Not so long ago, we could reliably count on not seeing anyone – besides each other and a handful of mice – from October until May, although it seems funny now to remember those days of preparing for winter by scrubbing out the 30 year old-communist era (error?) wood-stove and hoiking a sofa into the kitchen, ready then for the long, quiet, dark days of winter.  I have a long standing note to self, to write the journal entry titled “In which I put my Head in an Oven.”  Just about cleaning, you understand.  Anyhow, gone are the days, as I was saying, and these days, we feel luxurious just having a breather between guests, even now in December.

Some of the nicest winter guests are the ski tour-ers, who at least threaten to expand my lazy winter horizons.  ONE of these winters I’ll learn how to do ONE of those . . . . snow things.  In the meantime, they get up cheerful, disappear all day, and come home to gleefully gobble up whatever you make them for dinner.  So nice!  Peaceful guests.  Up till now they’ve been an intrepid few, but in case you’d like to join their growing numbers, we are now offering . . . .

The Valbona Winter 2014-15 Ski Week

8 Days, 7 Nights (6 Days of Skiing)

Includes: Transport to and from Prishtina Aeroport (yes I know no one spells that like that anymore, but it looks so much more romantic!), Accommodation, Breakfast, Packed Lunch & Dinners, Daily Transport and Local Ski Guide.

Considering we still have snow in the Accursed Mountains in July, we ought to have good skiing in winter – I mean, We’ve Got Snow.  If this is the sort of thing you like, I imagine it’s probably difficult to find places with less, and after snow, what we’ve got a lot of is . . . . Nothing! No infrastructure, no ski lifts, not many tourists . . . . just lots and lots of gorgeous mountains and tons and tons (literally) of Snow. After these years, we’re a bit better at predicting how to make skiiers’ whole experience . . . . memorable (hint: Great Slopes, First Descents, Heat at Home, and Too Much Food). So for the first time ever, we’re offering a ‘Winter Ski Package.’ Spend a week here skiiing. We’ll collect you from the aeroport, feed you (silly!), drive you to trailheads, provide you with our own local ski nut as guide, and send you home again in one warm and cozy piece.  We’ve even budgeted extra to throw in a celebratory feast or two, fireworks (because I LOVE them) and the odd side trip out of the valley.  Just in case you get bored.  We also make our own marshmallows (or rather, Lena makes ’em) . . . . and bonfires.