(A multi-part recap of my recent September trip to Switzerland.)
After enduring Mürren's foggy, rainy weather the previous day, our final morning in this adorable village dawned clear enough to see the mountains once again.
Morning in Mürren
After a quick breakfast in our hotel, Kim and I took a short ramble around town, cell phones in hand, to capture a few more images of these stunning alpine views.
The clouds finally cleared, just in time for me to leave
Neither Kim nor I had slept well the previous night. I was suffering the effects of the cold I'd picked up from our tour group, and was so stuffed up it was hard to breathe. And poor Kim was trying to stay as far away from me as possible to avoid being the next victim. Adding to our misery, the hotel we stayed in had the hardest mattresses ever - which didn't help our sleep situation.
Magnificent mountains
Approaching the hotel lobby after our walk, we ran into one of our fellow tour-mates, whose husband had also been struck down with the group illness. His wife, seeing Kim and I masked up, inquired about our health. After hearing I'd become the latest casualty, she quietly informed us that her husband had tested positive for Covid the prior day. Uh-oh!
Riding the cable car down to Gimmelwald
Although we only had 15 minutes before our group was scheduled to check out, Kim and I rushed back to our room. Although we'd packed Covid tests, neither of us thought we'd ever have to use them. Now I ripped open my test package and hurriedly scanned the instructions. I did a very quick, sloppy job administering the test, and because of my haste, the results were inconclusive. But at that point I didn't have time to do a retest. We were due to join our group, or risk being left behind.
Small wooden structure in Gimmelwald
In the early days of Covid, a positive test meant one had to immediately leave a Rick Steves tour group. But after four years of dealing with this illness, the rules had been relaxed. Now if a traveler exhibited any upper respiratory symptoms, they were only required to mask up and sit in the back of the bus. So the good news was, as long as I kept my mask on and tried to stay away from the group, I could continue with the tour. (It was extremely fortunate that Kim and I had thought to bring lots of masks!)
Mountain views I missed the day before, Gimmelwald
Our group, dragging suitcases, made our way along Mürren's main drag to the cable car. This time, instead of schlepping our luggage all the way down to the valley floor, we loaded everything into large roller bins that would be sent via a separate gondola. First, our tour was taking a side trip to village of Gimmelwald for some cheese tasting.
Interesting buildings
After traipsing through Gimmelwald in yesterday's rain and fog, today's clearing skies made it look like an entirely different place. Now I could actually see the craggy peaks that surrounded this tiny town. Such magnificent scenery! I was grateful for the second chance visit.
So this is what Gimmelwald looks like without fog!
I thought Gimmelwald, with its picturesque wooden chalets, looked much more like a traditional Swiss town than Mürren. There wasn't much commercialization here. The town was mainly occupied by farms and the families that worked on them.
Beautiful place for a village
Through later research I learned that due to a missing road connection, Gimmelwald is a traffic-free village, relying on the adjacent aerial tramway for its main transportation. In summer months, farmers raise hay and cattle, and during winter months they work for the adjacent ski areas. The 2003 population was a mere 130 people, and in in 2010 the local school closed due to the small number of students. Although many businesses have eyed this gorgeous, sleepy village for expansion of nearby ski resorts and hotels, the locals prevented full scale development by having a portion of their town declared an avalanche zone.
Colorful chicken
Our group was met by a local woman who would be our guide. She led us down Gimmelwald's main path, past homes, barns and gardens. One small, fenced off area held a flock of beautiful chickens.
My tour group, heading to the cheese house
I lagged behind the group, not only to keep my germy self far away from others, but also to give my camera a workout trying to capture all the amazing mountain scenery I'd missed yesterday.
My favorite Switzerland image
The above image is my most favorite photograph from my time in Switzerland. It doesn't get any more Swiss than this!
Colorful window box
Our local guide led the group to Gimmelwald's adorable cheese chalet, a wooden building where the village farmers stored their cheese, allowing it to age to perfection.
Getting samples at the cheese house
Naturally, our guide had cheese and wine samples for everyone!
Barns and mountains
The cheese was delicious. We got to try three different varieties, each a bit more aged than the others.
This is how steep the slopes are in town
From the town's main walkway, the grade pitched steeply uphill. Barns and chalets were scattered along the ascending slopes, some perched quite precariously. Gardens and pastures were terraced up the mountainside. For some homes, it must've been quite a trek to haul supplies!
The Swiss stash firewood everywhere
Our guide had hoped to show us a few Swiss cows, but after speaking to a local farmer, she learned they were all out to pasture too far away. That was kind of a disappointment.
Beautiful chalets
Oh well, gaping at the magnificent mountain scenery more than made up for the lack of livestock.
Wide-angle view
More cheese samples
Suddenly someone spotted a paraglider floating down from a high mountaintop. The pilot drifted extremely close to a couple of wooden homes before catching an updraft and flying away.
Paraglider, who looks like he's about to land on a house
We began to see more paragliders drifting downhill.
Another paraglider sails downhill
The fabulous clear weather was bringing them out in droves! Our group spotted at least a half dozen colorful chutes flying by Gimmelwald. I'm sure the paraglider pilots all enjoyed amazing views from their high perches.
I'm sure this guy has some amazing views
After spending a couple happy hours in Gimmelwald it was time again for our group to move on. Everyone reboarded the cable car for the last leg of our downhill journey. We were reunited with our luggage and bus back in Stechelberg.
Tall cliff, Lauterbrunnen Valley
Sadly, due to my illness I had to take a seat in rear of the bus. There were four other couples joining the "back of the bus" gang, each husband having been stricken with the same crud as me. Kim, trying to avoid all us sickies, stayed near the front. As our bus pulled away from Stechelberg, it felt weird not having her in the seat beside me.
Waterfall, Lauterbrunnen Valley
As the bus wound through the Lauterbrunnen Valley, I kept myself occupied by taking photos of the spectacular scenery. Tall cliffs towered high above the valley, with occasional waterfalls spilling from forests on top.
Cute village taken out the bus window
We drove through one tiny village that had the most adorable church steeple. I tried my best to capture it through the moving bus window. Oh how I wish we could've spent more time here! Just another place to add to my "second visit" list.
Goodbye to the Lauterbrunnen Valley!
Our next destination was the city of Interlaken, where our schedule had planned a lunch break. After the bus deposited everyone near the city's transit center, Tony led us along one of the main roads to a large park.
The city of Interlaken
Tall mountains rose from all directions, framing the park and its adjacent buildings. As Tony was explaining places to go for lunch, we began spotting paragliders drifting towards this large, grassy area. Apparently these adventurous souls used this park as their landing zone.
Paragliders landing in Interlaken's city park
Our group watched in awe as several brightly colored parachutes glided softly towards the grass and their pilots expertly touched down. Many of the parasailers were tandem - a pilot plus a passenger. As we walked away from the park in search of lunch, I noticed the adjacent storefronts were full of paragliding businesses offering rides to tourists. Although I was sure paragliding provided some incredible views, I didn't think I'd be brave enough to try it!
Two paragliders landing at once
So Kim and I turned down a random street in search of lunch. All the restaurants we found featured Indian food, and that wasn't a cuisine either of us were interested in eating. (I was really surprised by the large number of Indian restaurants here!) Finally after walking several blocks, we located a pizza place. Relieved to find something other than Indian food, Kim and I decided to give it a try.
Safely on the ground
The food and the service wasn't great. Our pizzas were terrible. It took forever to get the waiter to bring the check, and then he was snippy about it. However, the restaurant had a very entertaining WC. Kim went to use the facilities first, and when she returned, told me to take a video of its self-cleaning toilet. Although I felt kind of silly videotaping a toilet, I did as instructed. After flushing, an attachment extended from the tank area, and the seat rotated underneath as the attachment wiped it clean. And, yes I got a video of the entire event! I even kept the camera rolling despite someone trying to open the door on me (which you can hear in the video.) And you lucky readers get to watch the entire thing below:
After our lunch adventure, Kim and I went in search of a pharmacy. I needed decongestant, more cough drops, another bottle of hand sanitizer, and a whole lot of Kleenex! I'd hoped to find some type of American cold medicine here, but no luck. Everything was a brand I'd never heard of. The pharmacist recommended an herbal Swiss-German decongestant. After purchasing it, I realized the directions were all in German and I had no idea how many to take. Good thing for Google translate!
Buildings on a steep mountain slope
Our tour's afternoon activity was a visit to a local shop that made alpenhorns, the long, straight wooden instruments that rural Swiss traditionally used to signal between high pastures and valleys.
The village of Habkern, Switzerland
Reaching the alpenhorn maker required following an extremely narrow, winding mountain road. I was again impressed by our driver Eric's ability to navigate these tight lanes and hairpin turns in his large bus.
Buildings and barns scattered about the green meadow
After a long drive, Eric pulled into yet another charming Swiss berg, the hamlet of Habkern. There were more traditional wooden chalets here, complete with colorful windowbox flowers and decorative shutters. Mountains and green meadows could be seen from all directions, and I spotted one such meadow with a collection of homes and barns scattered about.
Cute window decor
Our group had a bit of time before our scheduled demonstration, and Tony suggested exploring the town, or visiting the local bakery for some "goody-goodies" (Tony's catch-all moniker for Swiss treats.) Although a baked good sounded great, my priorities were getting some photographs of this adorable place.
Main street Habkern
Soon it was our turn to visit the alpenhorn maker. We filed into a small storefront and were met by the man who ran the place. The man explained that he had learned the trade from an older master craftsman, and had later bought his business due to the founder's advanced age. The close proximity of raw materials to make the alpenhorns has kept this shop in the village of Habkern.
Interesting house
We learned that the alpenhorn is a traditional lip-reed wind instrument. Most alpenhorns are straight, and range from 3 to 4 meters (9.8 to 13 feet) in length. Traditionally, alpenhorns were made from a single trunk of a young pine. However, modern alpenhorns come in three detachable sections, for easier transport and handling, and are now carved from spruce blocks.
The alpenhorn maker's shop
After absorbing the basics of alpenhorns, the craftsman led us into his workshop, where he crafts all his instruments. The room was full of tools, wood blocks and parts of horns under construction. After taking a few photos, I happened to notice a "no cameras" sign on the door, and quickly put my cell phone away.
Window sign
Someone asked the alpenhorn craftsman if his children were in line to take over the family business. The man replied that unfortunately none of his kids were interested. He said that there are very few people left in Switzerland that make alpenhorns. He is the only one who does it full-time. When asked if the man would take in an apprentice, he replied no because an apprentice might eventually go start their own business and become competition.
The alpenhorn maker, demonstrating his horns
Because the shop owner is one of the few craftsmen that makes alpenhorns, the demand keeps him busy. Alpenhorns are used all over Switzerland, for festivals and concerts.
Some of the finished products
The horns displayed in the workshop were beautiful works of art. I could tell the owner was proud of his craftmanship.
In the workshop
After finishing our visit of the workshop, we filed back into the reception area. There was only one thing left in our tour - hearing one of these long mountain trumpets being played. The shop owner blew a few notes from one of his display models, and then asked if anyone from our group wanted to give it a try. Two of the men volunteered, and they both did a respectable job. (Apparently both were former trumpet players.)
If you'd like to hear an alpenhorn in action, click on the above short video.
A small honesty shop
After the tour, and a short WC break, everyone filed back into the bus for our day's final destination - the capital city of Bern.
Beautiful wooded hills near Habkern
As the bus wound back down the curvy, mountain road, I admired all the fantastic scenery. Tree leaves were just beginning their seasonal change. I would've loved to return a few weeks later to see the area in full autumn color.
Very curvy mountain roads
Now for a long drive to Bern. First our bus followed the shoreline of a huge, very scenic lake (Lake Thunersee.) Then we drove through the very busy city of Thun, which took some time to navigate its heavy traffic. Thun did have a very cool castle, which I wished we could've visited. From my isolated "back of the bus" seat, I was beginning to feel quite alone and glum. I was missing the company of my travel buddy. Then a text message brought me out of my funk. It was from Kim and read simply "toi-toi." (If you missed the joke, check out this post.)
Bern, Switzerland
Finally, the traffic thickened, and the roads became wider. Tony announced we'd arrived in Bern. He had Eric make a stop at a local park, and led us to an overlook with some great city views. You could see the river Aare winding through the heart of town and lots of church steeples (with clocks, of course!) Then it was back on the bus to our hotel, in the heart of downtown Bern.
Drinks on top of the hotel
Bern was the final stop for our tour. It was here that we bid our driver Eric a fond farewell. Then everyone unloaded for the last time and got settled in our rooms. Kim and I were hungry, so we joined Karen and Cindy for a drink on the hotel's rooftop bar. Because of my runny nose and cold symptoms, we decided it best to sit outside. It was chilly, but the views were amazing. Kim and I each enjoyed a delicious club sandwich.
A delicious club sandwich
After finishing our dinner, I was feeling worn down from the day's activities, so Kim and I returned to our hotel room. After the morning's inconclusive results, Kim suggested trying another Covid test. So this time I carefully followed the instructions on a second test kit. It didn't take long before it began displaying two lines, indicating a positive result - oh no, I had Covid!
Rooftop views
Upon seeing the test results, Kim immediately left and asked the front desk to book her in a separate room. Luckily, the hotel had one available. I watch glumly as Kim packed up her stuff. But suffering from a runny nose and occasional cough I couldn't blame her for wanting to get away from me! And if the tables were turned, I surely wouldn't want to stay in a room with someone who had just tested positive for Covid.
Sunset out my room window
After Kim left, I took some more of my Swiss-German herbal cold medicine and watched a lovely sunset out the room window. Feeling tired and run down, I decided an early bedtime might help me recover faster. Tomorrow would be the last day of our Rick Steves tour and I hoped I'd feel well enough to participate (fully masked up of course!)
In my next post - a day exploring the city of Bern. You won't want to miss it!
