Welcome to the Lumi Experiences blog, where we share stories and tips related to our trips. It’s more than just a collection of stories though. Scroll through the posts or click the dropdown menus below to search by country, topic, and year for updates about upcoming trips, travel tips or just to check out the photos. Enjoy!
“At a time of year when sunshine is rare, the skier leaves behind gloomy winter days in the city and finds enjoyment in the open country. Bright light and fresh air, as well as physical activity within a beautiful landscape, are the basis for people’s enjoyment of skiing and for its health benefits.”
So begins the International Ski Federation (FIS) Mainau Manifesto.
Read MoreYour preparation the week before the big race will not help you have the best race of your life; leave that to the other 51 weeks. The week before is for you to enjoy. It’s the best week of the year, when you can enjoy the fitness you have worked so hard to achieve. Planning your training, meals, sleep, equipment and travel will help you prepare, so you can glide to the start line with confidence. Ready to fly.
First, there is a fundamental question that will help keep the big event in perspective.
Read MoreThis Lumi Experiences self-guided trip testimonial was written by guest Kort Longenbach about a trip he took with his family over the New Years holiday in 2020. Kort is also the Board Chair of the Mansfield Nordic Club in Vermont. You can find the original post on the Mansfield Nordic Club blog.
Read MoreLumi Experiences is excited to announce its recognition as an official tour operator of the Worldloppet.
The Worldloppet is an international sports federation of cross-country ski marathons in 20 different countries. The aim of Worldloppet is to promote the sport of cross-country skiing, by focusing on popular skiing through ski events around the world. Lumi Experiences aim to bring people together and facilitate the best cross country ski experiences possible is on the same track as the Worldloppet.
Read MoreChad Salmela is a man of many words, in many languages. He is perhaps best known for his jubilant “Here comes Diggins!” commentary at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. Those who have met Chad know that he has a talent for talking. We featured Chad’s three tips for learning a new language last week.
Read MoreA few tips for learning a language, from Olympic commentator, Chad Salmela.
Read MoreOver the past three years, increasingly more guests have been bringing skin skis on their Lumi Experiences ski vacations and we have learned a lot.
Read MoreBut it’s only September! That’s right. The world’s largest folk festival starts in September and goes until the first weekend in October in Munich, Germany. The first Oktoberfest took place in 1810, to celebrate the wedding of Princess Theresa to Bavarian Prince Ludwig. The party was so popular that the celebration became an annual tradition, starting earlier and earlier to draw out the party and take advantage of Munich’s notoriously good weather in late-September. The Theresien Wies’n is the meadow, named after Queen Theresa, that hosts the annual event--just a short walk from the cobblestone streets of Munich’s old town.
Read MoreAltenmarkt, Austria sits in the valley below the face of the Dachstein mountain. The lush green valley is home to 4,000 inhabitants and about as many grazing brown cows. On the edge of town, past the cobbled pedestrian streets lies the Atomic - Salomon ski factory. It is not hard to understand why this valley might attract skiers, surrounded by alpine ski hills on almost all sides.
I stopped in to check out the facility and get a better understanding of how skis are produced. Jean-Marc Draeyer, Salomon’s head of race ski production, took time away from selecting skis for the world’s top racers and specialty Nordic shops to take me on a tour of the facility. Photos are not allowed, but the process was enlightening, especially how the flex is literally baked into the ski to perform for specific conditions.
Read MoreIn the event preparation cycle, event organizers often build new infrastructure at least a winter before their big event. Oberstdorf, Germany will host the 2021 Nordic World Championships for the third time (1987, 2005). Oberstdorf is best known as a ski jumping venue, familiar to many as the “agony of defeat” jump; the intro to “Wide World of Sports” when Vinko Bogataj falls on the inrun. The ski flying hill is home to at least 20 world record jumps and the ski jump venue is the first stop on the annual Four Hills Tournament. The cross country trails in Oberstdorf are also a regular stop on the Tour de Ski. In 2020, however, there will be no Tour de Ski in Oberstdorf, as they are hosting a full World Cup weekend in late January, as a test event for the 2021 World Championships.
Read MoreHappy 4th of July! To celebrate, Lumi Experiences is announcing a special trip to the Minneapolis World Cup, the first World Cup in the United States in almost 20 years.
The events are being hosted at Wirth Park, one of the largest urban parks in the country. The Loppet Foundation has grown cross country skiing in Minneapolis for close to 20 years, hosting events such as the City of Lakes Loppet, which brings in over 10,000 participants.
Read MoreThe International Olympic Committee announced this week that the 2026 Winter Olympic Games will be hosted by Milan & Cortina, Italy … the first time the Winter Games will be held in central Europe since 2006 in Torino, Italy. Although Milan and Cortina are around 250 miles apart, the IOC cites the sustainability of Milan-Cortina’s bid as one of the main reasons for the decision. They will use many of the existing venues in northern Italy to host events.
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