8/24(Tuesday)
We flew British Airways direct from Phoenix to London (23rd) and then to Zurich. This was our first BA flight and it was quite enjoyable. We liked the Travelers Plus for the long flight. Seating is similar to business class but not as fancy nor as expensive as business class. We arrived in Zurich around 6:00 and checked into the Park Inn formerly the Golden Arches (a McDonald’s hotel). This is our choice for hotels near the airport in Zurich because they treated us so well during our extended stay following 9/11/01. (See our previous trip log). For dinner we walked about 15 minutes to Rumland and ate at the Postli Restaurant just like we did three year ago. It is a locals place with very good food.
8/25 (Wednesday)
We returned to the airport and met the Idyll people at the train station. We enjoyed talking to many of the Idyllers including Tom and Jeanne Haber and Tom’s parents Richard and Joan Haber who were going to be our downstairs neighbors during our stay at the Kunzlers 2 in Hohfluh. We took the train with the group to Brunig and a bus from Brunig to our apartment arriving about 2:00. Our wonderful landlady Margaret met us and showed us the apartment. The view from the upstairs balcony is spectacular. Across the valley the mountains rise up to snow capped peaks and the Rosenlaui Glacier. Every morning this picture postcard view greeted us and lifted our spirits for another wonderful day in Switzerland. We decided to take a walk toward Reuti but the road was too narrow so we caught the post bus to Reuti and took the tram down to Meiringen. Walking around Meiringen renewed our past remembrances and we picked up some cash and groceries. While waiting for our train home we saw Ernst and Lydia Bruegger, great hosts during our previous stay in Meiringen. They are wonderful people and we try to contact them every visit to Switzerland.
8/26 (Thursday)
The weather was overcast and cloudy. We went to orientation, had lunch at the Hotel Victoria, bought groceries and returned to our apartment. Even though it was drizzling and rainy we decided to hike to Brunig. Tom joined us and we had a wonderful hike through misty meadows and forests. The hike was a little over an hour and we caught the bus back to Hohfluh.
8/27 (Friday)
It cleared today and Tom joined us for a hike to Twing to catch the cable car (13 CHF with Swiss Pass) to Kaserstatt. From there we hiked down to Wasserwendi. Along the way we saw many interesting things. There were many cows on the mountain and we could hear the wonderful sound of cowbells that always brings back fond memories of Switzerland. Our route covered portions of the Muggestutz, a trail for kids with many interesting displays along the way. We came upon a small summer village where a woman was selling cheese. After sampling several varieties, we chose a package and continued our trek. We found a bench where we sat and enjoyed some of the cheese, an apple and a wonderful view of the valley, mountains and glacier. After about an hour and 20 minutes we stopped at the Wasserwendi restaurant for a drink before taking the bus home. We packed some things and boarded the train to Zofingen (NW of Luzern) to visit our friend Elisabeth for the weekend. She celebrated our arrival by preparing her famous authentic fondue. As usual it was wonderful and we planned to have her prepare fondue at our place the following weekend to share with our neighbors.
8/28 (Saturday)
Elisabeth was born and raised in the town of Zofingen which is over 800 years old. She teaches in the same school she attended as a child. The old town of Zofingen was originally a walled city surrounded by a moat. The moat has been replaced with gardens and the solid outside walls now have windows for the many apartments located in the old structure. Streets are cobblestone and Saturday is market day, a time for friends and family to meet and celebrate. This Saturday, the square was filled with displays of fire fighting equipment displayed and rides were being given to kids on the old vintage fire truck. The kids hung all over the truck and the bell clanged while the fire truck cruised through the streets. We thought, all this fun couldn’t occur in the US because of potential liability. After Elisabeth made several purchases from market vendors, we went to another city square to hear a bell concert emanating from a steeple. We climbed the steeple and watched a man strike mechanical handles which played the bells. After lunch we hiked around Lake Hallwyl to Schloss Hallwyl, a refurbished castle open for tours. After the tour we caught a boat and toured around the lake. During this picture perfect day we caught glimpses of three wedding parties. Back in Zofingen we relaxed a bit and walked back to town to attend an open house at the town history museum. The open house was being held to celebrate the renovation of the exterior of the building. The museum has a wonderful display of ancient artifacts, period costumes, antique toys, birds, reptiles and minerals. After the open house we walked home and crashed.
8/29 (Sunday)
It was a little cloudy and drizzling this morning. Elisabeth took us on a walk to see Zofingen’s well preserved B.C. Roman ruins and a deer preserve where we saw a huge 10 point buck. We then continued to her pastor’s apartment where he demonstrated the alphorn. He greeted us at the door, assembled the alphorn outside and then gave each of us a chance to “try” to make a sound by blowing into the mouth piece. He explained his alphorn was made from a fir tree that curves at the bottom. It was a beautiful instrument painted on the bottom with flowers (edelweiss and thistle) and the Swiss flag. He explained it takes great care to clean out the moisture and condensation after it is played. He and his wife invited us for coffee in their apartment. Their home is one of the 200 year old homes that was part of the outer wall of the old town. After lunch we took the train home. Impressions of the weekend: warm friendship, delicious food and drink, comfy bed, bustling market day, spontaneity of children, great hikes and walks, church bells and meeting new friends.
8/30 (Monday)
It was cheese day so we elected to go with Tom and Jeanne to Magislap for a demonstration of cheese making. It was one of the best we had seen. It was a beautiful day and we took the lift to Planplatten and the Alpen Tower. Inside the tower are pictures that name all of the surrounding mountains. We walked to the viewpoint overlooking the Meiringen Valley where we could see Lake Brienz and the town of Brienz. Next we took a Bergweg along the edge of the mountain to Balmeregghorn. It was beautiful as clouds started to curl over distant mountain peaks. Balmeregghorn offers a panoramic view of Tannnesee, Engstlensee, Melchsee and Melchsee-Frutt. Rather than take the single chair lift down to Melchsee Frutt, we took the bergweg. The trail was not in good repair but we made it without a problem. We stopped at the first restaurant for lunch. Barb and I shared a mixed salad and a ham rosti (boy do the Swiss know how to make rosti!). Tom had a cheese omelet with mushroom and Jeanne had soup and salad. After a great lunch outside on the patio we hiked around the Melchsee, took the lift to Stockalp and caught the bus heading to Sarnen. On the way the bus picked up about ten kindergarten kids who apparently had been at school. They ran all over the bus until they were met by their parents at succeeding bus stops. At Sarnen we caught the train along with a bunch of high school kids returning to their various villages along the way. It was a wonderful day and we accomplished one of goals to hike the “Crème de la Crème” from Planplatten to Melchee-Frutt.
8/31 (Tuesday)
The weather forecast was overcast in the morning with breaking clouds in the afternoon. We decided to go to Lauterbrunnen and see what it was like there. Lauterbrunnen was overcast so we walked to Trummelback Falls. The water falls inside the mountain were more spectacular than we remembered. This time I was able to video the dynamic raging torrent through the spiraling rock. Plus we got a lot of exercise climbing up and down the falls. We ate lunch then went to Wengen above the Laterbrunnen valley. We (Barb) did some shopping and we walked around Wengen before heading to Interlaken where we shopped for groceries at the Coop.
9/1 (Wednesday)
This was a “Kaiser day” (a term we learned from our Austrian hosts indicating a perfect day). We trained to Wengen and took the lift to Mannlichen where mountains surrounded us. After a coffee break, we took the Grandmothers Walk to Keine Scheidegg. Everyone else must have recognized the Kaiser day as we have never seen so many people on the trail. The hike is about 3 miles mostly downhill from 7289 feet to 6700 feet. We stopped at the restaurant just before Keine Scheidegg for lunch on the deck. Bob had Alpine Macaroni and Barb had a mixed salad. We returned via Grindelwald. It couldn’t have been a more perfect day. This is what keeps us returning to Switzerland. Our remembrance - Clear day, heaven on earth, easy trail and windows. We are always amused at the issue of open windows on trains. The older Swiss never seem to want open windows on trains even when it is hot. At Grindelwald we got on a 1st class car and all the windows were shut tight with stern looking Swiss guarding over them even though it was stifling. We moved to a 2nd class car where windows were open with a nice breeze blowing through the car. Earlier in the day on train ride to Lauterbrunnen two people on each side of the isle had their windows open and a Swiss man gruffly closed one of the windows by leaning over two people. He didn’t try to close the other window but when they didn’t get the picture he asked them to close it which they did. In this case we agreed since it was cold at that time. I don’t want to leave the wrong impression of the Swiss. Normally they are very friendly and helpful and couldn’t be more accommodating of their guests.
9/2 (Thursday)
Another Kaiser Day! We took the same walk we did yesterday except we took our neighbors Tom and Jeanne. They hadn’t been to the Jungfrau area before and we enjoying introducing them to our favorite area. The only thing different was that we returned via Wengen. We did take time to go into the Kleine Scheidegg Hotel which was built in 1840. Their room rate is about 220 CHF for two per night including dinner and breakfast. The day was perfect, the temperature was perfect, the companionship was great and the views were glorious. It just doesn’t get any better than this.
9/3 (Friday)
Another beautiful day but more clouds accumulated during the day. We accomplished one of Barb’s objectives, to visit the Wasserwendi Bakery. We had heard that the women who had run the wonderful Hohfluh bakery had sold it and started another one in Wasserwendi. During the climb on the narrow rode leading to Wasserwendi the bus met a large truck trying to come down the rode. Both drivers jockeyed back and forth for several minutes (both physically and verbally) before the bus finally went up on the side walk and went past. The bakery was actually a part of a small store and looked similar to the old Hohfluh bakery in terms of some of the things it offered but it wasn’t all that we remembered. We bought an apricot and apple kuchen for breakfast and hiked back to Hohfluh on the wanderweg. After breakfast we took the trail to Meiringen. Ninety percent was a good downhill trek but about 10% was actually a Bergweg over boulders. It was about 3 miles and took us about 1.5 hours with a descent of 1400 feet. We checked our email and then went to the Interlaken Coop to buy the special fondue cheese (that Elisabeth requested), bread and other items for the fondue party Saturday evening. On the train coming home we saw Francy and Kathleen (Idyll people) who were returning from a hike they had taken in the Axalp area. It sounded good and we decided that would be a good excursion with Elisabeth on Saturday. Elisabeth arrived from a week of teaching her 2nd grade students and was ready for a break.
9/4 (Saturday)
We drove to Brienz and took the private bus to Axalp. It was a very narrow (1 bus width) uphill road and we got to hear the famous post bus horn at every turn. The cost was 18.40 CHF per person but the ride was worth it. In about 40 minutes we arrived at Axalp which appeared to be a winter skiing area. The avalanche winter of 98/99 and the accompanying storm caused enormous damage in this area. Hugh tree trunks lay like match sticks beside broken stumps. The question was “what to do with this mess”. A wood carver from Brienz suggested using the tree stumps for wood carvings. Brienz, which has been a wood carving center since the early 1900’s, is very proud of its only Swiss wood carving school. These wood carvers have carved many figures along the Bergweg from Axalp to the Hintenburgseeli. We climbed from about 5000 feet to 5300 feet and then descended to the lake viewing carvings all along the way. The lake was beautifully situated in a valley with towering cliffs on the far side of the lake. We watched a Swiss family enjoy the hike and lake. They had three boys around 1.5, 2.5 and 5 years old. Mom and dad had each carried one of the younger kids in a backpack. The dad swam in the lake (burrrr). They all had a great time. We took about 1.5 hour out to the lake (we looked at a lot of carvings) and 50 minutes back. This was new to us and isn’t covered in the Hiking and Biking Guide but we would highly recommend it. Thanks to Francy and Kathleen for telling us about it. We got home in time to plan the fondue party with our neighbors from downstairs. It was a beautiful evening when our guests arrived and everyone enjoyed Elisabeth’s authentic fondue.
9/5 (Sunday)
We started this beautiful day with the plan of hiking a new trail from Planplatten through Haaggen to Kaserstatt. The trail is about 3.6 miles, mostly downhill, and took Bob, Barb, Tom and Elisabeth about 2 hours. We had a beautiful view of the mountains, glaciers and Magisalp along the way. We think this is a more beautiful hike than the Crème de la Crème from Planplatten to Balmeregghorn without the sharp drop-off that bothers some people. One surprise along the way was the village of Haaggen where they had refreshment and clean bathrooms. Hiking onward to Kaserstatt was the goal for lunch. It was beautiful sitting on the patio eating good food and taking the beautiful views. Following lunch we continue down the mountain toward Wasserwendi. We followed the Muggestutz trail for awhile where there were many parents and children taking advantage of the various exhibit. There were many campfires where bratwurst was being cooked. Elisabeth explained that the biggest treat for the kids is to build a fire and cook. We began to feel our toes pinch in the toe of our boots from all of the downhill, but we were committed to the downhill trek. Then when we got near to Wasserwendi we decided it wasn’t that much further to continue walking to Hohfluh. So after another 3.7 miles, 2 hours and a descent of 2,700 feet we reached our apartment and immediately took our boots off. It was a wonderful day and it was great to have Elisabeth and Tom join us.
9/6 (Monday)
Since we were leaving a day early for Tuscany, this was our packing day, clean-the-apartment-day and Idyll party day. Margaret had us over for tea and we used her internet to catch up on our email. In the afternoon we went to Sachseln (where we had stayed on our first trip to Switzerland) and reacquainted ourselves with the town as we walked around. We met Vance and had a beer as we discussed the hikes we had taken together in the past. The party was in Giswil and there was a good turnout. Hal Taussig and Berit (our first hostess) were there and we had a chance to meet Barbara Roy. The party was the usual success and Tom won the prize for the best amateur alphorn player.
9/7 (Tuesday)
We had an eight hour train ride to Florence, Italy today so Margaret graciously drove us to Brunig at 6 in the morning. (See our Tuscany South trip log for a continuation of our Idyll adventure.) It was another wonderful Swiss vacation. This was our fifth Idyll trip to Switzerland where we have stayed in 7 different apartments in both the Oberland and Heartland. We have taken the Austrian and Rhine Untours but we always return to Switzerland.
