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!

DAVOS and INTERLAKEN

                                          A Couple of Swiss Cities

Davos, Switzerland is the sister city to Aspen, Colorado. At 5117-feet  it is Switzerland’s highest town and mountain resort. In winter skiers overrun the town of 11,500 people. The 70 hotels have 8000 beds so people rent out another 12,000 beds in their homes. During the summer of my visit the town was a quiet peaceful one. There are 90 farms in the Davos area and the focus has changed from beef to milk. A good part of the four million liters of milk a year is made into cheese. Most of our hiking here was through lovely quiet forested areas.

Switzerland offered many different foods which I generally found very good. In Davos we were served kirschwasser---a brandy distilled from cherries. Such kirsch is common in much of Europe and it is made from many different fruits. I always find it a bit potent for my taste.

It was most of a day’s ride from Davos to Interlaken via the Glacier Express. We all had taken a book to read on the trip, but the scenery was so spectacular that we all scuttled that idea. Along the route we passed through the eight-mile long Furka Tunnel, the longest narrow railroad tunnel n the world.  The Rhone valley was stunningly beautiful.

The climb up to the Overalp Pass was slow affording us good views of the wildflowers growing in the fields. The scenery was breathtaking.  The snail’s pace up a couple of the mountains made  us wonder if we might roll backwards. The train tracks literally overhung the mountains in several places. It was a stunning eye-catching day!

In Brig we had a layover between trains so many of us headed into town for a look/see. We walked the cobbled streets and alleys admiring the many towers and church steeples. The country is full of them and all seem to be different. Maybe I’ll return one day to do nothing but photograph steeples and towers.

Interlaken has a train station at each end of the city, but only a little over a mile apart. Trains for different destinations leave from each station. Interlaken is located in the southern part of Bern Canton between 12-mile long Lake Thun and 9-mile Lake Brienz. The first steam ships sailed the lakes in 1839. Many small villages are located around the perimeter of both lakes. At 848-feet deep, Lake Brienz is the country deepest lake and four fishermen make their living from the lake. It takes a two-year apprenticeship to become a fisherman. Most of the fish from the lake is perch.

The city of 15,000 is a popular winter ski area. As in Davos, private beds add to the 4000 beds to total 70,000 hotel nights a year. The city’s 5-star hotel, The Victoria, was built in 1869. The hotel Interlaken built in 1400 is the oldest hotel in town. The hotel boasts a stay by Lord Byron in 1816 and Mendelssohn in 1832.  The old wooden monastery was replaced with a stone on in the 1300s.

The city has Japanese, English, and Alpine gardens. The Japanese garden is largest and is a symbol of friendship between the two countries. Horse-drawn buggies roam the streets from Easter to October.

Switzerland is one of my favorite countries and I hope to return yet again one day.