A small, inconspicuous beam of light makes its way into the cosy apartment. I slowly draw back the curtain – wow. What a blue, what a contrast against the brilliant white snow. The day begins in a truly regal way. Plan B – which is conquering the winter forest right behind the building in new snowshoes while snow romantically falls – will have to wait today. Off to the piste. As my family snoozes in the comfortable beds, I quickly pop on my jogging pants to get fresh ingredients for our breakfast from the farm shop. A little later, we are in the ski room slipping into our cosy warmed ski boots. What a treat. Added to the guaranteed sun on this southern side of the Alps, and I make it the third – or the fourth? – time I’ve smiled today already, and the whole day’s still ahead of me. It’s probably about 4 metres to the ski bus. It’s full steam ahead in the morning. Will I be able to ski all 112 km of piste by midday? Let’s go a little faster today, my lovely wife is practicing in snowboard school. They’re really cool pistes here. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve smiled today.

At lunch, we choose the Italian restaurant with wonderful Mediterranean food on the even more wonderful sun terrace. I quickly post a few pictures online – my work colleagues will want to be informed of course! Ah, there it is again – this time a slightly sly smile on my face. (Where’s that emoji with the sunglasses?) Astrid and the children suggest going back to nawu in the early afternoon. The kids have made friends and want to hang out in the play area. Astrid and I relax in the indoor pool and sauna.

Walking to the apartment (although I could have taken the lift), I spot some cake and detect the smell of coffee. Not helping my weight loss plans, the calories I said goodbye to carving out those hard turns have returned. Too tempting, that holiday feeling took over. Unwinding was the top priority though!

We’re slowly entering the last part of this wonderfully satisfying day. Today we’re visiting the nawu restaurant. I like having the freedom to choose. Yesterday I grabbed some tasty treats from the farm shop and celebrated with the family in comfort in the apartment. Today we’re dressing up and spoiling ourselves with excellent cuisine. The kids left after a few minutes and a few snacks…did I hear that right? They’ve decided to hold a cannonball competition in the indoor pool? The peace and quiet is good too, I wanted to talk to my wife about something anyway. Wasn’t able to though, we met those nice people at the bar again. Maybe tomorrow. Tomorrow, when we’ll meander through the winter forest, pulling a sledge behind us – the children will be at nawu with Doro, this hilarious children’s entertainer – and we’ll walk through the snow, holding hands and talking, enjoying this beautiful part of the world. But I won’t tell my colleagues at work how I found it. That’s my secret.