Vail offers wintertime Bavarian flair without every leaving Colorado

Looking for a quick getaway to a European mountain village? You can experience that without ever leaving the state. Just head to Vail. Stroll along the cobblestone streets of Vail Village, cross timbered bridges, view Bavarian-styled buildings and dine on Raclette and fondue for a taste of old-world ambiance reminiscent of the alpine villages of Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland.

Vail was designed to resemble an Alpine village, says Jen Mason, executive director of the Colorado Snow Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in Vail. Many Colorado ski towns grew out of former mining towns and still reflect that Old West style, but Vail was purpose-built as a ski town with European influences.

Upon returning home from Europe after World War II, Mason explains, Pete Siebert and fellow 10th Mountain Division soldiers sought mountain locations where they could build ski areas and towns reminiscent of those they found so beautiful in the Alps.

The world-renowned ski resort wasn’t even a blip on the map in 1957 when Siebert climbed to the top of what is now Vail Mountain (11,570 feet). He looked over the expansive back side into the wilderness and knew his search was over. You can imagine his enthusiasm as that vantage point revealed what are now known as the seven “legendary back bowls of Vail.”

“You can’t talk about Colorado skiing without talking about the 10th Mountain Division,” Mason says. Like Aspen, Arapahoe Basin and Keystone, Vail is the result of a passion for skiing that developed during their  founders’ Army training in Colorado and wartime service in the Alps. At Vail, in particular, “People can see how this all (Vail Village) ties to Bavaria and how our roots came about,” Mason says.

Ski instructors lured from Europe were among the first residents of Vail when it opened in 1962. Renowned Austrian ski racer Pepi Gramshammer and his wife, Sheika, who descended from a family of Austrian innkeepers, built one of the first alpine-inspired lodges and restaurants in 1964. They named it Gasthof Gramshammer, which translates from Austrian to “a house for guests.”

The exteriors of the Gasthof and other village buildings reveal intricate, carved wood features, wall paintings, detailed stone and plaster work, and other special touches of alpine culture like the flower-filled window boxes that brighten the village in spring and summer.

Nearby, the Faessler family has been fine-tuning the guest experience at their Sonnenalp Hotel (sonnenalp.com) since opening its doors in 1979.