Unberella Day

Saturday, September 29, 2012

We awoke to wet pavement walkways through town this morning.  Our plan for today was to ride the cable car up to Murren then head south up behind the station and up out of town on the North Face Trail.

A view from our rest stop today

There was fog at certain levels today and we passed through one such layer on our way up to Murren but stepping out of the cable car station it had started to spritz so we went for cover and donned our almost full length rain coats.  With the fog at certain levels, our view of the valley floor was blocked but the snow capped mountains were still visible.

Always something new around the corner

 It was a steep climb and after a couple rest stops and a bit further climbing, we noticed the air was thinner so abandoned our planned climb and made our slow descent to the Murren cable car station.  Following a brief rest, we decided to walk through town to the north side looking in a few stores as we went.  We met a very nice Malaysian couple, he a retired English teacher and stopped to share travel stories.  What started the conversation was - he was walking with an open Rick Steves Switzerland Travel Guide and was trying to figure out where he was.  We talked for perhaps 30 minutes - we meet the nicest people in these places.

Cows with bells followed us up higher.

At the Murren Cable Car Station we had seen a flyer on the bulletin board announcing a Cheese Festival in Steckelberg for today so with umberellas and back packs we decided to head down to the valley floor where we had left our car several days ago.  The festival was advertized as a place where the high Alpine summer farmers get together and share or divide up the cheese made up there over the summer.

Had to wander down this path.

The North Face Trail above Murren

The Alpine village of Murren from North Face Trail

It happened to be in the parking lot right there - guess they know where to plant these occasions to catch the most visitors.  Numbers of farmer families had tents set up where they were letting the public test taste the cheeses and meats they had made.

Forget the calories

The gismos that heats the cheese

Then just spread the hot cheese on the thick slice of bread

Not only cheese was being sold but salami type meats as well as wines and breads.  One enterprising fellow had a line up at his booth - he had a gismo that held a half circle of the cheese on end and a heater above that slid over the block of cheese and melted it a bit on top. Then he would take a thick slice of bread and with a large knife, spread the warm cheese about an inch thick on the bread, cut it in half and sell it to anyone wanting such.  We think he was using the same brand of cheese as we threw out a week ago due to the unpleasant "aroma" - added to that smell was the slightly toasted or burned cheese.  These  two elements - the cheese smell and the burned smell was what was creating all the attraction - not for us though.

The Steckelberg Apline Cheese Festival

 I know we were chickens for not trying it - we will probably never have that opportunity again.  We did buy another fellow's cheese and someone else's salami which will serve as supper tonight.

Beside the Steckelberg cable station there is the fast flowing Weisse Lutchme River from melting glacier water in the surrounding mountains.

She came over to investigate - good thing the fence was there

Our walk beside the river

We walked the pathway beside the river for several km north before turning and re-tracing our steps back to the Steckelberg Station.  At one booth we got coffees and sat in our car and enjoyed the warmth and shelter from the rain.






Back up here in Gimmelwald we are completely fogged in - hope it clears by morning or we will be walking the street tomorrow with no where to go and not much to see.

Steckelberg, Switzerland

Unbelieveable Panoramas

Friday, September 28, 2012

After a hearty breakfast of breads, cheeses and meats and oh yes cereal with strong coffee too we were off on the trek up through Gimmelwald (takes 20 minutes from one end to the other) on up toward the equally car free town of Murren.  As the sun rose and brought to light the scenes of the Lauterbrunnen Valley above and below, we had to marvel anew at the beauty of God's creation.

Jean is on the move.

It is a steep climb so we took it slow and stopped often.  What the sign says takes 40 min. up there we made in 120 min.  Coarse we had to step aside on the narrow path for the farmer taking manure up higher and the man and women and 2 kids driving 8 cows down to their winter home barn.  We love the scenery as the trail winds higher and higher in numerous switchbacks.

A look behind us on the way up to Murren

Once up in Murren we decided to tke the funicular up through the mountain to a plateau at Allmendhubel.  From this point most trails head downward in various directions.  In summer there is the Allmendhubel Flower Trail which by now has pretty much dried up.

Oops there were 9 cows I see.

We decided on the Blumental Panorama Trail and what a panorama it turned out to be.  Shortly after rounding the corner from the Allmendhubel Station, the trail opened up into a whole new valley we did not know existed.

Look closely at the very top for the gondola in 007 movie

Lunch break on the mountain trail

It is like a huge bowl with one side open that falls abruptly back down to Murren.  But the views as we circled the "bowl" were breathtaking.  High mountain peaks blended in with the grey rock then sparse grasslands then high summer pasture grounds sprinkled with mountain barns and houses - we spent 2 hours descending the trail back down to Murren.

Just open the fence, close it behind you and keep on walking.  Their motto "It's here to enjoy just take care of it and keep walking"

Trails are well marked.

Words alone cannot describe the views and neither can picture but we tried to capture a bit of what we experienced today.

At several spots we stopped and talked with people - it seemed to be the thing to do - "where are you folks from" - "have you been here before" - all common questions of discussion .  A couple from Boston - mid 70's -  a couple from Colorado here for one night wanting to know what to see in a day - a couple from Scotland - all of us commenting on the views we were able to take in.

The trail back down to Murren - this was the good part.

We were told of the possibility of late afternoon snow at some elevations but it did not show.  Dressed in sweaters, coats and longjohns, we were overly prepared so soon into the hike the sweaters came off.  With benches sprinkled along the way we were able to rest or have a snack when we felt the need.

Gimmelwald from up higher.

The town of Wengen is seen on the opposite side of the Lauterbrunnen valley

Like I said words are inadequate so will send more pictures today.

Yes we walked this trail and more

The tiny village of Gimmelwald  - pop. 180

The road to Gimmelwald

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Although the GPS said it was under 2 hours to Steckelberg CH where we were to get the cable car up to Gimmelwald,  we took the long way around on purpose in order to arrive after 3pm.  It was a beautiful drive through the small towns and into the countryside - mostly flat driving today.
Stopped first at the COOP to check e-mails one last time in Langnau then headed south toward Thun around 10.

On the road to Gimmelwald

Close to the city of Thun, we saw a walkway along the Thunnersee so parked and walked back in toward the centre of Thun.  Spent 2 hours admiring the blue lake and a leisurely stroll along.

Thunnersee

Crossed a wooden bridge/water control dam and went to the train station WC.  back at the car we ate lunch beside the ferry dock while it exchanged a few passengers before moving down the lake.  We would see the same ferry several more times as we circled the lake.

Thunnersee

Last time here we had stayed with a great couple at a MYW B&B type home Bethli and Godfried Oesch,  so we stopped around to say hello again.  We have stayed with them on 3 occasions using it as a home base for about a week each time but are staying this time up in Gimmelwald here.  It is a high alpine town about the size of Winger and most everyone is related.

There's snow on them there mountains.

 Interestingly it is just across the valley from the more famous and much larger town of Wengen where the Wingers are reportedly to have hailed from.  We have been here before once to "Sleep In The Straw" but were just passing through.  This time we wanted to stay longer and do some hiking on the many alpine trails in the area.

Stopped to see what decorations were left of the parade.

Cows are decorated with fresh flowers for the parade down form the high alpine summer pastures.  Along with them comes the cheese and butter that was made up there over the summer.

Just before parking the car down below at Steckleberg, we came upon a group of cows near the road who had just come down from higher summer pastures.

They were all decked out in their parade flowers and must have just arrived "home".  We had hoped to see the parade- the whole town celebrates as the farmers and townsfolk also dressed for the occasion, drive the cows through town.  At least we saw the tail end of it - so the speak.

Our refrigerator

Our room

Do you see a traffic jam coming?

Main street Gimmelwald

All roads lead upwards.  Our hiking trails tomorrow barring no snow - BTW it's in the forecast though.  Yes we did bring our woolies and gloves.

We are in Pension Gimmelwald.  Our frig is the window sill and the room looks comfortable.  We hope to walk a bit tonight to see what we can see if anything.    

Good-bye Langnau hello Gimmelwald

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

It was back to the COOP store first thing this a.m. to check on e-mails and send the blog.  Surprising how dependent we seem to be on these electronic devices.  Each time to sign on I must put in my cell phone number and they send a password code via SMS .  The process which has changed each day can get frustrating - seems there is no other way to connect though short of taking out an expensive international  data plan . 

A keyhole passage on the Wanderweg to the willage of Duerrenberg.

All accommodations we have chosen require cash payment so we headed to the bank for extra cash for the next few days.  Amazing that the process at the bank here is as easy and as instant as if we were home at our own bank.

Our chosen path today

Part of the reason for coming to Langnau for a few days was to try to trace Jean’s ancestry which we had learned from a Lehman family record was connected through a Peter Lehmann to this area and specifically to the Mennonite Church here.   Upon arrival it was learned that even though there are many Lehmann’s living here there has not been found a direct link to the Peter Lehman mentioned in the family book.  The internet article we discovered here was written by a professional research genealogist so who are we to try to find a connection when he could not.  So that mission was abandoned early in our stay here. 

The big cement doors

Today we found a road heading up into the mountains about 10 km south of Langnau and decided to walk.  A sign we did understand said not vehicle traffic but it was the other sign below which by trusty iphone app failed to translate.  Seeing some para gliders on up the road we determined if they could be there so could we so on we climbed.  About ½ km later and around the corner,  the road leveled out and some buildings were visible ahead.  They were non Swiss style but we could also see several typical Swiss farmsteads on up the valley. 

Not a military installation unless undercover.

Jean:
Soon we started to notice cement doors into the hills - large enough to drive in a tractor trailer,  1, then 2, then 3, and we started to get suspicious.  Watching a Rick Steves video at home, he talked about the army or military in Switzerland having “in the hills places” to store war items, such as tanks and machine guns and anti-aircraft guns.  They are not presently used  since it is a peaceful nation, but these “in the hills places” are still around.  Of course, he got to tour one of these “in the hills places” but could not film as he toured--there is a proper name for them.  I will need to check on that when we get home.  About the time we noticed the 4th and 5th  doors, we talked about maybe these were “in the hills places” he mentioned.  Imagination got the better of me and I was nervous that there might be cameras on the doors, or that the houses we saw up ahead were actually security workers and they were watching us.  Then when Dave started taking pictures of these doors, I really got nervous.  This thought crossed my mind–my passport is from the US, Dave’s passport is from Canada, we are driving a car with license plate from France, and we are in the country of Switzerland.  We might have some “splaining” to do if perhaps we were questioned!!!  Goodness, I needed to get my imagination under control or we would already be in jail!!!  On the way back from our walk on the other side of the road and train track, we noticed an army jeep heading up the hill where we saw the 5 doors–I teased Dave that they were coming for his pictures :-)

One of 5

All boarded up - a good cover we figure.

Dave:
Our suspicions were confirmed when we were returning to our car several hours later  - army truck comes down the hill to the  lowest building and the doors open and in goes the army truck and out comes a jeep-type tractor,  doors close and it  heads up the hill toward the cement doors.  I wanted to follow him but Jean wouldn’t let me. 
We had parked the car in a field across the railway tracks so upon returning we headed in another direction and followed the Wanderweg sign south through 2 more villages.  The narrow path allowed single file walking and crossed under the railway tracks into each town with narrow underpasses for pedestrians.

 If they were military installations and we are detained - please send funds to our bank account.

Their bullet trains are FAST but be prepared to turn off your car and wait for them to come.

Stepped down river bed along our path today

We are off tomorrow to Gimmelwald in the Bernese  Oberland for 4 days.  It is accessible by cable car only - high up in the Alps.  Not sure if there will be any WiFi connections there so there may be gaps in reporting.  Watch for spectacular photos.