Swiss Oberland Untour, Fall of 2001
by Bob and Barbara Eslinger, Phoenix, AZ
Following two wonderful weeks in Austria we flew to Zurich and joined the Untour group at the airport. Unfortunately my bag had been lost between Salzburg and Zurich and I had to file a lost baggage report. (It did get delivered to our home town train station about 8:30 pm.) We trained to Kandersteg and were met by Kurt Zimmerman and Jenny (his daughter). Kurt took us to our apartment the Blumlisalpblick located on the third floor over several businesses including a bank. It is a beautiful apartment and the best equipped we have seen. It even had a dishwasher. Kurt and his family live about 45 minutes away so we had just the opposite of what we had in Austria. There, our hosts lived on site and were part of our everyday life. Here we only saw Kurt when he picked us up and when he took us to the train station on our final day.
The apartment is large with a master bedroom and two smaller bedrooms. It has a nice balcony with a tremendous view of the surrounding mountains. The "feel" of Kandersteg is special, with tall mountains on all sides. We ate dinner outside at a restaurant on the main street. The weather was beautiful but rain and colder weather were forecast.
Thursday was orientation day. We awoke to cloudy skies and trained to Spiez for our orientation. There were over 50 Idyllers and after introductions the alumni went to the Spiez Castle for a tour conducted by Franciska. She had worked at the castle and provided many details of the castle which dates back as early as 1000 AD. Following the tour we went to the Thunersee ship dock and ate at an outside restaurant.
As we were eating, a regular passenger ship came in that had been modified to look like a dragon and even had steam coming out the nostrils. We never were sure why the modification but apparently it was just a promotional gimmick. Since the weather was still cloudy we decided to take the walk to Faulansee. This is a beautiful walk along Lake Thun. At Faulansee we waited for a ship to come in and just as we boarded it began to rain. We enjoyed the ride across Lake Thun and into Interlaken West. We trained back to Kandersteg, picked up groceries and headed home. It was raining so our apartment looked mighty good. It was nice to have an apartment within 5 minutes of the train station and also to have an ATM down stairs.
Friday we awoke to rain and the forecast on the TV didn't look much better. Every morning the ritual was to turn on the Swiss TV station and watch as the live camera picture from various ski areas showed current conditions. The coverage also included a map of current condition (by displaying a picture of sun, clouds, rain etc.), conditions for the afternoon, tomorrow morning and tomorrow afternoon. Every night we would plan a rainy day event and a good day event, and then in the morning make our decision based on the weather forecast. We also noted that weather could be very different just on the other side (Southside) of the mountain. Our rainy day plan today was to take the train to Montreux and go through the Castle of Chillon. We trained to Zweisimmen and caught the Panoramic Express. We had made reservations for the train at the local train station. This train has big windows and a partial glass top. Although it was raining and clouds obscured the tall peaks it was a beautiful trip.
When we arrived in Montreux we checked in the Tourist Office for directions to the castle and took the #1 city bus. In about 10 minutes we reached the castle. It was still raining but this didn't impact our self-guided (English brochure provided) tour in the least. The Chateau de Chillon is noted as being the site of Lord Byron's romantic poem "The Prisoner of Chillon". The castle dates back to the 11th Century. We caught the #1 bus on the other side of the street and headed back to the train station. We caught a regional train to Lausanne. This trip paralleled Lake Geneva on one side and vineyards on the other. We changed trains to a double deck intercity train for an alternate route home through Fribourg and Bern. It didn't take long to move away from the vineyards, the mountains and Lake Geneva and into the rolling green plains of farming. This continued until we approached Thun when the Alps came back into view. The sun came out on Lake Thun just as we went though Thun. It was a very good rainy day trip and we were pleased with our selection.
Saturday was the beginning of a special weekend as we traveled to Zofingen to stay with a friend of ours. She met us in Olton and then drove us to her apartment for lunch. After lunch we walked to town where they were celebrating Zofingen's 800th birthday. It is hard for us to comprehend a towns 800 years of history when we just celebrated our countries 200th birthday. We looked at various booths, watched a black smith at work, watched a glass blower, listened to a band play and watched all of the activity. The old part of town was very interesting. Originally it had a moat but this has been filled in over the years and now is grass and green areas. We ate dinner in town and watched the evening activity.
Sunday our friend took us on a hike along the Emme River from Wolhusen to Entlebuch. The weather started out foggy but cleared and was a perfect temperature. The hike went along the roaring river and along tree covered paths. We stopped at a picnic table and ate our lunch then continued to Entlebuch where we caught a train back to Wolhusen. Our friend drove us through the Emmental area on the way home. We contemplated the wonderful weekend as we rode the train back to our apartment.
Monday was cheese day at Griesalp. We took the beautiful minibus trip up to Griesalp then walked up the road to a cheese hut for a demonstration of cheese making. It was very informative and we enjoyed watching all of the activity on this particular farm. The family including grandma and grandpa had moved to the high mountains for the summer. They had their own herd of 19 cows plus 10 more from someone else. They also had pigs. All summer they have been grazing the cows, milking them and making cheese. The cheese was stored in the basement. When the snows get near they will take the cows back down to the valley along with the cheese and live there for the winter.
There were several times during our stay when we witnessed cows being driven down the road as they returned from the mountains. The largest bell and the best headdress go to the best milk-producing cow. They always have bells on and many times they have a special headdress as well.
We bought some cheese and then ate lunch at a restaurant overlooking the beautiful mountains. After lunch we hiked down the trail along a raging river with beautiful waterfalls and beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. It was a perfect day and we decided to go to Adelboden a local ski area. We found the town to be charming with a beautiful setting in the mountains. Several lifts originate here and we hoped to get back and do some hikes later because today had vanished.
Tuesday was rainy so we decided to take the Glacier Express from Brig to Disentis. We could only get reservations on a panorama train for the out going leg. It was beautiful and we actually had some blue sky along the way. The only place we were fogged in was at the highest point in the route. At Discentis we visited a beautiful monastery, which was begun in 700 AD. The return trip was not as spectacular but Bob won 3 of 5 gin rummy games.
Wednesday was rainy and looking at the weather forecast indicated it wasn't going to get better on this side of the mountain so we decided to go to the Lotschental on the South side of the mountain. It seemed that each day the snow level got lower and lower. Even the lower mountain now had snow. We took a train through the tunnel at Kandersteg to Goppenstein (only about 15 minutes) and the weather was better although not perfect. We took a bus up the Lotschental Valley to the end of the line at Fafleralp. The wind was blowing, it was cold and clouds obscured the tops of the mountains. We abandoned our plan to take the upper trail from Fafleralp and instead took the bus back down the valley to Blatten and then started a hike down the valley. It was chilly with the wind blowing but it wasn't raining and the view of the valley was unobscured. Sometimes we were on the road and sometimes we found wanderwegs (trails) that paralled the road until we got to Ried where we found a trail that went on the South side of the river through old buildings and a meadow to Kippel.
We saw many masks in this valley. This valley is known for their hand carved wooden spirit masks that seem to have pagan associations. We ate lunch at a out of the way restaurant and then continued our hike along the North side of the road on a trail called Grutli Woldfad. This wanderweg provided a beautiful view of the valley and some great waterfalls. At Ferden we picked up another wanderweg that went back to the South side of the river through a beautiful forest down to Goppenstein. We got home at a reasonable time for a change. After dinner we walked around Kandersteg to the Allemad lift and then to the North part of town. We ran into an Idyll couple and they invited in for a drink.
Thursday's forecast was "iffy". This is when the TV shows sun, clouds and rain all in the same picture. We decided to return to the Eiger, which had captivated us during our last visit. It was then that the Swiss TV covered the climb of four Swiss hikers up the North face of the Eiger. It was really exciting and we had watched the climb unfold from the TV headquarters on Mannlichen. We trained to Wengen and took the spectacular gondola to Mannlichen. The gondola base is now in Wengen near the train station. The last time we were in Wengen an avalanche had damaged the base station and they were in the process of rebuilding it. There was about 4-5 inches of snow at Mannlichen but most had melted from the trails. We took a break at the restaurant (it had been tough riding those trains and gondola).
The view of the Eiger and surrounding mountains from the outside restaurant was magnificent. Clouds were constantly moving in and around the Eiger. There was a halo of blowing clouds that constantly blew around the peak of the Eiger.
Then Grandmother took her walk from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg where the scenery continued to play out before us. I took too many pictures of the Eiger but I couldn't help it. I wanted to do everything I could to capture this moment for playback in the future. We stopped at the restaurant just above Kleine Scheidegg and had lunch. We then hiked up the mountain a little for a better view and then went to Kleine Scheidegg to catch a train to begin our return journey. As the train dropped into the Lauterbrunnen Valley we could see the many waterfalls that distinguish this valley. The trip brought back many fond memories from previous trips. Barb and I agree that this is our favorite part of Switzerland.
Friday again looked cloudy and rainy so we decide to go south again with a goal of hiking from the Gemmi Pass back to the Sunbuel lift in Kandersteg. We headed to Leuk on the train with another Idyll couple and then caught a bus to Leukerbad. The town of Leukerbad pleasantly surprised us. It is back at the end of a long valley and know for its spas of hot mineral water. We had our best meal this trip at the Gemmi Hotel. Barb and I had two types of fish (cone and salmon) in a white scrimp sauce with spinach and potatoes. The service was excellent. They even brought a pitcher of ice water to the table. It was drizzling after lunch and it looked like the Gemmi Pass was cloudy. We walked to the lift and talked to someone who had come down and they said it was cold, windy and rainy. It didn't sound like much fun so we headed back home. We did get a post card to see what it was like in good weather.
Saturday we trained to Frutigen and met our Zofingen friend who had driven down for the weekend. At the train station we caught a special bus to take us to the Lotschberg Base Tunnel for a tour. Switzerland is building two tunnels from Frutigen under the Alps to Visp to expedite the shipment of goods through Switzerland. Someone told me this was being done as a consideration to the European Community (EC) to keep the keep goods flowing through Switzerland. Since Switzerland did not join EC there was talk of boycotting them. This was a special day where the tunnel was opened to the public for inspection. The tour started at Mitholz between Frutigen and Kandersteg at the visitor's center. This center is open on a daily basis from 1300 to 1900 but today special busses took the public down to see the tunnel progress. The bus went far into the tunnel and then we disembarked for a walk around the construction area and to view various displays. The tunnel will be over 34 km long when completed in 2007. The design concept and engineering were very interesting.
Following the hike we returned to Kandersteg and took the Sunbuel lift. We hiked out to the first lake and then returned and took the steep trail back to the bottom. After recuperating in the restaurant at the base we returned home where our Swiss friend prepared authentic cheese fondue.
Sunday - It rained all night and when we got up there were low clouds and rain. The forecast showed some clearing. We decided this would be a good day to go to Selden and hike back down the valley. We got reservations for the bus and then took the ride up the one-way road to the end at Selden. It was a little chilly but no rain and some blue sky. We kept telling ourselves that back home in Phoenix the temperature would be well over one hundred, so enjoy the cool weather. The canyon was beautiful with many waterfalls and a roaring river. The trail followed the road for a while then crossed the river. The scenic trail led to the Hotel Waldhaus where we had a great lunch at an outside table. Following lunch we went down the exciting part of the hike along the roaring river to the Sunbuel lift and then to our apartment for refreshments. This turned out to be one of our favorite hikes. We believe the valley is even more beautiful than the Lauterbrunnen Valley.
Monday brought rain and a snow to the lowest level yet. We decided to travel to Meirigen to visit the Brueggers who were our hosts two years ago. We found Lydia at home and she welcomed us with open arms. She invited us in and invited the couple staying in her apartment down for coffee. Ernst joined us and we had an enjoyable conversation. Ernst invited us down to see and hear music that he is composing on the computer. We also looked at his mineral collection again. As before we couldn't believe the number of minerals he has and how well he has displayed them. It was very enjoyable and we were glad we went.
We went to the Idyll going away party in Aashei. I took the hike prior to the party and was very impressed with some of the new building underway. The craftsmanship is exquisite. The party was very enjoyable with a women yodeler and a Swiss band.
Tuesday - We left our apartment in Kandersteg, Switzerland a day early so we could visit some friends in St Gallon and so we wouldn't have to travel so early Wednesday morning to get our 1020 flight to Chicago and then Phoenix. Our friend in St Gallon gave us a wonderful tour of old town and then we sat down at a tearoom for some refreshment. The waiters heard us talking in English and asked where we were from. I said the US. He said, "Sir I am very sorry to inform you that there has been a tragedy in the US. It is very bad. Two planes have flown into the World Trade Center and there are many deaths." We were stunned even to the point where we thought he might be kidding. But he insisted it was true. We decided to abandon our planned hike and return to her apartment and look at CNN. When we got there CNN was just beginning to broadcast coverage. We couldn't believe what we were seeing and our hearts went out to those in the turmoil and to those concerned about there loved ones. We abandoned our dinner plans and returned to our hotel in Zurich.
We watched CNN all evening in disbelief and shock. It was hard to get to sleep but we were emotionally drained and passed out. In the morning the first thing we did was turn on CNN and found out how bad things really were. It appeared that our flight would be cancelled. In fact, we later found out that people on the same flight on Tuesday had gotten to within 2 hours of Chicago and had to turn around and return to Zurich. They had been on the plane 17 hours by the time they got back.
Wednesday We went to the airport and verified the flight cancellation and made a booking for the flight on Thursday. We had 'gepacked' our luggage from Kandersteg to Zurich (train) and then on the flights to Phoenix. Since the flight had been cancelled we tried to find our luggage. After two hours of talking to different agents we gave up and assumed it was OK and would get on the same airplane we were on. On the one hand we wanted to know where our luggage was but on the other hand we didn't want to have to pick it up and cart it around. The Allegra Hotel kicked us out even though I tried to argue that there wouldn't be people coming in to fill all the reservations.
We saw other Idyllers at the airport and they had found that the Golden Arches Hotel at the airport (yes, McDonald's first hotel) had rooms so we checked in. It is a very modern hotel and very nice except for the food unless you like McDonald's food morning, noon and night. They were glad to have us and were very accommodating on extending our reservation each day. They also had unlimited Internet access in each room which really helped with our communications. We watched CNN until we couldn't absorb anymore and then decided to go into Zurich for dinner with some other Idyll couples. We took a nice walk in the old town and had a good dinner. We returned to CNN and then tried to sleep again while thinking about all the lives that had been impacted.
Thursday morning we got up to CNN and looked at the Swissair and FAA web sites. It was clear we weren't flying. We decided to go to the airport and check again on our luggage. We still couldn't get a straight answer but "lost and found" said it was in the basement and could be transferred to our flight via the luggage tag when needed. Several of us decided to train to Hergiswil and tour the glass factory. On our walk to the factory we came across alphorns being played at a restaurant. The alphorns have a special sound particularly outside when the sound can echo through the valley. The glass factory has an excellent English tour that is well presented. We got to see workers blowing glass and making various glass items. We toured the museum and of course the women did some buying. We caught a ship back to Luzern and walked around the old town and then returned to Zurich for dinner.
Friday morning we were packed and ready to go to the airport in anticipation that flights would go today but we quickly found out that our flight as well as all Swissair flights to the US would not go today. We ate a leisurely McDonald's breakfast and then several couples came to our room and read email and accessed the Internet. We went to the airport and the earliest we could confirm a reservation was the 25th (yes, that was in 10 days) and even then couldn't confirm a flight to Phoenix. Idyll offered to work with us to go back to apartments if needed. The question was when would Swissair be deemed acceptable as far as security is concerned. We walked to a nearby nice small town Runlang Dorf and had an Italian dinner.
Saturday morning I checked the CNN web site for airport closures and Chicago was open. I checked the Swissair website and it stated that a verbal OK had been received but they were waiting on written approval. We decided to checkout of the hotel and go to the airport ready to fly. I figured that since there were four days of backlog that we wouldn't have much of a chance of flying but it would be important to go through the ritual and maybe get a confirmation for Sunday. When we got there at 0700 people were already gathering and milling around. Swissair wouldn't say anything except that there would be an announcement at 0800. Around 0830 they said that all flights to the US would be checked in at specific windows which where already lined up with hundreds of people to the back of the room. There were about 10-12 windows open for US flights only. We got inline and got a priority sticker based on the day you were originally scheduled to fly and then waited and waited. The priority was first to those scheduled to fly today, then those who had flown and returned Tuesday, followed by those on Wednesday, etc. That made us third priority.
In line we talked to many people. I asked one man where he was from. He said New York and I asked if he knew anyone in the WTC. He said his brother was on the 71st floor. I asked if he knew how he was and he said he was safe. His brother heard the first airliner hit the building and because there had been good evacuation plans established as a result of the car bombing they immediately began going down the stairs. He said it was done is a very orderly fashion and as they excited the building the second plane hit. They ran north as fast as they could.
In about two hours we made it to the front of the line and got a standby ticket. Everyone was very patient. After we exited, the lines were longer than ever even going out the door. I was disappointed the way Swissair handled the ticketing. They could have been better at communicating and they could have opened many more windows. They could have established better lines. They could have established windows by priority or by flight. They could have worked with people on alternatives. (For example, I later learned that the LA flight left with open seats. We would have been very happy to take the flight to LA.) Many people were crowding in because there wasn't a good definition of lines. All this time the flight was listed as a 1020 takeoff-delayed with no gate number. We waited and waited. The good news was that they began boarding the Los Angeles and Boston flights so we had hopes that flights would go but didn't expect we would get out today. Swissair kept promising announcement but the time kept getting delayed. Around 1300 a 1500 flight time was announced.
We went through security around 1530. IT WAS STRICT. They wouldn't let me pass my video camera thru even though I turned it on. They hand search me and had us take everything out of our backpacks. They went through my saving kit and took a pair of scissors and a pair of tweezers. They also took a small knife. This we expected and was OK since we hadn't had an opportunity to put these items in our luggage. The items were put in an envelope supposedly to be picked up with the luggage at customs. We never did see these envelopes but that was OK. We wanted to be as cooperative as we could under the new guidelines. I was carrying some leaded glass that Barb had bought and they kept seeing this in the x-ray machine and I couldn't figure out what they were looking for. Eventually we figured it out and cleared security. We went to the check in gate and they told us it would be iffy. We noted that the duty free shop was closed and figured that maybe that was because they usually sell Swiss Army knives. Around 1430 they called us and gave us a seat assignment and supposedly booked us on a flight to Phoenix. We were going home!
They announced that the next step would be to go outside on the tarmac and identify our bags and then we could board. At this point our takeoff time was changed to 1600. We found our luggage! The system had worked. Once you identified your luggage it was loaded on the plane and you could climb the steps at the rear of the aircraft and find your seat. The plane left the gate at 1600. Surprisingly the plane was only about 90% full. There were cheers when we took off. It was interesting that when they served the meal only plastic forks were used.
After 91/2 hours the flight landed within 5 minutes of the projected time; however, when we got to the gate the ramp would not operate and with everyone standing for about 15 minutes it was decided to move to a different gate. Then the tug operator didn't get lined up properly. We unloaded 30 minutes late.
Immigration and customs was pretty much the same as usual except they took more time with passports particularly foreign passports. Shipment of luggage via gepack had worked great up to this point but since our luggage was not checked through we had to carry our luggage up the escalator, down the escalator, on the train to terminal 3 then down the escalator, up the escalator to American Airlines where we were greeted with a hoard of people trying to check in. We still had an hour until flight time so we checked with an agent and he said we could express check in. But alas American didn't have our reservation and the plane was full, so we got a reservation for the morning and went to a hotel to collapse.
Sunday we checked the TV listing of flights and although many were cancelled ours was still listed as on time. We got to the airport by 0600 for a 0817 flight. Even at this hour there were many people. In fact we could see where many people had slept in the airport. We learned the night before that there is an express check in for ticketed passengers. It is similar to the curbside check in except that it is inside the terminal. The porter takes your luggage, asks for identification, asks the three questions and generates a luggage tag and a boarding pass. He then takes your luggage and boarding pass to the radar machine. The luggage is passed through the machine and when it comes out the man on the other side asks for your identification, then asks you to identify your bags, then gives you the boarding pass. Meanwhile the porter is standing there waiting for his tip. Now we were ready to go to security where we were asked for identification and asked if we had any knives, scissors, pointed objects, etc. They did body search me again but we didn't have to take everything out of our backpacks. We were set to make our final leg home!
The flight boarded on time and was ready to go on time but the pilot came on and said they were waiting for final clearance. My impression was that after the final manifest is complete there is some kind of screening against the passenger list. This took about 30 minutes and we were on the way. The pilot made up most of the lost time and we made it home just 4 days late with many experiences along the way.
This delay was only a minor inconvenience compared to the terrible loss of so many people. I think most travelers recognized this and in general everyone was patient even with the long lines and long waits. Our world will never be the same again and we will always remember where we were when we first heard of this disaster. Our hearts go out to all those who lost loved ones, particularly those whose loved ones are missing and they don't have closure.
This was our third trip to Switzerland. We have stayed in Sachseln, Thun, Meirigen, Spiez, and Kandersteg. Each area offers something different. Wherever we stay we are always drawn back to the Eiger area. This is our favorite area. We have formed friendships that we will value forever. What can I say about this beautiful country except that we plan to return again next year.