MORE ALPS MEMORIES

     It was a cloudy day when we hiked from Lauterbrenner to Murren so we stopped half way at a new restaurant that seemed to us strangers to be in the middle of nowhere. We enjoyed something hot to drink. In spite of the cloudy day it was a spectacular hike with many waterfalls along the way.   Murren means many fountains. Murren is a quaint little village at 5390-feet and situated on the edge of a cliff with s sheer drop-off of 1950-feet---not a place for children to play! Monks founded the village in 1133. Between 1849-1914 the Grand Hotel operated a horse drawn railway transport system. It is the only way out of town and Murren remains a car free village. We saw one of the buggies on display in the station.

            As we approached the cable car station we were dubious about the weather---what would it be like at 10,000-feet? However the station’s TV showed it clear at the top of Schiltorn. We quickly got our tickets. At the 8783-foot platform we changed cable cars. When we broke through the clouds our eyes feasted on the 200 peaks. It was clear and the views were spectacular. Actually a windbreaker jacket was all that was needed as it really wasn’t very cold.

            Eventually we entered the revolving restaurant, Piz Gloria, for lunch. Built in 1967, it is the site of James Bond’s movie In Her Majesty’s Service. The weather held so we enjoyed the views all through lunch. When once again down and back at the station the TV showed the top to be totally socked in. Talk about luck!

            In Lucerne we got the early train to Engleberg, meaning mountain of angels. We boarded gondolas at the rail station.  Half way up the 10,627’ Mt Titlis we changed from the small gondolas to the Rotair, the world’s only rotating gondola. It is a large stand up gondola whose floor rotates 360 degrees. Popping out of the clouds filled the car with ohs and ahs! Of course we had to play in the snow at the top. And again it was not as cold as one would think. After lunch we visited the 427-foot long ice cave constructed in1974-78. It takes 10 years for one meter of snow to become ice.

            After days of such spectacular scenery many of us thought it might be a ho-hum day for the all day train ride on the Glacier Express, so we all took a book to read. Oh my gosh—what a ride and no one even opened their book.

            The 8-mile long Furka Tunnel is the world’s longest narrow railway tunnel. The scenery was breathtaking over the Rhine Gorge and Overalp Pass. The chug up to the pass was very slow but afforded us a wonderful opportunity to see the wildflowers. Another long slow incline afforded us good views of where the track actually hung over the mountainside. The views remained eye catching all day.

            We enjoyed a scrumptious lunch in the dining car. I guess we dallied too long enjoying the company and conversation as the waiter appeared at the end of the table saying, “Thank you, bye. Thank you bye.” We got the message it was time to leave and head back to our car.

            Last June I had the opportunity to return to Switzerland to hike the Alps in the French speaking part of the country. Because of a late spring or an extended winter—however you want to look at it--- we actually hiked in some snow and slush. The scenery was still outstanding. After a few days we moved on to the Italian Alps and then on to the French Alps. This trip required walking sticks, and lots of undulations, some pretty steep, over narrow cow paths. A much different kind of trip, but a wonderful one.

            To me the Swiss Alps are the most scenic, but nothing can exceed that first hiking trip!

SWISS ALPS MEMORIES

            Years ago my first trip to Europe was an “If it’s Monday you’re in Belgium, Tuesday you’re in Italy.” At that time I thought that would be my only trip overseas, never dreaming how many more  times I’d be going across the pond.

            Each of my experiences in the Alps took me to different places and mountains. My first  left me with wonderful tender memories at 6000-feet. The first cable car took us about half way up to a platform where we changed into another car to reach the top of Strasserhorn. On a gorgeous sunny day the panoramic views at the top were awesome. We walked a short path to admire the wildflowers in bloom.

            From the large plaza we entered the gift shop/café where I spotted a hot plate with a carafe of coffee and another with hot water. I hadn’t had a cup of coffee for ten days or so as my palate finds European coffee way too strong.

            I asked the young man behind the counter for a ½ cup of coffee and then to fill it with hot water. Appalled he said, “No, no, this coffee we make to put liqueur in. It is good”

            I was insistent and finally he relented and did as I asked. Today, over twenty years later, I smile remembering carrying that cup of coffee out onto the patio, sitting in the sun and listening to the serenade of the cow bells tinkling in the meadow below. What a memory!

    A few years later I made a hiking trip to Switzerland where we rode cog trains, lots of gondolas, cable cars and other conveyances.  Our first hike on a drizzly day was to Mt. Pilatus where the mountain was named after a holy man who had slayed a dragon living on the mountain.

            The cog railway, built in 1889, with a 48% incline, is the world’s steepest. When we exited at 7000-feet we were completely fogged in. The original plan was to start down the path and eat along the way. Charlie didn’t want his ‘angels’ to eat in the rain so he approached the empty restaurant and talked the management into letting us eat our picnic lunch inside.

            They were most accommodating and most of us ordered soup or a hot drink. We also were very careful to take all our mess with us while offering heartfelt thanks.

            As we headed down the path 2-3 people popped up umbrellas. I started to giggle as the last thing I would have put in my pack was an umbrella and it seemed so crazy to me to hike with an umbrella. As it turned out the canopy in the wonderful scenery kept us from getting very wet plus we did have raingear. That was the only rainy day we had the entire two weeks.

            On another day we took a train to Grindlewald; then it was a ten-minute walk to the gondola station. This gondola is Europe’s longest and it was a half-hour ride for the 6 kilometer 300 meter ride to deposit us at 7317 feet. My travel companion and I shared our gondola with a young Japanese couple on their honeymoon. We conversed some, but we all wanted to listen to the cow bells as we passed over the meadows.

            It was a gorgeous warm sunny day. We stopped part way down at Kleine Scheidegg for a typical Swiss lunch. After lunch we continued our hike to Wegan and somehow as we started a cute little goat was determined to find what was in my pocket. He was not convinced there was no food. It was some time before I could shake him loose. Iit was awesome to be walking in the shadow of the famous Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau.

THE ALPS

                                                              THE ALPS

            The Alps mountain range extends 750 miles across Europe cutting through 8 countries, so it is easy to visit the Alps in many places and in various countries. My first Swiss Alps visit took me to more populated places/cities, still typically Swiss and absolutely gorgeous. The scenery is spectacular everywhere.

            My first mountain was the Strasserhorn where I have vivid memories of enjoying a good cup of coffee on the top outside patio while listening to the cow bell serenade in the alpine valley below. But on the next trip, my first hiking trip, I found the hiking relatively easy as we rode gondolas, cog trains and other conveyances up, up, up, then walked down over wide well packed earthen paths. The pace was casual and you could walk and savor the scenery at the same time.

            My second mountain was Mt Pilatus. We had nice views as the cog train chugged along taking us to the top, but as we climbed the clouds thickened and when we reached the top we could see nada! The agenda had called for us to eat lunch as we hiked back down to civilization. None of us wanted to eat our sack lunches in the rain, nor was the empty foyer at the top any more inviting. Our guide, who seemed to know everyone in the country, talked the manager of the empty restaurant into letting us eat in comfort inside. We all bought a hot drink and soup as a way of saying thank you. Afterward we did hike down, but the thick canopy kept the path from being really slippery and us from getting really wet. Singing in the rain!

            After several other mountains, the last one required riding  three gondolas, the last the only rotating gondola in the world, the Rotair—the floor inside rotates 360 degrees as you pop up out of the clouds. At 10,627’ we played on Mt. Titlis, a slippery glacier. It was warmer than expected and the thin fine mist did not obstruct either our view or enthusiasm in any way.   

            I was familiar with Italian Switzerland, but was completely off balance when I found French in Villars, Switzerland on my last trip and second hiking trip. This was the start of my adventures in the Mont Blanc area of the Alps. The scenery in the area was stunning. Because of a late spring we found snow in Switzerland. A couple of days we hiked in snow and slush. With the warm temperatures, the snow melted rapidly. What a delight to see a patch of crocuses in bloom next to a good size snow patch!  Everywhere in this part of the world we were able to fill our water bottles from community pipes dripping water into large concrete vessels. Cool, fresh and such good tasting!

            As we moved down into Italy and France we found ourselves hiking on narrow cow or goat paths in single file. It also meant watching your every step as the paths were littered with rocks of all sizes from small to boulders and many many tree roots. To enjoy the scenery it was necessary to stop to avoid stubbing a toe and perhaps falling. There was little level walking--although it wasn’t straight up too often, it was one pretty good undulation after another. It is good to know that the European translation of a walk is a hike for us; a hike for them is a trek for us Americans.

            Gondolas were lacking in Italy and the only one in France was up to Mont Blanc. It was a gorgeous clear sunny day in Chamonix the day we chose to do Mont Blanc. It was spectacular!

            This trip was to small villages, seldom on American agendas. French and Italian were the norm with English, except in Chamonix,  pretty scarce. The people were friendly, shopping was limited, hotels were great, the food good, perhaps a little less cosmopolitan and a little more regional than in the past. It was a different but wonder experience and two weeks!

            Except for being unseasonably warm, the weather was fine and the scenery defies description. It is simply spectacularly gorgeous.