(FSC members Jim Down and Catherine Moncure traveled with the Pentagon Ski Club to Budapest, Hungary and Davos, Switzerland for the Blue Ridge Ski Council's 2009 Eurofest. Following is Catherine's report on her experience. Mike Redding also participated in the Eurofest with the Ski Club of Washington DC. That trip included a three night stay in Paris prior to the week in Davos.)

Be careful what you ask for because you might get it. We asked for snow when we went to Davos and boy did we get it. It snowed everyday! The little Swiss village was picturesque and charming with snow stacked on the roofs of the buildings but they are masters at clearing it away and all the walkways and roads were clear. Our hotel was within walking distance so we were able to walk downtown.

Skiing was challenging since much of it was done in flat light. That didn�t deter the hardy ski buffs that we are. When the sun did come out and you could see the runs it was beautiful. Most of it was above tree line so the views of the Alps were magnificent. There were slopes for all levels and four mountains to chose from, all within striking distance of the hotel with transportation to and from the lifts, complements of the hotels.

We spent one day skiing in St. Moritz. We took the train from Davos to St. Moritz, 1 � hours. The scenery was well worth it but again we were skiing in a snow storm. We quit early and walked around the town.

Another day was spent going to Lake Lugano. We went by private bus and by the time we got there the sun was out and there was no sign of snow anywhere. IT is a small town situated beside the lake with 63% in Switzerland and 37% in Italy. We spent our time roaming the town, walking beside the lake and visiting the churches and museums.

Prior to Davos we spent 4 days in Budapest. A grand city with history that carries you from the Ottoman Empire through the Austro-Hungarian rule to the communist take over and finally into the European Union. Because it didn�t get much bombing during the war the old buildings still exist and have been made into art museums and cultural centers. We took a private tour around the city on the first day to get our bearings then explored it on our own. The city is made up of two separate towns on either side of the Danube, Buda the hilly side and Pest the flat side where our hotel was. The metro is easy to use and we visited the parks in the outlying areas. The evenings were taken up (for those who wished a cultural evening) with the Opera and concerts. The opera house was a luxurious building with carvings, gold leaf everywhere and painted ornate ceilings. We saw �Madam Butterfly� one night and �Il Trovatore� the next. Four days wasn�t enough to see everything.

On the way back to Munich we stopped off at Fussen to visit Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria. It is the fairy tale castle you see everywhere, built by King Ludwig 11 as a retreat.

The flights to and from Switzerland were uneventful and all in all the trip was great fun.

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