Are you feeling it? That deep, in-your-bones, dreadful winter low. It doesn’t help that the normal things we would go out and do aren’t obvious options thanks to a persistent global pandemic (who knew we would still be talking about this 2 years later?). So we’re rounding up some ideas to help make our weekends a bit more varied and perhaps inject some life into what could otherwise become a pattern of monotony. So let’s get to it, shall we?
Go for a wintry walk
Only 30 minutes from Lausanne, you can be in the middle of a scene straight from the Chronicles of Narnia–only void of white witches (and replaced with sometimes grouchy early risers fighting for parking spaces).
There’s a walking/raquette/multirecreational path at Les Paccots just below the Les Glys ski school meeting point that takes you through forests, out into open fields, and into an impressive expansive valley that takes your breath away. After your walk, head up to the Auberge du Lac des Joncs where they have a Covid-friendly takeaway set up with beer, burgers, frites, crepes, and more.
Other wintry walks we like are at Sauvebelin, Chalet à Gobet, and the lakeside walk from Ouchy to Lutry.
Snowshoeing & Walking Trails in Les Paccots
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Rearrange or re-imagine a room in your home
We all have that room or that corner in our homes that requires attention, or that we’ve made ‘functional’ but we don’t actually enjoy.
Why not start dreaming about ways you can reinvent that space? Sometimes it only requires simple rearranging of what you already have to make the room feel refreshed again. Think about adding some new artwork, a couple of plants, or a new side table, a shelf, or some thrifted treasures from second-hand shops around our area.
Our friend Sofia Clara turned our eyes to Emmaüs Etagnières, a second-hand store 20 minutes north that is often called Ali Baba’s cave because of the variety of treasures to be found there.
Image from Communauté Emmaüs Etagnières
Have a date day or night in
It’s an obvious one, but still good nonetheless. If you’re tired of preparing meals yourself, why not leave it to the experts (and support small businesses while you’re at it!). We love the food at GreenUp, as it’s super fresh, healthy, and packed full of flavor, and they deliver meals to your door with their LiveUp program.
If you want to plan dinner and a movie, check out our post about restaurants that are offering takeaway options (double check since this list was created at the start of the pandemic).
Tip: Instead of endlessly scrolling Netflix in the moment, brainstorm and pick out a movie during the week that you’re excited to watch, but don’t watch it until the weekend comes around.
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Start a new tradition or routine
We are all about keeping things simple, cutting yourself some slack–but we’ve also found that trying something new, even just one thing, and trying to make it part of your regular routine is quite uplifting and can be fun. Go for an early morning chat/walk with a friend and grab coffees to-go at a local café, set up a game night call with family, or order a paint-by-numbers book and listen to a podcast while painting one evening.
This autumn we started a weekly morning run/walk with our kids to Zymi for cardamom buns that we appropriately called the “Bun Run.” It’s now on hold because of early morning ski school, but come spring you’ll see us running for those buns again!
We were also introduced to the painfully addictive routine of cold water swimming. We now go weekly for an icy plunge in our lake, and the effects are transformative. We have more energy, feel happier (it’s proven to help with depression), feel relaxed, and just feel proud to push through something undesirable at first.
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Make an indulgent meal from scratch
Maybe you’re a self-proclaimed chef, or maybe you boil pasta, pour over some canned sauce and call it a success. Regardless of your skill level or taste, sometimes it’s fun to step outside of your comfort zone and experiment with flavors and methods of cooking.
Doing the research to find a dish, then sourcing ingredients from specialty stores throughout the city is half the fun. You could even commission friends to cook the same thing and FaceTime them during the process. Laugh about the failures, revel in the successes, and dig in and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Sometimes the best bites are the ones we worked harder for.
We’ve enjoyed new recipes like Sage Fritters, ramen bowls, and an indulgent white truffle pasta (you can order white truffles from TERRA when in season, but there are loads of other delicacies and fine foods to browse on their site).
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Other Ideas:
- Pour yourself a drink in a to-go tumbler, and head to Cafe du Grütli for the city-famous “hot fondue.” A generous baguette, hollowed out and filled with viande sechée, cornichons, and mouth-watering fondue, biting into one of these treasures is like a warm hug. You can also get local white wine or their famous vin chaud to accompany your baguette.
- Head to Lavaux, bundle up, bring a glass and follow the wine walk. You can find the whole article here which gives you a specific route and places to stop along the way.
- Invest in a new piece of kitchen equipment. Now is the time to get that mixer, that espresso maker, or those new knives you’ve been wanting. We bought an Ooni pizza oven several months ago, and we are totally ruined & may never order pizza from a restaurant ever again.
Got any other ideas? We’d love to hear about them!