Swiss Heartland Untour
by Carl and Myrna Peters, Silver Spring, MD
July 21, 22
We started today (21st) with a visit to the imaging lab to have Myrna undergo a sonogram and an upper gastrointestinal test to try to determine why she has felt "poorly" the last several days. She had spent 4 hours at Holy Cross Hospital emergency room on Saturday only to arrive at no definitive conclusion. At an appointment with our family doctor on Monday he suggested that we cancel our trip to Switzerland until the cause of her problem could be determined. The tests today all turned out to be negative and we made our decision to travel just a little after lunch time. Our flight was scheduled to depart Dulles International at 6:05 PM. "Scheduled" was an important word. It was a goal. Storms up and down the east coast kept us on the ground for 2 1/2 hours. And, that's sitting in the plane because we boarded at 5:15. My brother and sister-in-law welcomed us to Meiringen, where we shared an apartment with them for the next week, several hours late. Grocery shopping and catching up with family (Ron and Margaret had been in Switzerland for 2 weeks before our arrival) kept us up until a reasonable bedtime.THURSDAY, JULY 23
Today we got an early start for Wengen and a walk that we take each time we visit Switzerland. Trains got us to Wengen promptly but we were delayed on Wengen's main street because Myrna and Margaret have trouble passing the clothing store just behind the Hotel Eiger where Geiger clothing is sold.After only a slight delay we took the cablecar up the cliff face to Mannlichen. The clearing skies gave us some great chances for photographs of the Lauterbrunnen valley, the Lauberhorn, the Eiger, etc. This high walk presents great views toward Grindelwald and Grosse Scheidegg at the bottom of the Wetterhorn's north face. The sandwiches we picked up at Migros this morning tasted great when we paused for lunch at a trailside bench.
Our walk took us about 1 1/4 hours to reach Kleine Scheidegg where we were greeted by the crowds of tourists that don't get far from train stations and shops. Of course, Kleine Scheidegg is high on a ridge in a little saddle and serves as a point where those visiting the Jungfraujoch catch the spectacular train up through the tunnel within the Eiger. But, we caught the train down the mountain to Grindelwald, changed there to another to get us to Interlaken and train home to Meiringen.
FRIDAY, JULY 24
Myrna was not feeling well this morning and so we stayed home while Ron and Margaret traveled to Lauterbrunnen. They took that opportunity to walk the valley floor from Lauterbrunnen down along the Lutschine in the direction of Interlaken to Wilderswil.Later in the day Myrna seemed to recover from her "spell" and she prepared a nice dinner for us of salad, leek and potato soup accompanied by that great Swiss bread.
SATURDAY, JULY 25
Because the weather today was threatning we decided to journey to Thun but left open the possibility that clearing skies would give us the opportunity to do some walking.At Thun we explored the old part of town with its narrow streets and did a little window shopping and then had a nice lunch at the Alt Stadt Tea room just a short distance from the town square just below the castle that sits atop the hill above the old town.
Clearing skies encouraged us to do some walking. We took the train from Thun to Kandersteg at the head of the Kander river. The road stops at Kandersteg and auto traffic must be loaded onto railroad cars to proceed through the Lotschberg Tunnel to Goppenstein and proceed into the Rhone valley.
We enjoyed a walk of about 1 1/2 hours back down the valley in the direction of Frutigen. The path followed the river most of the way, through forests and skirting open fields, passing some great old wood chalets before reaching the Blausee. This Blue Lake looked inviting but we were unable to visit because a check of the timetables indicated that we might be unable to make connections to get us home to Meiringen.
We had dinner this evening at the plaza just behind the bahnhof. This evening several restaurants have combined to entertain tourists and townspeople alike with music from the town band and the local men's yodeling club. And, of course, table were set up in the closed off street to serve drinks and a limited menu. Myrna had some grilled pork and the rest of us had sausages and rosti--all washed down with beer.
SUNDAY, JULY 26
We were sleepyheads this morning and got a late start on one of our most favorite walks. To get to Planplatten high on the ridge of mountain behind Meiringen we took the large cablecar up to Reuti, the smaller 4-person cabins further up to Magisalp, and then the 2-person chairlift up to Planplatten. This last leg of the journey is above the tree line and carried us across a large ski bowl that is populated by lots of cows during the summertime. The lift is silent and we were serenaded by the cowbell chorus punctuated occasionally by the shrill whistles of marmots - they look like groundhogs to me.The views from Magisalp of the Rosenlaui valley, the Wetterhorn and of the Eiger beyond is breathtaking. But, the views of those sights from Planplatten are even more impressive and you can look westward to see the Brienzersee.
The path we followed from Planplatten to Balmeregghorn can be a little intimidating if you are fearful of open heights. The wanderweg skirts along a steep mountainside and crosses a little snowfield just before a fairly steep ascent to Balmeregghorn. Just steep enough to get your blood pumping but not long enough to be discouraging.
At Balmeregghorn we took the single chairlift down to the Melchsee, walked a few hundred yards and took a gondola up a steep cliff to another ski area at Bonistock. Here we watch the launching of a couple of parasailers as they jumped off the mountainside before having lunch at the restaurant at the top of the lift.
After fortifying ourselves with a hardy lunch we walked along the clifftops down to Melchseefrutt. This little village is quite isolated and the summer vistors are mainly walkers and fisherman who cast their lines in the Melchsee or the Tannensee. It's our understanding that this spot is quite crowded in the winter with skiers. But whoever comes to this village must arrive by cable car from Stockalp which is located several hundred feet lower. There is a narrow road with many switchbacks but it's quite inconvenient to use because it's one-way. Up only for 15 minutes and down only for the next 15.
From Stockalp we took the bus down the valley, past the village of Melchtal to Sarnen where we caught the train back home to Meiringen over the Brunig Pass. There is a beautiful baroque church in Melchtal and a convent whose nuns raise money by selling the items they produce on their weaving looms. Most years we visit here and then walk the wanderweg to Flueli-Ranft, another small village that was the home of Bruder Claus. Bruder Claus is revered by the Swiss because of his having proposed a compromise solution to a conflict that threatened to disrupt the federation.
MONDAY, JULY 27
This morning we rode the postal bus from Meiringen up the scenic road toward the Susten pass as far as Gadmen. During many winter months when the pass may be closed by snow Gadmen is as far as the bus travels. It's a nice little hamlet in a beautiful valley.At 9:45 we started walking back down the valley on wanderwegs leading us to Innertkirchen. The wanderweg signs indicate the walking time to be 3 hours and 15 minutes. We didn't expect to finish it that quickly considering our ambling gait, stops to gawk and a pause for lunch. We'd stopped at the Migros grocery store for apples, iced tea and sandwiches from the deli section on our way to the bus station.
Since there are no water closets along this path we had to make-do, not a problem for Ron or me. Myrna found a large woodpile that made a perfect screen but Margaret asserted that she had never gone outdoors and never would. But she did - in a tunnel that carried the wanderweg under the roadway. She had managed to hold it for almost two hours before Ron convinced her the she really could go when no bathroom was present.
We returned to Meiringen from Innertkirchen by postal bus and prepared for dinner "out." Idyll, the company the arranges our apartment, was hosting their clients at a dinner at the Gletscherblick Hotel in Goldern. We enjoyed the meal of smoked pork chop, green beans, small roasted potatoes and a tossed salad. And the amazing part was that the waiters returned again and again to our tables offering second helpings of everything from large serving dishes.
Dinner was followed by entertainment by a group that sang, yodeled, and played the alphorn. Contests with a crossbow and playing the alphorn and some singing by the whole crowd ended the evening.
TUESDAY, JULY 28
Today's weather was not suitable for any sustained outdoor activities so we did some shopping in Brienz and Interlaken and then returned home to Meiringen to prepare for departure from this apartment, Myrna and I moving a few blocks to the Gerber apartment and Ron and Margaret preparing to return home to the U.S.If you fly SwissAir you can take advantage of fly-luggage. You take your luggage to the local train station in the afternoon of the day before you depart. For Sfr 20/bag your luggage will be sent ahead and you won't see it again until you arrive at the airport in the U.S. to go through customs. Very convenient not having to schlep luggage on the train and through the airport in Zurich.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 29
Ron and Marg left by the 7:54 AM train planning to arrive in Zurich at least two hours before their 12:05 flight to Washington.Myrna and I traveled by train and bus to reach Axalp, a small village high on the mountainside overlooking lake Brienz. The train ride from Meiringen has become routine for us but the bus ride to this village we'd not visited before was pure excitement. The bus climbs the steep mountainside with lots of switchbacks and steep views down to the lake that would cause rapid heartbeats in a person with acrophobia.
This little village was nearly deserted with most visitors being walkers. But, in the winter this is a busy ski resort. Many beautiful chalets stand empty in the summer but are used mainly in the ski season. A couple hotels were closed for the summer season but we stopped at the end of the bus line at the Hotel Axalp and had our lunch of a tasty desert and coffee.
Later in the afternoon we moved into our new apartment on Kirchgasse. The apartment is newly renovated with very modern furniture, beautiful kitchen and bath, great beds, a small balcony with a view of the Reichenbach Falls.
Once we'd settled in the apartment we walked the block and a half to Schulhausgasse where our friends, the Lees from Manassas, VA, have an apartment. We had a couple glasses of wine with them and then went to dinner ath the Krystal Restaurant near the Hotel du Sauvage.
THURSDAY, JULY 30
We arose to great weather. As the day progressed the temperature was just right--not hot enough to produce a sweat even on our slightly uphill walk.The 8:22 postal bus took us up the Rosenlaui Valley to Schwarzwaldalp where we changed to a private bus carried us on up to the head of the valley at a low pass at the bottom of the north face of the Wetterhorn. The air was so clear and free of haze that we spent 15 minutes or so getting great photos of the Wetterhorn, the Eiger and Grindelwald, down in the valley.
Before starting our walk we stopped for hot chocolate at the berghotel here at Grosse Scheidegg. We left the hotel at 10 AM and two hours later we arrived at First, a little higher than the beginning of our walk and almost directly above Grindelwald. This is one of our favorite walks because of the views of two glaciers, the mountains and the gentle Swiss cows that amble across the path. We saw some Steinbock fairly close to the path but a little higher on the mountain.
We had not packed a lunch for a picnic today so we enjoyed a nice salad on the sun terrace of the restaurant at First. This is a first-rate place for enjoying the mountains, the views, the parasailers launching a hundred yards from the restaurant, the crows begging food off your plates. We returned to Grindelwald by way of the 30 minute long cable car ride and then took the train to Interlaken and then on to Meiringen.
FRIDAY, JULY 31
The weather today was iffy. So we decided to travel to Lenk to take a walk that could easily be aborted if the weather should turn bad. Upon reaching Lenk we found it to be cold and misty so we just explored that little town a little and picked up a ham sandwich for our lunch. We ate that on the train back to Zweisimmen.In Zweisimmin we found a lovely church, picked up some Victorinox knives for gifts at a local hardware store and had a nice dessert of coffee and apricot tart. A fairly uneventful day visiting new territory. And the dinner of bratwurst, rosti and fendant in our apartment capped off the day.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 1
We had a thunderstorm during the night and when we arose at 5:30 AM rain was falling lightly. We took an early bus to Engstlenalp in the hope that the rain would stop and we would be able to walk.Engstlenalp is not much more than a cluster of cheesemakers' huts, a mountain hotel alongside a beautiful lake at the head of a rugged valley. Just above the lake is the Jochpass which separates this valley from the one where Engleberg is located.
We had coffee and hot chocolate in the restaurant before starting our walk. The path is fairly level through the gathering of cheesemakers' huts, crosses a small stream at the base of a spectacular waterfall and then gradually rises along the face of a cliff. Once over the cliff the slope is less preciptous the next half mile or so before reaching Tannalp.
Tannalp is well known for the small berghotel there where they serve apple streudel with vanilla sauce. Of course we had to stop there. Then we continued our walk up to and around the Tannensee then sloping down to the Melchsee and the village of Melchsee-Frutt. Here we caught the cable car down through the clouds to Stockalp and the bus to Sarnen. Then home again by train over the Brunigpass.
This evening's celebration of Swiss National Day was somewhat disappointing. The entertainment was very Americanized--no village band or choir or yodeling club. The children's parade was disorganized too. Usually the children march behind the band with each child carrying a little paper lantern illuminated by a candle.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 2
This morning we took buses up the Rosenlaui to Grosse Scheidegg. The Scheidegg was in bright sunlight but clouds filled the valleys on both sides of this pass above Grindelwald. Unusual sight and good photo ops.We boarded another bus in the direction of Grindelwald and left the bus at a restaurant at the toe of Grindelwald's upper glacier. We walked the mile or so toward the glacier but turned back when rain started. By the time we got back to the restaurant the weather had cleared so we found the wanderweg leading on down to Grindelwald.
This was a path we'd never taken before so it offered us some different viewpoints of the mountains. And, on our way home we stopped off in Interlaken and had dinner at the Merkur restaurant near the West Bahnhof.
MONDAY, AUGUST 3
The bad weather, cold and misty rain, caused us to use this day to do some shopping in Lucerne. We had lunch there in the cafeteria of the bahnhof. Not a very strenuous day but it gave us a chance to see the mountains and lakes under less than ideal weather conditions.TUESDAY, AUGUST 4
Another gray day caused us to choose to walk in the valley. We trained to Lauterbrunnen and walked up the valley to Stechelberg. The sun peeked through the clouds occasionally almost spotlighting some green meadow or shining cliff along the way.We took the lift up via Gimmelwald to Murren hoping that we could walk from Murren to Grutschalp. But the town of Murren was engulfed in clouds that would obscure our views so we gave up on the plans to walk. We did go by the Bellevue to pay a visit to Dick and Sue Hess--but because they were out enjoying themselves we had to content ourselves with leaving a note.
We had lunch at one of the restaurants on Murren's main street, took the train to Grutschalp and the funicular down to Lauterbrunnen. Then we ended our exercise for the day by walking down the valley to Zweilutschinen and the trains on home.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5
Today we visited Fribourg whose old town is extensive. It has more than 200 houses or other buildings that are of a medievel age. Part of the old city's walls are still in existence with some of the orignal towers. Many of the streets are cobbled and very narrow. The city is built witin several bends of the Sarine River with parts on the river's flood plain and much on the bluffs above the river.There are many viewpoints from which the old town can be appreiciated - old houses with red tile roofs, churches, St. Nicklaus Cathederal and a handsome city hall.
In one of the squares a market was being held with lots of different things for sale. But most impressive were the stalls selling fresh fruits and vegetables, flower, tasty looking baked goods, meat specialties, etc.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6
We had a very enjoyable day with Eugene Lee. He likes to walk and his wife, Mary, cannot do much walking due to some injuries recently incurred in a fall.We trained to Brunig, took the bus along the Hasliberg to Twing. There we boarded the small gondola that carried us up to Kaserstatt. This is the top of one of the lifts in this extensive ski area and in the summer is the starting point for many nice walks. The restaurant/gasthaus there is surrounded by a group of cheesemakers' huts.
The coffee, hot chocolate and pastries at the restaurant energized us for our walk. We sat on the sun terrace and enjoyed clear views of the Rosenlaui valley, the Rosenlaui Glacier to the south and of lake Brienz and its villages to the west.
The walk from Kaserstatt is not long, about an hour, and the path is easy so you don't have to watch every step as you try to get the most of the views along the way. Magisalp was our destination and a good deal of activity was taking place there in addition to the cheesemaking that is usual for this time of year. A new chair lift is under construction from Magisalp to Planplatten and three helicoptpers were busy transferring building materials from the end of the road at Magisalp up the mountain to the ridge top where Planplatten is located.
From Magisalp we walked down the mountain trails to the next lower station on the cable car, Bidmi, and proceeded back to Meiringen via Reuti.
Tonight Mary and Eugene Lee came to our apartment for dinner. They brought a couple bottles of Swiss wine and Myrna had prepared alpine macaroni, apple sauce (traditionally served with alpine macaroni) and a salad. We had an enjoyable evening.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 7
We took an early bus in the direction of the Grimsel Pass and got off at Guttanen. This small village has many beautiful houses with flowers decorating every window box. The steep slopes of the valley walls and the blue sky invited lots of shutter snapping.The first part of our walk toward Innertkirchen was along paved lanes, gravel roads and well maintained paths with only gentle ups and downs that made for an easy pleasant walk. We had not broken a sweat when we stopped for our lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches and nectarines at a bench overlooking a narrow part of this valley.
The second half of the walk was a little more difficult because the path became rougher and some steeper ups and downs were required to squeeze through this narrow part of the valley that barely has room for the stream. The roadway couldn't find enough space and had to be tunneled through in a few spots. The walk that was marked as requiring 2 hours and 10 minutes took us an hour longer. But, we spent a good half hour on our lunch bench enjoying the scenery.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 8
Another good weather day (deep blue sky, a puffy cloud or two, temperature in mid 80's) allowed us to take another of our favorite walks in the Rosenlaui valley. We began with a bus ride up the valley to the Rosenlaui Hotel and coffee and hot chocolate to pep us up a little.This old hotel's dining room is lovely. The ceiling is covered with wood paneling which has been stripped of its old dark finish and now looks almost new. The tables too have been refinished and their tops with inlay patterns are a marvel.
We walked back down the valley, enjoying views of the mountains and the Rosenlaui glacier all the way. At about noon we stopped to have our Migros-bought sandwiches and peaches on a conveniently placed bench. Then on to the restaurant at Zwirgi for cold drinks on the terrace that overlooks Meiringen in the Aare Valley several hundred feet below us.
The cold drinks refreshed us so we could walk downward another fifteen minutes to the top of the Reichenbach Falls. This is the site where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had his hero, Sherlock Holmes, meet his doom in a struggle with the evil professor Moriarity that ended with both taking the plunge over the falls. We returned to the valley floor by funicular and caught the postal bus back to Meiringen.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 9
Because Myrna was not feeling well enough to take the walk we'd planned from the Giessbach Hotel on the shore of the Brienzersee to Iseltwald, we stayed on the lake boat until it reached Bonigen. Bonigen has many old chalets, some dating from the 1500's.We strolled from Bonigen along the path that skirts the shore of the Brienzersee and by the riverside to the boat dock near the Ost Bahnhof. We passed people fishing, swimming, boating, sun bathing and were passed by lots of cyclists. It's a nice path that was new to us.
In the afternoon, while Myrna got in some rest, I took the train and bus combination up onto the Hasliberg at Hofluh and walked the interesting path back down to Meiringen in the valley. There are interesting houses and gardens in Hofluh, good views, and after the first half hour, most of the walk is in the forest.
MONDAY, AUGUST 10
This morning we took the train up to Brunig and walked the pleasant path to Lungern. Lots of fields have been newly mown and the ventilators inthe barns are in operation.The Idyll dinner for their participants was held this evening at the Gasthaus Bahnhof in Sachseln. The fondue was the best we've eaten and, because we were celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary, we were kind of celebrities. But we had to share the spotlight with John and Mary Le Fever whose 45 th anniversary was also on the 10th of August. Mary is an employee of Idyll and she and her husband had their children, sons and daughters-in-law and grandchildren in Switzerland to help them celebrate.
Myrna and Mary were given necklaces of cookies and the ceremony was likened to the cowherd putting a wreath of flowers around the neck of his best cow as he parades his herd back to the valley at the end of the summer. Good food and drink, entertainment by Swiss musicians, some singing by us Americans.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 11
This morning Myrna and I walked for a couple of hours on the Hasliberg before taking up the task of packing our luggage for our trip home tomorrow.If you travel on SwissAir you can take advantage of their "fly-luggage" service. You can check in your luggage at a local rail station the afternoon before your flight and will not have to deal with it again until you take it off the luggage carousel just before going through customs in the U.S. This service cost Sfr 20 per bag but is worth it for the convenience of not having to tote your bags onto and off the trains and through the airport.