BALLENBERG

Eco-museum and Swiss Woodcarving

We took the train from Interlaken, to Ballenberg, Switzerland’s only outdoor museum. I’ve visited many eco-museums which seem to be popular everywhere, but I think Ballenberg was my first. Eighty homes and structures of every Swiss style and from every canton exist on sixteen of the museum’s 77 acres.

The park has many lovely wooded hiking trails. All kinds of exhibits and demonstrations were taking place on the grounds. I personally found the lace making and herbal medicine exhibits of particular interest. Others enjoyed the bread making and blacksmith.

Opened in 1978 the museum is open only from Easter to late October. Many of the houses were over 100 years old and had been lovingly restored. There is the inevitable gift shop and two restaurants on the premises. We had a hearty lunch in the large restaurant.

Ballenberg was a delight to visit and was the favorite of my eco-museum visits.

The famine of the late 1800s was a big factor in the woodcarving business. In the 1870s over 1000 woodcarvers perfected their trade during the long Swiss winters. The only wood carving school in Switzerland is in Brienz. A three-day exam is required for entrance to the school’s four-year apprenticeship program.

The school established in 1884 had 30 carvers in residence. In 1944 they started making violins. I was looking forward to buying a small wood carving but it was not to be. This turned out to be one of the very few disappointing visits I’ve encountered in years of traveling. Sadly the guide was truly disinterested, rushed us through one room after another and appeared bored even answering our questions.

We did see a lovely exhibit of antique music boxes. The gift shop had hugely inflated prices and my buddy saw the exact scarf for 43 francs which she’d paid 10 francs for in Interlaken!

The same attitude seemed to prevail throughout the small village of 2500 people. There are many small shops and on the stroll back to the waterfront I saw a Hummel figurine I really wanted to buy but the shop refused to take a credit card so they missed a sale.

This was a few years ago and I wonder if attitudes have changed any.

IPRESSIONS OF CROATIA AND THE BALKANS

                                      Croatia Observations

            At the end of a trip I often make a journal entry of my impressions of the country I’ve visited. Today I decided to just include that page and I believe you need no further explanations.  This particular trip was chosen as Plitvice Lakes and National Park were a priority for me. This trip held some wonderful surprises and it was a most interesting and informative travel experience.

If you are interested in reading more about Plitvice N P, see post of September 19.

            * Marked difference in attitude in Croatia from that in Slovenia and Slovakia.

            * Pay to pee in Croatia or buy a drink in a bar or café to use the facilities.

            * Croatia coastal towns typical beach towns.

            * Seaside promenades popular everywhere along the coast.

            * Much more limited use of credit cards in Croatia.

            * Slovenia and Slovakia vibrant young populations.

            * Strong Turkish coffee café/bars culture everywhere.

            * Sidewalk cafés the norm.

            * Croatian towns look ‘worn’, but much construction in outskirts and on roads.

            * Typical European toilet paper, stiff and narrow.

            * Bathtubs very deep—thigh high from the floor---except in an American chain hotel.

            * No commercial salad dressings. Vinegar & oil. Light w/ no swimming salads. Very nice.

            * Marble paving stones common.

            * Cobbled streets and narrow alleys.

            * Small cars everywhere or large buses, no large cars.

            * Walled cities with gates and remnants of.

            * Red tile roofs.

            * Big meat eaters.

            * Wonderful fresh vegetables and salads.

            * No wooden structures.

            * Stone walls divide fields.

            * Tips not expected. Happy when receive one. No hands out though.

            * Salt & Peper seldom on table.

            * Bread eaten dry, generally no butter on table.

            * Little litter, but lots of graffiti.

            * Pedestrians beware!

            * Good local beer and wines everywhere.

            * Lots of stairs everywhere.

            * Hotel elevators very small—hold four people at best.

            * Almost impossible to be anywhere where you can NOT see mountains!

            * Lots of English everywhere, less in parts of Croatia and in small rural areas.