Heidi's Hut

From Pam:  Today Meredith and I traveled to an amazing “hunting hut” high above our apartment on the Planplatten mountain.  Our hostess/landlady, Hedi, offered to take us up the mountain in her car.  She was visiting the family hut on the mountain, where her husband was finishing work on the roof of the hut.  Meredith and I were amazed at how steep and narrow the road was. The mountain was totally engulfed in a cloud, but we could still appreciate the steep drop offs on the right side of the car. When we arrived at the hut, Hedi’s husband, Heinz, was walking on top of the roof.   

They both welcomed us into the hut, where first we saw the area where the cows are kept when they are grazing at that altitude.  When we entered the living part of the hut, we were greeted with the pleasant smell of a wood stove burning, boiling water for tea.  Although it was cold and damp outside, the inside of the hut was warm and inviting.  If you have ever read the book, Heidi, you will understand when we say that it was exactly as we imagined Grandfather’s hut would look. The first floor contained an ancient table and chairs, the wood stove, a single bed, a cupboard with dishes, and a small sink. On one wall was a large wood-burning furnace made out of stone and cement.  A ladder led to a loft above with a double bed and thick comforter covering it.  It was all storybook perfect!  We kept wishing that Jack and Rob had come with us, but they were back at the apartment working on the computers!

 

 

We returned to the apartment, then we all took the gondola down to Meiringen.  We had a great lunch at the Hotel Adler, each of us ordering schnitzel and pommes frites. Delicious!  After grocery shopping, we took the lift back up to the Hasliberg, the name of the area on the mountain where we are staying.  We hiked back to the apartment ready for a quiet evening of reading, a light supper, and some table games.

Montreux and Castle Chillon

Hello Friends and Family,

We had an "interesting" day yesterday.  We caught a train from Interlaken to Montreux.

We had about two hours of beauty streaming by our train window as we traveled toward the southwest corner of Switzerland- the French-speaking area.

 

Rain came and stayed from late-morning until we returned in the evening.  It did create some interesting photo opportunities- this is another train at a station we were passing through.

We arrived in Montreux and enjoyed a walk around the town.  We visited Castle Chillon, a medieval fortress on the shores of Lake Geneva was started in the 11th century and completed in the 14th century.  This amazing structure is in remarkable condition, and it is the epitome of every image you might have of medieval life.  We toured the castle with an audio headset tour that was well researched and included period music.

 

 Our train itinerary took us southeast, to a train change, then northeast through a 32km tunnel that required only 12 minutes to navigate- that means the train was traveling at 100mph.  The Swiss use a welded track process that creates a very smooth and quiet ride.  We had coffee and croissants on the rain, served by people who seemed to enjoy their service role- something that is a little unusual in the US.

We arrived back in our home area to more rain, a warm shower, breakfast for supper.

 

Muren- lunch by the Jung Frau

Hello from a very warm Switzerland,

Weather has warmed considerably- hitting about 93 degrees today in the valleys, and not a lot cooler in the heights.  We were a little lazy today and didn't catch a bus until 830 this morning.  We went south and a bit west today.  We walked through Lauterbrunnen and then up the Lauterbrunnen valley that boasts 7 waterfalls.  These pictures look almost unreal- it was such a beautiful day.

 

We visited Trommelbach Falls- a HUGE waterfall mostly inside a mountain that drains three glaciers... just amazing- 22,000 liters of water a second goes down through this interior gorge- falling almost straight down.  Meredith isn't particularly fond of closed-in spaces, so she was a bit uncomfortable, but did well enough to see the falls.

We took a couple of  cable cars up to a little town called Murren overlooking the Jungfrau- highest mountain in Europe at a bit over 13,000 ft.  We walked through this little town that doesn't allow cars- the cable car is the only way to get there.  Some adventurous people were base jumping off the cliffs in Murren and para-sailing down into the valley.  They have doubling-up rides with an instructor- Bob and I considered it but found it costs $300 for one jump.  So we just found a great place for lunch- this  is us eating bratwurst:

The scene behind us includes the three highest peaks in Europe:  From left to right: the Eiger, the Monch, and the Jung Frau.  I stepped out of the restaurant and took the panorama below.  We were sitting on the deck in the right side of the picture.

We hope you all are doing well.  Good night from Goldern.

A foggy Hike

Greetings from four tired hikers,

We hiked a high trail today rated as having the second best views in Switzerland.  After taking several connecting cable cars, we started across a ridge line hike. 

On our left was a very green pasture/skiing bowl populated with several hundred cows- each with a cow bell.  It was a wonderful orchestra of bell ringers!  On our right was a sheer drop off several thousand feet into a stunning valley- at least that's what we are told.  Fog shrouded that valley all day, and in fact came over the ridge line and into the valley to our left. 
 
But that made us appreciate the thousands of wild flowers blooming along the narrow trail.  After an hour's walk, we came down off the ridge line and onto a section of trail cut into the side of the mountain.  It is so steep and narrow that we were photographing flowers at eye level just by turning to the left.




 

We eventually hiked down to another ski bowl where we had lunch at a church celebrating 100 years.  Coming down, we enjoyed the views of farmers fields from a long cable car.  We've learned that most farmers are bi-vocational and may only have 10 cows.  A cooperative arrangement allows them to graze their cattle on "Alpen Ground" and produce cheese each day.

Walking through the high ground today, we were able to get up close and personal with some of Switzerland's finest.

There was a dinner for Untours people this evening in a classy traditional Swiss restaurant looking out at sunset on the Wetterhorn.  A special cheese dinner was followed by a couple who played the accordian and alpen horn.  They were talented folk music performers- a fun evening.

We are headed to bed to rest up for our next adventure tomorrow.

The Jung Frau and Grand Mothers' Walk

Hello Family and Friends,

Today we traveled to Interlaken, and connected to Lauterbrunnen- the picture below is of the Lauterbrunnen valley.

We continued up to a car-less village called Wengen by cog railway, then on up the mountain by cable car to a place where we started our hike.  We hiked about four miles on what is known as the Grand Mothers' walk- named as a favorite of Grand Mothers (we didn't want to tax ourselves too heavily.)  The morning was brilliantly sunny with a wonderful breeze.  We enjoyed views of three major mountains.  We saw the Jung Frau, highest mountain Europe, pictured below.

After lunch, fog rolled in as we were trying to hike to the Eiger Glacier.  We got within 1/2 mile of the glacier when thunder arrived, so we made for lower ground as fast as we could.  By the time we got back to Kleine Scheide, we were out of the fog.

Swiss trains and buses continue to amaze us- clean, on-time, staffed by helpful people.

Our Best,

Jack and Pam

Geisbach Falls on Lake Brienz

Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings from the Confederation of Helvetica (official name of Switzerland).  We spent a lovely day hiking a four mile trail along the southern edge of Lake Brienz.  From Interlaken, we took a boat down the lake to a small village beyond which the trail started. 

The trail was fairly easy most of the way along the lake until we had to climb to the Grand Hotel about 300 feet above the lake. We had lunch on the Hotel lawn then hiked up to the Falls.  The Hotel was built in 1875.  The Falls have a walk hewed behind one of the sections of the falls.  We came back down to the lake on a cable car built in 1874- the oldest cable car of its kind in Europe.  The views all day were wonderful, as was the fellowship.

Love to you all,

Jack and Pam