off to another part of CH

for little boy's 15th birthday we had chosen a destination outside of our little canton of ticino, laax. going to an inside adventure activity(freestyle academy laax by the way). i loaded my car up with all foreigners. we live in a multiculti society eventhough it is a small place. us three dutchies, my danish friend an her two boys and a cute little scotsman, redheaded and full of freckles. we had a lovely drive over the lucomagno pass. stopped on top, in the middle of fog and the three younger boys had a run around on the stony hills. an atmosphere like in the lord of the rings. anything could break loose at any moment. we drove on down to disentis entering the famous skiing region of graubünden. what a change of surroundings compared to ticino. a wide open valley, with rather hills than mountains, and hardly any forests. all of us were amazed by the beauty of the to us unknown. laax, as a village, is nothing special. not a characteristic village centre, no nothing. just a place to start from for going skiing or hiking. the boys had a great time at the academy and showed off their international heritage by choosing english as the language in which they would get the introduction of the day. my friend and i went on a hiking trip over falera. it was so beautiful. what a view. rows and rows of mountians around us. i can remember that i went to ilanz, near laax, when i just came to CH in 1993, to look for a job. and i was so impressed by the stony walls that surrounded me, i went slightly claustrofobic. what i saw then, i saw with different eyes now. compared to ticino, this is wide open space. i hope i will have chance to visit this region again.