Swiss Oberland Untour, Fall of 2002
by Gil and Peggy Goering, Medford, NJ
Left home on Sept. 24 for an overnite to Switzerland. Swiss Air flight was uneventful with the only downside being we had seats in the middle which meant no aisle access for either one of us. We lived through it. On arrival in Zurich we were met by Agnes, tour representative, who gave us some briefing and escorted us to Thun to meet our landlady, Frau Bieri. The landlady does not have a car so we loaded our luggage on the public bus for the ten minute ride to the apartment. She offered to get a taxi but we figured the bus would be OK since we had wheels on the bags. However the little street she is on is not paved-just small stones. Gil's bag was OK but Peggy's was better being picked up so Peggy and Frau Bieri carried it. She is just a little thing and 69yrs old, but strong. We went back into town later in the afternoon to stock up on some groceries. Our apartment is in the little town of Gwatt just a few minutes by bus from the Thun train station. The apartment has recently been modernized. It has great views of the mountains, the windows are new, the kitchen is large and modern. We were happy to be there. Early to bed that evening.
Thurs- 1st week:
This was orientation day where all of our fellow "untour" travelers met with Swiss reps to tell us of activities in the area and to give a tutorial on the use of bus and train schedules. We had done that before so we met with Franziska who took us to the movie theater where we had coffee in the coffee shop with a great view of the lake. We were the only two in this group so we had her undivided attention and received a lot of useful information. She then took us on a tour of the theater which included a deluxe theater upstairs with very comfortable upholstered seats-some double to enjoy with a companion. Below it was another smaller theater, nicely furnished, where foreign films were shown. There was also a fitness room and sport shop and lobby used for community events such as fashion shows etc. This was all developed by a young man who was told that Spiez was not big enough for this, but it has been very successful. After a lunch with the entire group we walked down to the lake, walking through the Castle gardens on the way, and got on the Lake Thun ship and rode to the village of Hilterfingen and from there walked to Thun and the bus home. We would recommend this ride after orientation lunch for anyone staying in the area. In Thun the boats, buses, and trains all depart from the same plaza-very convenient!!Fri -1st week:
The weather was rather iffy and the weather report for the other side of the mountains was good. So, we elected to go south by train for an hour ride to the Rhone Valley. The train goes thru a long tunnel and the first stop is Goppenstein. Here we took a local train to the next stop. We were now overlooking the Rhone valley. From here we hiked along what is known as the South Ramp. The train follows this course as it slowly descends to the valley floor. Our path crossed the tracks several times and we always had a view of the mountains on the left and the valley far below us on the right. We had about a four hour walk with a picnic lunch stop and eventually got to the village of Ausserberg.(over 8 miles) Here we took the local back to Goppenstein and then the express back home. This was a good choice as we had clear skies while Thun remained socked in.Sat -1st week:
Today we joined others in the "untour" group for an escorted trip far into the mountains above Gstaad to a small mountain lake called Lauenensee. This was accomplished with a train ride to Zweisimmen and a transfer to another train at Gstaad. From Zweisimmen we took a bus far up into the mountains to a small hotel and a lake. There were hiking trails from there but it was cold, and the weather was not the greatest so we decided to go to the other side of the mountain to Lake Geneva. We had a great train ride on a local through the mountains and really enjoyed the scenery. We stopped at Montreux and the weather was nice, sunny and warm. Had an enjoyable walk along the lake to the Castle of Chillon. Returned to Montreux by bus and then took a train to Lusaunne and home via Bern.Sun -1st week:
We had been told of a brunch way up in the mountains at a tiny place called Iffigenalp. We decide to try it so we got up fairly early. Again took a train to Zweisimmen and another train to Lenk. From here we took a minivan to Iffigenalp passing 85m Iffigenalp falls on the way. At the end of the road was the little restaurant and to our dismay we found a sign on the door (in German)--Reservations only until noon. We went in anyway and they were kind enough to accommodate us provided we did not stay past 11:00. This gave us well over an hour. We were the only non-Swiss there except we did find that one of the young cooks did speak English. The buffet was great. A lot of cheeses,(over 8 different ones) jams, pitchers of juices, breads(at least 8 different kinds and they kept bringing out fresh loaves), pastries, fruit, museli, eggs to order, rostti, and a dish of corn bread, crumbled, and fried. We had a great time and really enjoyed being part of Switzerland. We took a walk up toward the end of the valley while waiting for the bus back down. By noon the sun was just getting over the mts. For 2 mos of the year the sun never gets into the valley! After we returned we rested and then took a nice walk along Lake Thun. There is a nice promenade along the lake that is popular with the locals and their dogs. By now the weather was beautiful and remained that way for almost all of the rest of our trip.Mon,Tues -1st week:
We had never been to Zermatt so this morning we took the 8:53 train to Brig and then changed to a smaller train to Zermatt. The train to Zermatt is very scenic and at times quite steep. For the steep parts they are able to engage a cog which is then lifted when the level part is reached. We were in Zermatt before lunch. We had called the Hotel Parnass that morning from Spiez and were allowed into our rooms immediately where we had our picnic lunch. The sky was cloudless for the entire time we spent in Zermatt. Our very nice hotel room had a large picture window which framed a spectacular view of the Matterhorn.(also had a balcony facing the M) A truly stunning sight. In the afternoon we took a lift called the metro which is completely closed in like a subway for 5 full min. This took us out of the valley to a plateau at 7,600' where we had a nice hike with a constant view of the majestic mountains. That evening we had a delicious five course dinner at the hotel. The bill for the room, dinner and breakfast was Sfr 240 including taxes.The next morning after breakfast we hiked into the mountains to a small garden. We learned about it from Franzisca who helped create it. The garden is an herb garden (Ricola--we have been seeing that name on herbs being marketed here) and gives information on how the various herbs can be used for seasoning and for medicinal purposes. The walk up and back was very nice. By two PM we called it quits and took the train back to our home in Gwatt. A great two days!!
Wed -2nd week:
We decided to take what is our favorite walk in Switzerland-Grandfather's Walk. We took the train to Interlaken and then on to Lauterbrunen. From there a funicular took us up out of the valley where we started our walk. The walk took us to Murren with a continual view of the valley below us and the big three snow-covered mountains on the other side--Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau. We had lunch (our usual bread, cheese, apples, cookies and water that we always carry with us) in Murren and then returned home using the train back to the funicular for the first time.Thurs -2nd week:
Switzerland was having a big expo this year. It was a big thing for them and had four different locations. We were told that the buildings erected just for this event were worth seeing. They are all being removed at the end Oct.20th. We took an early train to the first venue--Murten. This is a old walled city and we saw just enough of it to want to go back. We were told that a good way to see the different sites was by boat since the sites were all located on the edges of various lakes. The boats are part of the Swiss transportation system and were included on our passes. We got on the boat at Murten, crossed the lake, passed through a canal and ended in Neuchatel. This is a very nice area of French Switzerland. We observed what we could without actually going into the expo and then took another boat along the lake, through another canal, and then across another lake to Biel. Here we again observed the expo from the outside and then took the train back home. This took all day to do and was most enjoyable.Fri -2nd week:
Went to Bern in the morning,(about 30 min. by train) walked about town, and then took a local train to a museum called Illusoria Land. It was a unique display of paintings and some objects which created illusions. Reminded us of the work of Escher. It was interesting, though a little on the pricey side. Returned home in the early afternoon.Sat- 2nd week:
The weather deteriorated somewhat, so we decided to take a recommended bus trip over the Simplon pass to Italy and the town of Domodosola. This took us South where the weather was still very good. From Brig we took a bus over the pass with nice views and a look at some remarkable road engineering. This was market day in Domodosola and the vendors were spread over quite a few blocks. We walked around and had our lunch on a bench in one of the squares and watched people shopping in the market. The market started to close down about 2PM so we sat and watched a couple of the vendors as they packed all their stuff back in their trucks (amazing) and drove away. We then took the train back. What takes almost two hours by bus takes less that half hour by train as it goes through a long tunnel.Sun -2nd week:
Turned rainy but we decided to go to the village of Aeschi where they were having a competition of Hornussen. This is a really unusual game, played in a big open field, where a"batter" with a long whip like club with a "swith-tail" attached swing at a puck at the end of a ramp. The puck is hit out into the field where a group of men from the opposing team try to knock it down with wooden paddles . Apparently the object is to see how far it can be hit before it gets knocked down. Weird! We didn't stay long because of the rain and cold, but we were glad we went. Spent the remainder of the day relaxing in our apartment.Mon -2nd week:
Did a little shopping and then took a boat ride to Faulensee, small village, from where we had a nice walk along the lake to Spiez and then the bus back to Gwatt. An easy day. That evening we had a dinner given by the Untour company at a hotel in a Fruitigen which we reached by train. Had Swiss entertainment to go with it.Tue -2nd week:
We packed our suitcases and sent them on to Zurich so we would not have to lug them ourselves. Took a bus ride to a small village, did a little shopping, and that evening we had been invited to have dinner with our landlady. She is a widow, 69 years old, and really depends on the rentals to make ends meet. She lives on the first floor, rents out the second, and we had the apartment on the third. She speaks about as much English as we speak German but we had a great time. She served us Raclette which was great. She had a hibachi (electric) in the middle of the table and each of us had a little teflon pan in which we cooked our dinner. A piece of cheese is placed in the pan, some fruit is added, and this is covered with a piece of thinly sliced bacon. This is heated till done and then put on top of potatoes on your plate. Very tasty. She also had some ice cream with warm raspberry sauce (berries from her garden) and fresh cake-and a bottle of wine and schnapps. Enjoyed the evening.Wed-2nd week:
Straightened the apartment and took the 9:18 train to Zurich airport. We put our carryons in a locker, took the train back to Zurich and walked out along a waterway where we ate our usual lunch and killed time before going back to the airport. We picked up our big bags that we had sent the day before, did some rearranging with stuff in the carryons and checked in at the Swiss counter for a late afternoon flight home. We arrived in Newark at about 7PM where we were met by our waiting limo. A nice trip!! I kept track of our transportation for the fun of it: 42 bus rides, 37 train rides, 4 funicular rides, and 4 boat trips--we made good use of our Rail Pass!!We really liked Gwatt as a location from which to see Switzerland. Just a few steps from the apartment we had a bus to the Thun train station every 15 minutes. We also had a bus to Spiez which left every 30 minutes. From Thun or Spiez we were able to take a train or bus to anywhere we might wish to go. We also had a good family restaurant within easy walking distance from the apartment. By staying on the same bus that took us to the Thun train station for two more stops we arrived at the Coop and Migros grocery stores. These two stores had everything one might need including a good selection of table wine at very reasonable prices. The Coop takes credit cards which made it very convenient. We liked Thun much better than Interlaken since it was not a "touristy" city. It gave us a real flavor of Switzerland. Thun has a wide assortment of stores ranging from small specialty shops to large department stores, interesting places to visit such as the castle and church, and easy access to the boats.
We are looking forward to returning in 2003 for our fourth Untour trip to the Swiss Oberland.