Archive | October, 2018

Postcard from Switzerland: Places the guidebooks don’t tell you about

17 Oct
17 October 2018.
Travel guidebooks are a favorite genre for me and I am a voracious consumer of their wisdom. Go to Europe without Rick Steves? I think not! Fodor’s, Frommer’s, Lonely Planet. and Cicerone guides also populate my Kindle.
Sometimes, though, guidebooks exclude the good stuff and include way too many formula places. We found two worthy outings near Lausanne that Steves’ and Fodor’s books barely mention. In fact, Rick Steves poo-poohs one of them. It was only because I picked up a brochure locally that we were clued in.

Les Pléiades 

We are drawn to high places that include trains and that is what led us to explore this area above Vevey just a few kilometers from Lausanne. The name Les Pleiades refers to the star cluster that is also called the Seven Sisters. I’ve no idea why this mountaintop is so named, but they have incorporated an exhibit called the Astro Pleiades to teach some basics about astronomy. It is dedicated to Claude Nicollier, the first astronaut from Switzerland. It’s actually a clever exhibit, but the draw on this sunny day was the view.

Me on the trail, Les Pleiades.

We found a bit of fall color at Les Pleiades.

Lake Geneva sparkles 1000 meters (3280 feet) below while there is a peek at Mont Blanc 60 miles away. (We stayed in Chamonix, at the foot of Mont Blanc, for 3 nights in 2016 and never saw the damn thing!) The train ride up is charming, a bit of a commuter route to outlying residential pockets from Vevey, but as the train winds higher, it becomes more and more rural. Each stop is on-demand only. At the top, trails abound along with a full-service restaurant. We took a very early train and enjoyed complete solitude for an hour until the next train pulled in full of day hikers young-and-old as well as a half-dozen mountain bikers.

Lac Leman/Lake Geneva far below on a stunning day at Les Pleiades.

You can just see Mont Blanc’s snow-capped peak. Hard to tell it is almost 16000 feet high.

Rochers-de-Naye

This is one of the most fun trains we have ridden outside of the Berner Oberland. A narrow-gauge cogwheel train transports you from urban Montreux through forests and tunnels, to 2042 meters above sea level, about 6700 feet. There were stunning views on each side of the train as we chugged ever-upward. Stations served everything from the Swiss Hotel Management School to middle-of-nowhere cabins.
At the top, we found a tunnel to a viewpoint and a restaurant only open on weekends. There was also a cafeteria not-yet-open even at 10:30 and “Marmot Paradise” without marmots. The perils of off-season travel. But again, the views: stunning.

The alps as seen from Rochers de Naye above Montreux, Switzerland.

The marmots must have been in paradise because they were nowhere to be seen at Rochers de Naye this October day.

There are a number of short hikes available as well as long, challenging ones. You can hike up part way or down a very long way if your knees can take the beating. I think it would be beautiful in springtime although the fall color was not bad. A clear winter day would be spectacular and apparently, there is a Santa Claus themed event for the holidays. For the adventurous, there are yurts to overnight in.
At 11:00 a train pulled in packed with daytrippers, apparently arriving in time for the view and lunch. We were glad we came up early even though the marmots were hiding and there was no coffee available.

A fork in the lake, outside the Nestle Alimentarium in Vevey.

Lausanne and environs were fun to explore. The city itself reminds me a bit of Paris, although without as much charm. I have to keep reminding myself that we are, in fact, in Switzerland. We liked the waterfront in Vevey and if we returned, that is where we would lodge. Chateau de Chillon in Montreux was interesting enough, and we did take a boat trip to France for lunch, which was easier on the budget than dining in Lausanne.

Sunday lunch along the lively lakefront in Vevey. Did I mention how terrific the weather has been?

Another activity we enjoyed that is in the guidebooks was a saunter through the Lavaux Vineyard Terraces, a UNESCO site. You take a modern, sleek, SBB train to a hamlet, then make your way through the terraced vineyards and other small towns on paths, roads, and the terraces themselves, ending up in a small town beside the lake where another train takes you back. In season, one can do a gastronomic tour as well as sample wines in small vineyard huts. Alas, the harvest is long over and we hiked sober.

Walking through the Lavaux Vineyard Terraces UNESCO site.

Little villages and grand chateaus with vineyards growing right up to their walls.

Tomorrow we fly home, so no more postcards for now. Maybe a miscellany/catch-up piece once I get over jet lag!

So long!

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Postcard from Switzerland: The Lauterbrunnen Valley

4 Oct
4 October 2018.
Weather (near) perfect, locals friendly, cheese coming out of our ears.
This was our fifth visit to the Lauterbrunnen Valley, aka the Jungfrau Region, and it was difficult to leave after a week of great weather.  We have rented the same apartment three times now and it feels like coming home. There’s nothing to figure out: we know the transportation, where to shop, where to eat, and that James’ and Michelle’s apartment has a slow cooker for our convenience. Day one, we put a pot of chicken soup on low and headed to the mountains.

We can see this waterfall from our apartment in the valley.

People ask why we go back to the same place over-and-over. That could be a bore in some places but here we always find new things to do. So many new things this trip that we did not get back to a couple of old favorites.
New to us was Sulwald and Isenfluh, a peaceful little community with views not seen by the masses heading elsewhere.

The cable car to Sulwald from Isenfluh can hold 8 people or one cow. Ric and I had a private ride.

In 4 trips to this area, we had not been to Isenfluh or Sulwald. It was a world apart. If you ever get to Isenfluh, stop at the restaurant there for a Sulwald Burger and a Radler and enjoy this view.

Eight people or one cow. The attendant showed us how the right side of the car opens to create a ramp the cow can use for boarding.

Another new-to-us adventure was the Aare Gorge. Our arrival was unexpected: the stop-on-demand train halted inside a tunnel and opened the doors. We thought it was a mistake until, magically, a door in the tunnel wall slid open revealing a path. We traipsed across a suspension bridge, then followed a somewhat rugged path up the hillside to the official entry. From there, the wooden walkways took us through the gorge to the train station at the other end.

A new-to-us walk was through the Aare Gorge on a slightly overcast day. We exited our train at the same level as the river, climbed up to the gated entry where the walkway began leading us down again.

People have been walking here for over 100 years. The ingenious Swiss build paths, tunnels, and walkways everywhere!

I have read about the Ballenberg Open Air Museum for years. Finally, we managed to visit. What a unique museum! 50 years ago the Swiss decided to create a place where their heritage could be preserved. Imagine a wooden building from 1336 preserved for posterity! While that is the oldest, it is far from the only ancient structure maintained at Ballenberg. Visiting was like taking a walk across all of the cantons in a couple of hours.

Many of the buildings at Ballenberg are hundreds of years old. They were disassembled, moved, and reassembled on site.

The day we visited there was a horse event. The Swiss Army turned out to help.

Handsome rooster at Ballenberg.

At Ballenberg one can walk across many of the Swiss cantons in a couple of hours.

A threshing demonstration at Ballenberg. Many Swiss crafts and skills are on display.

An old favorite is the hike from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg. Although we’ve done the hike four times, there is always something new. 

Since we last visited in 2016, this Trojan Cow has been added at the Männlichen playground. It moos and has a slide inside.

On the way to Kleine Scheidegg. There are a lot of improvement projects and building everywhere in Switzerland it seems.

I love this picture of a woman taking a photo of her dog at Männlichen. This is the start of our favorite hike to Kleine Scheidegg.

In four weeks of travel, we have had one day where rain kept us from doing what we had planned. ONE DAY! Big contrast to last year when we froze for the first two weeks of September.

Our last morning the snow level had descended considerably. It was about 40F/4C when we left.

This little guy was out-and-about, drinking from the stream through the pasture behind us and keeping an eye on the ‘hood.

We do not eat dinner out very often in Switzerland, but we found tasty pizza at the Camping Jungfrau restaurant.

If anyone needs a clean, comfortable place to stay in Lauterbrunnen, let me know and I will hook you up. See this pictures here but contact the owner directly to book. LMK and I will give you an email address. 

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