When it comes to planning a ski trip from Germany, there are so many options it can be overwhelming…and difficult to identify which locations are best, and which ones are best for my skill level (lots of “blues”). After lots of research and advice seeking, I narrowed it down to 4 locations – Solden, Grindelwald, St. Anton, and Mayrhofen. All of those areas had lots of lift options, a good amount of information, and seemed like fun ski-towns. From there, I pretty much went hotel searching for places that were pet friendly (we wanted to bring the pups) and were ski-in ski-out to the lifts (so we didn’t have to worry about driving and could get back to the dogs easily to let them out). Lots of hotels ended up being booked but luckily we ended up with an awesome hotel among the Otztal Alps in Hochsolden (just north of Solden, on the mountain).
The 6 hour drive wasn’t too bad until the end, when we were driving up switchbacks at 10pm in thick fog. I think I turned a 15 min drive into 30 min easily. That also deterred us from driving at all during the weekend but thankfully the villages have really great bus and taxi options that take you through different ski villages and up the mountain at reasonable prices. Thankfully, the drive home was in clear sunshine and felt a lot less scary.
The first day there was sunshine and a few clouds, perfect weather for skiing. There are several lifts close together so we were able to zig-zag up and down the mountain easily to try new spots. There were several ski schools on the mountain too where adorable little toddlers were learning to ski that we watched as we were riding on the lifts. After a couple of hours, we skied into one of the several lodges on the mountain for some refreshments and French fries.
The lodge was massive, with an upstairs and downstairs cafeteria and seating area as well as two extra bars on both floors (you could buy beer and wine with the food). We grabbed our food and sat outside to take in the views and sunshine while we regained some energy.
When we were finished skiing for the day, we headed back to the hotel and took the dogs out for their chance to play in the snow. Our dogs both hate getting wet with regular water but there is something about snow and ice that they are just obsessed with.
The second day the fog and clouds were so bad on the mountain that after one run we gave up in favor of safety. After hanging out with the dogs some more we headed to the AquaDome a couple of villages away (40 min by taxi and bus) for some heat and relaxation.
The AquaDome is a collection of ThermeBaths with the option to use the multiple saunas as well. Each pool (& sauna) is unique and has different features to it. Our favorite part (& the main reason we went) was the large outdoor pools that let you keep warm and relax while taking in the fresh air and gorgeous scenery. The salt water pool was our favorite because it had benches like beds that let you lay down while keeping your head out of the water so you could hear the music playing too. All of the pools were family friendly which is great if you have kids (and a little annoying if you don’t have kids and don’t want them splashing you…)
After the thermebaths we took the bus into the village to check out some of the apres-ski life which, at 6pm, was already happening. We hopped into a couple bars and both were filled with people singing and cheering to all of the songs, it was pretty fun. Unfortunately people smoke in bars here so we didn’t stay long because, gross. We walked around to a couple of shops to check out the newest tech in the ski/snowboard world and then caught the taxi back up the mountain to our hotel.
The last morning we were there we slept in before heading home and almost wished we had not when we saw what a perfect day it was on the slopes. It would have been great to get a couple last runs in before heading home but it was a long 6 hour drive ahead of us so we probably made the right choice to catch up on some sleep!
Solden ended up being everything we had hoped for in a ski trip, everything about it was really perfect. Since there are so many other places to see, we probably won’t head back there again because we like to keep trying new places
Xx
Kali