WATERFALLS AND BOTANICAL GARDEN

                       Fun and Unexpected Sites

Hiking in Davos, Switzerland we walked down a 1500-foot desent, which often passed by the melodious sound of a running waterfall. We stopped to eat our box lunch by a rather large waterfall. After lunch while we relaxed and enjoyed the ambiance I lent my old Girl Scout knife to one of the fellows as he was whittling a walking stick. It didn’t take him long to break the main blade. He felt bad and so did I, as I’d had that knife over fifty years. But what can one do when accidents sometimes happen?

            Another day we rode the bus to Davos Platz and picked up funicular tickets for a ride to Schatzap where we were to visit and hike around the alpine botanical gardens. At the top we disembarked at the Hotel Berghotel Schatzap. Davos was originally known as a health center and spa for people with lung problems. A huge sanatorium was built in 1899. By 1950 the city decided to change its focus and image to a ski and summer resort. The sanatorium, located at the base of the botanical gardens, was converted to a hotel at that time.

            The hike around the gardens was hilly and at times rather steep. Paths were very narrow necessitating single file walking. It is an unusual garden with small pockets of flowers in numerous areas. Needless to say the area is very rocky so to me it is really a rock garden, although big. I was stunned to see some of our desert plants growing at that altitude and in a harsh and cold climate.                    In answer to my friend’s question I said, “Well, that is gaillardia or Indian blanket and it grows all over our prairies. And that is purple coneflower or Echinacea. This is amazing.”

            By the time we were ready for the funicular ride back down to street level it was clouding up over the mountains. Davos hosts a music festival every weekend in July so we walked over to the Post Hotel to see what was going on.

            We decided to sit on the hotel balcony so if it did rain we’d at least be under cover and dry. The whole lower courtyard was filled with tables for sitting and eating. Several food vendors were located around the perimeter. A live band was playing at the far end of the yard. We had a great spot for both seeing all the activity and also for listening to the music. We listened to some good jazz for quite awhile before wandering down into the courtyard to check out the vendors.

            I bought a cobbler ala mode. Since it involved two different vendors I had a hard time making the ice cream man understand that I did not want a cone but the ice cream on top of the cobbler. Eventually I got my point across. We returned with our treats to our seats on the balcony just before it started to rain!

            Hotel waiters came up onto the balcony and removed the huge umbrellas taking them down into the courtyard to cover the tables. They also handed out umbrellas to people standing around in the rain. We’d made a wise choice to sit comfortably under the roof overhang. We stayed dry and had fun watching all the commotion.

            The rain was really just a heavy shower which lasted about a half hour. When the rain stopped we decided to take advantage of the break in the weather and walk back to the hotel.