The kids just had a week off of school for the ski break. Yes they get a whole week off to go skiing. This is our 3rd year at the school and we hadn’t managed to go skiing on the actual ski break, until now. Well, sort of….
Instead of making a big trip to one of the famous ski resorts in Europe, we thought we would start the kids off easy at an indoor ski hall not too far from our home. Alpenpark in Neuss (also known as Jever Ski Halle) is about 2 hours from our house and had everything we needed for the kiddos first proper lesson.
You are able to rent all of your gear right there and pick-up (and return!) is in the locker room. So there is no lugging around of equipment. This was a welcome relief for this mom, who is the carrier of all things. You pick up your gear, get it on, walk through the turn-style and you are ready to go.
There is one large run and then a smaller kids/teaching area. We spent our time in the latter.
Gavin was tasked with the duty of instructor so we had a tag team approach. He would go in with one kiddo at a time and I would sit in the cafe with the other one until it was their turn to switch.
I did have to wrestle both children into their winter gear and boots but I think Gavin may have had the tougher of the two jobs. Ha!
Once the kiddos had enough of skiing for the day, we were able to use the sled hill that is also located inside.
The Park provides the sleds for free (no outside sleds allowed) and this area is included with your general admission.
We ended up staying at the park for the weekend. There is a regular hotel and there are “treehouse” family chalets. Unfortunately, this is the only picture I got of our treehouse.
Also attached to the Alpenpark is a playground, mini golf, Kletterpark (climbing park) and something called Funfussball. Funfussball appears to be like mini golf but played with a soccer ball. All of these things (minus the playground) were closed during our visit but would have been a welcome addition to our weekend.
We had a great weekend and the hotel was excellent. However, I think next time we will make this a one day trip. At 2 hours each way, it is a long day in the car but reasonable. This is an excellent location for beginner skiers and will most likely be our go-to option until the kids are ready for real mountain fun.