing red and white Swiss trains. The décor — wood, warm lighting and various antler arrangements — is both modern and rustic. The boletus fondue (33 francs), with mushrooms, is spectacular, with hints of woody umami fungi perfectly balanced with the salty, slightly acid flavors of the cheese.

9 p.m.
9. Après and Après

The nighttime scene starts in the bars, like the divey Tijuana (Talstrasse 15, tijuanabar.ch), where you can test your ability to hammer a nail into a tree stump in one hit, or Chämi Bar (Promenade 83, 41-81-413-55-55), another popular watering hole. But the most crowd-pleasing place is EX Bar (Promenade 63; ex-bar-davos.ch) — all kitsch, from the crystal chandelier to the palm tree to the massive stuffed-animal moose hanging over the entrance. Or do as everyone else does and head to Pöstli Club (Promenade 42; poestliclub.ch) for all the seeing and being seen you can handle.

SUNDAY

11 a.m.
10. Kaffeeklatsch

There's no place to enjoy a good, simple breakfast or brunch, like KaffeeKlatsch (Promenade 72; 41-81-413-30-16). The centrally located two-floor cafe and coffee shop is easy to overlook from the street. Try to snag the corner table upstairs by the window, the one with the sofas. And try the salty, herby breads, or the thinly sliced fried potatoes, somewhere on the latke-hash brown continuum, called rösti (14.90 francs).

1 p.m.
11. Stock Up

Davos is part of the Graubünden, or Grisons, canton of Switzerland, and the people here are proud of the appellation. Bündnerfleisch, for instance, takes its name from the canton, and is a type of pressed, air-dried meat seasoned with white wine and herbs. You'll find bündnerfleisch, deer salsiz or other meat products (5 to 15 francs) at the small Bündnerland Davos shop (Promenade 73; buendnerland-davos.ch). Buy cheeses (around 3 francs and up for 100 grams) at Gourmet Kach (Promenade 74; 41-81-413-0805); truffles and pralines (around 10 francs for a small bag) from Schneider's confectionary; and schnapps like bündner chrüter (36 francs a liter) or röteli (which even has its own schlager song) from the Kindschi distillery shop (Seehornstrasse 13, Davos Dorf; kindschi.ch).

3 p.m.
12. Classic Swiss Village

Jump on any of the local trains headed from Davos to Klosters (second-class fare is free for overnight visitors with a hotel-issued visitor's card) for a spectacular 27-minute ride through pine forests and passes, with gorgeous views of tiny hamlets, homesteads, lakes and mountains. Then take an hour or two to walk around Klosters, where the setting gives off the classic Swiss village vibe — accented by Walser style, vaulted wood-roof buildings with white or wooden facades — that Davos itself mostly lacks.


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