Why Hiking In Switzerland Is Wunderbar

Posted on August 5, 2012 by Schwingen In Switzerland

We have been traveling a lot lately, but we spent most of the summer in Switzerland. Switzerland is wonderful in the summer. We love it, in part, because it is a hiking mecca. Here are some reasons why hiking in Switzerland is wunderbar.

cable cars
there is plenty of opportunity to hike above the tree line, affording breathtaking views

the trails are incredibly well-marked and well-maintained
the trails are everywhere, they criss-cross the country, including the cities
its cities are compact so you are out of the city into the mountains quickly
the views are varied
at the end of almost every hike, there is a crystal clear blue lake to dip your feet in

I have yet to find a mountain in Switzerland where my cell phone doesn’t work
even at altitude, you pass many cafes where you grab a bite

the fountains for cows mean that you can refill your water bottle all over the place

Friday Hikes: Corsier to Chêne-Bourg (theadventuresofmisswidgetandherpeople.wordpress.com)
Our First Big Hike Of The Summer (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)
A Hike With Arcadian Beauty, Cows, And A Whole Lot Of Hay (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)
Hiking The Beautiful Bernese Oberland (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)

Thun Is Adorable And How To Finance A Bachelor Party

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Schwingen In Switzerland

After a big hike in Thun, we spent the night there. It is so cute, how could we not? Plus, we were exhausted after the hike.

After fortifying ourselves with delicious Indian food from a stand at the Indian Film Festival in town, we off in search of someplace to watch the European Cup games.

As we strolled the town in search of somewhere to watch the European Cup games outside, we learned how to finance a bachelor party. Gentleman (and perhaps ladies), take note.

Buddies take the groom out with some beverages. Passers by put a contribution in the hat and are rewarded with a refreshing drink. It’s kind of like a lemonade stand, um, more or less.

Congratulations!

Hiking The Beautiful Bernese Oberland (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)
Thun, Worth Making A Stop On The Way To Interlaken (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)

A Hike With Arcadian Beauty, Cows, And A Whole Lot Of Hay

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Schwingen In Switzerland

We wanted to squeeze in a second hike after our big hike near Thun. Thanks to our book, we found another great one that was on our way home. We started from Rüeggisberg, in Switzerland’s Gantrisch foothills of the Bernese Alps.

Rüeggisberg is known for its mighty Cluniac priory ruin. It is a significant stop for pilgrims along the Way of St. James to Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain. When we pulled up to start our hike, we heard music coming from the service that was being held among the ruins.

I don’t know if downtown Rüeggisberg ever sees a lot of traffic, but the typical Bernese farmhouses were dead silent on a Saturday morning. Luckily, an old school farm town café with pictures of historic local gatherings and cows on the walls was open so we could feed our coffee addiction before setting off.

Just like we’d seen the day before in Thun, farmers took advantage of the sunny weather to cut hay. In Europe, it is more common to use a tedder. In fact, that’s all we’ve seen here in Switzerland. For you non-farmers out there, a tedder spreads hay out to dry more quickly. It speeds up the process of haymaking and allegedly allows the hay to dry better, resulting in improved aroma and color. Can cows even see in color?

All the commotion in the fields stirs up any rodents living in them. It cuts up any cover and small animals are in the open for the scavengers to eat. We saw raptors circling the sky above fields and swooping down. Cats were also out in the fields hunting the newly exposed prey.

We have only seen round bales here.

The trail led through woods. We were excited to see the slate bottom on this creek bed. He climbed down to take a look. Since I still had my arm in a sling, I stayed on the trail. Sorry there aren’t any close-ups.

We came out into more farmland. We enjoyed checking out the well-tended farmyard. Hopefully, you do too.

I think I have slept in places more disgusting than this pig pen. Who am I kidding? I know I have.

We continually caught glimpses of the snow-capped trio of the Alps above the fields. If you look really hard, you can see them in the back of the photo below. It is the view the cows had. We now believe that happy cows don’t come from California (or even Wisconsin). They come from Switzerland.

There were panoramic views and we could even see Lake Thun (the Thunersee), the Eiger Mönch and Jungfrau in the distance!

Thun, Worth Making A Stop On The Way To Interlaken (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)
Interlaken, Your Starting Point For Canyoning, Base Jumping, Skiing or Hiking in the Bernese Oberland (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)
Hiking The Beautiful Bernese Oberland (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)
Our First Big Hike Of The Summer (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)

Hiking The Beautiful Bernese Oberland

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Schwingen In Switzerland

I bought a book entitled the 50 Most Beautiful Hikes in Switzerland. It’s a great place to get ideas on where to go. Although we probably won’t get through them all, we’re off to a good start.

We’ve been to the Bernese Oberland several times and love the area. With a good weather forecast, we decided to try a new hike in the area.

If you aren’t sure why we like that area, take a look at the first photo. We started the hike from Thun with that view. Wowzers! After about 30 minutes of walking along the lake, we headed inland. When you head away from the lake just about anywhere in Switzerland, you are in for a climb. This hike was no exception. We trekked up the Choleren Gorge. It is a long, wild gorge with beautiful waterfalls, bends, rocks and dizzying bridges.

We emerged from the gorge to a beautiful valley full of farms. He kept thinking we were done climbing, but the “hill” just kept going and going. With a little refreshment, we were ready to tackle the next part.

Our perseverance was rewarded with a stunning view of Lake Thun and the Swiss Alps. Can you believe the view these goats have?

They were headed downhill to be milked.

The snowcapped mountains (from left to right) are Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau.

Along the way, we made some new friends. We wanted to move in to this guy’s farmhouse. It may have one of the best views ever. He was such a sweet puppy that we would want him to stay.

We just kept wrapping around the mountain keeping the lake view. The whole time, we were pinching ourselves. We couldn’t believe we were getting to experience something so beautiful.

Eventually, we wound back around to toward Thun and began our descent.

Once we hit the woods, look what we ran into. More Toblerone-style anti-tank barriers!

It wouldn’t have been easy for Hitler to get tanks up there. It was a bit steep. We shouldn’t have been surprised since we started the hike through a gorge, but this was a bit scary. My arm was still in a sling from my kitchen accident and so my balance felt a bit off.

On the way back toward the lake, we saw this cool climbing wall on the side of a house in Hünibach. Pretty cool.

In the park, we saw this cool Rube Goldberg type contraption. Since we were hungry, thirsty and dreaming of dipping our feet in the lake, we didn’t linger.

We sat on a dock, dipped our feet in the water and enjoyed the view. Then, we giggled when these guys drove by blasting the theme song from Baywatch. Is it possible that the Swiss love David Hasselhoff as much as the Germans?

Thun, Worth Making A Stop On The Way To Interlaken (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)
Our First Big Hike Of The Summer (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)
Interlaken, Your Starting Point For Canyoning, Base Jumping, Skiing or Hiking in the Bernese Oberland (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)

Interlaken, Your Starting Point For Canyoning, Base Jumping, Skiing or Hiking in the Bernese Oberland

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Schwingen In Switzerland

Interlaken is a main town in Switzerland’s Bernese Oberland. It is conveniently located on some flat land between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. The best reason to go there isn’t the town itself, but its proximity to the lakes, storied mountains like the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, fabulous valleys (like Laterbrunnen) and stellar views like that from Schlithorn. As such, it is a convenient starting point for many outdoor activities.

The town has been a tourist hub since early in the 19th century. Interlaken has an assortment of cute old buildings. With a few exceptions, they have been able to keep many older buildings and retain their impressive mountain views (we find the views from areas further back town the mountains even better).

The Bernese Oberland Railway and the Jungfrau Railway made Interlaken a convenient transportation hub. It remains one and Interlaken generally seems more diverse and cosmopolitan than most of the smaller mountain towns. We saw Indian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and many other diverse restaurants. At breakfast, we heard a plethora of languages.

Paragliding, base jumping, skiing, hiking, canyoning, whitewater rafting, kayaking, etc. are available from the area. If they aren’t your speed, you can sit down at a café and watch others shop for supplies or land in the park at the center of town. Although we didn’t pay them a visit, we walked past the casino and an adventure park.

Switzerland’s Film Locations (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)
A Snowstorm…On Easter?!? (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)
Thun, Worth Making A Stop On The Way To Interlaken (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)

Thun, Worth Making A Stop On The Way To Interlaken

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Schwingen In Switzerland

We’d passed by Thun, before. It’s on the way to Interlaken and we’d heard there was a castle there. We’d just never stopped to see it. Last weekend was a long weekend so we weren’t on as much of a schedule. Someone at his work told him that the town merited a stop and a stroll. They were right.

The most important things to know about Thun are:

It is located on the Aare River at the lower end of Lake Thun.
The historic Old Town and the newer cafes and restaurants on the river are pretty freaking cute.
Of course it has a castle because no self-respecting cute Swiss town would be could dead without one.
The distance between the aforementioned castle is short, but very steep. Welcome to the Bernese Oberland.

It sounds nice, but is pretty standard for Switzerland.

We found Thun to be unique with interesting features that make it one of the better Swiss towns.

The main shopping thoroughfare boasts terraced sidewalks built on the roofs of the stores’ first floors. You can stroll the upper level or climb down stone stairs to visit the “sunken” street-level shops.