As we celebrate Thanksgiving Day in the United States, we at Spirited Navigators want to take a moment to express our gratitude for the life we are able to lead, the ability to take our dream idea(s) into reality by launching Spirited Navigators and for the support of our family, friends and all of you, without whom, Spirited Navigators would not be what it is today…and what it has yet to become.
Each year, we give thanks by going on travel to somewhere new which enables us to expand our understanding of the world we live in and our fellow citizens. We are truly blessed to have the opportunity to do that and as a result, we’d like to share two of our best Thanksgiving travel memories with you today.
Kapil’s Favorite Thanksgiving Trip: Zermatt, Switzerland
Zermatt is the epitome of romance, but I was there on a solo trip. I wasn’t interested in romanticizing the town. I wanted to snowboard in front of Matterhorn; that was my real goal. Not many people are able to do this as it is quite an expensive activity in an even more expensive resort town. I’ve always been fascinated about what it felt like to snowboard, and to be able to do it in front of Matterhorn totally elevated the experience for me to unparalleled heights.
Most people come to Zermatt to have a lavish vacation, many are honeymooners. Meanwhile, here I am, a young solo traveler living a 5-star life. There is something so refreshingly freeing about it all.
With all these glorious adventures, I ended up terribly injuring my right foot while snowboarding. While this was my first time, it did not deter me from enjoying the sport thanks to the overwhelmingly generous hospitality of the people of Zermatt, especially the staff at The Omnia hotel.
I plan to return to Zermatt soon and I can’t wait to do it with my Spirited Navigators partner to relive the experience minus the injury.
Saadia’s Favorite Thanksgiving Trip: Davos, Switzerland
Davos is what I refer to as my unexpected enchanted city. It’s not anyone’s first pick when choosing a snow filled city to visit in Switzerland. It doesn’t rank on the top 10 list of Swiss Alps towns. Davos doesn’t invite you the way Grindelwald, Montreux, Lucerne and certainly not the way Zermatt does. It’s different. It’s unconventional. It’s raw.
I didn’t know what to ask of Davos. It was a surprise trip to an unknown city. The planner in me wasn’t prepared to visit a place without a list of things to do and activities to check off. My OCD was about to kick in. But it didn’t. Instead, Davos took care of me. It led me through its snowy, mountainous paths to picturesque hikes, the Davos-ian horses took me sledding around the valley showing me its simplistic beauty and the mountain top of Parsenn reminded me that I did not need to be a pro skier to fit into what is otherwise seen as a ski town. It also helps that the best (ironically also the most expensive) fondue I’ve ever had in my life was in a little restaurant on the foothills of the mountains in Davos.
This small town taught me to let my surrounding guide me. I no longer needed to plan out every hour of the day before visiting a place. I could go to a place and just be. For that, I was ever grateful to Davos and forever will be.
Now it might seem like we planned this post out in advance, especially since we both picked Switzerland, but we honestly didn’t! We asked each other totally off the cuff what our favorite Thanksgiving travel memory was and our individual answers happened to be of the same country. It’s not just a testament to the beauty of this country that everyone knows of, even if they’ve never been here, but also of our love for the land of the Swiss. It should be said that we have collectively been to Switzerland over 25 times and are official Switzerland Travel Experts recognized by the Switzerland Tourism board!
Wishing all of you have a very happy and safe Thanksgiving!
