On impact, he uttered those warm and friendly words “silly cow” – not exactly the sort of experience that inspires confidence in a beginner. The freedom and space were wonderful, the landscape striking in its white emptiness.At the weekend the place got busier but not by much And because there is room to ski, everybody is so polite. When we visited in the middle of April, there were few others on the slopes enjoying the still-abundant snow So, no queues for lifts or lunch At times, we found ourselves completely on our own. Which is why Geilo markets itself as so family friendly – that and the fact that amongst the 34 downhill pistes there is a wide choice of blues and greens making it an ideal place to learn to ski.The real beauty of Geilo, though, is the splendid isolation.
Either side of the valley are two mountains covered in pistes and whichever route you take, you end up back in Geilo There’s little fear of you or your children getting lost. Geilo is in the heart of Norway’s Winterland region, between the cities of Bergen and Oslo. Set in the middle of a valley, by a beautiful frozen lake, it is a cosy sort of place. The only one whose holiday turned out as predicted was the toddler.One reason I enjoyed it so much was because of the resort itself. Yet the girls, despite their DNA, showed a marked preference for the creche rather than the slopes. The husband did spend some time on his own – but not much, because I took to the slopes in a way I had not foreseen. I would spend time relaxing with a book or hanging out with the youngest.
The girls would put their genetic heritage to good use, quickly becoming confident skiers bombing down the slopes.
Holidays rarely turn out as expected. My expectations were that the native would go off and indulge in a bit of “proper” skiing – cross country. Mother skied a couple of times over 15 years ago – she got the hang of it but wouldn’t lose sleep if she never did it again. Children: two girls aged 5 and 6 first time on skis, and one boy coming up to his second birthday who’s booked into morning sessions at the resort creche.
Father is from Norway, was “born in skis”, thinks downhill skiing is for wimps, and is bemused to be going on a package holiday to his native country. Chosen destination: the resort of Geilo in Norway, staying at the Highland Park Hotel for a week Father, mother, and three small children. Simon Calder Varosligeti Mujegpalya: 00 36 1 364 0013; opening is weather-dependent but usually late November-February.. Let me set the scene: a family of five about to embark on their first skiing holiday together. The grandstand is a glowing confection of a Hapsburg palace, and the mobile experience is best enjoyed on a crisp midwinter evening under dazzling floodlights – sponsored, in these enterprising days, by a mobile phone company.
This outdoor rink is a boating lake in summer, but in winter freezes into a wide oval that is ideal terrain for skaters, however unsteady. The main venue was, and still is, the nigh-unpronunceable Varosligeti Mujegpalya (asking for directions to the City Park ice rink should get you there). City Park is the rectangular slab of indulgence that restrains the north-west expansion of Budapest. Communism did not crush its heroic dimensions and architecture, nor the propensity of the citizens to celebrate winter.
