The Harvest Moon has passed and fall is entrenched with stunning color and crisp, cool air. Winter is not far behind in these Swiss Alps. Tomorrow we depart our favorite mountain community and start the journey home by way of Geneva.
Each year it is hard to say goodbye. The promise of a return, already scheduled, will sustain us through the coming months.
Despite more rain than we usually experience while here in Switzerland’s Berner Oberland, we have enjoyed our time of trekking, riding trains and lifts, exploring corners we’d not yet poked our heads into. There is so much to do we cannot even get back to all of our old favorites every year.
I have a list of places and hikes to explore — in addition to our old favorites — in 2023. As long as we can keep putting one foot in front of the other we will be back.
A few photos to remember this trip. After all, this blog is my journal and I like to look back and remember the places, people, experiences, and animals we encountered.
Everywhere we go, goats and cows. The young cow came up to me to be petted, over a fence of course.New friends, Chris and Jin, over dinner in Ortisei. We met because of our book.Waterfalls everywhere, thanks to the rain. We are happy hikers! The night view of the Staubbach Falls is from our apartment. This is my favorite photo from the trip, looking down toward the south end of the Lauterbrunnen Valley during our walk from Mürren to Gimmelwald. Fabulous fall colors contrasting with green pastures and the lofty mountains.
Rain on a forecast makes me cringe. Is my travel going to be a washout and won’t see anything I came to see? Will we be confined to quarters or get soaked on our way back from a hike?
This week’s dreary forecast. Thank goodness last week was divine!
No traveler wants to look at the forecast and see five days of rain, especially if you only have a few days in an area of outstanding natural beauty.
Fortunately, for us the weather in Switzerland usually turns out better than the forecast and a high percentage of expected rain is balanced against how many minutes or hours of actual rainfall. A 90% chance of rain in a day is accurate even if it only rains for 15 minutes.
Having a few activities in your virtual back pocket makes it possible to enjoy even a dreary day with hopes that it will actually turn out better than forecast.
In our books, we mention outings that are OK on an overcast or even rainy day. Yesterday we used one of our own ideas and while we got a bit wet, we had a nice hike, didn’t get too cold (layers!), and we were done in time for lunch back in our cozy apartment. While many travelers headed for the lifts to higher elevations hoping for views, we chose a walk along the Lütschine River and incurred a small fee for a train ride back from the end of the trip, not the high price of a mountain gondola on a day without views.
Cows bid us adieu as we head out of Lauterbrunnen.Crossroads. Hard to get lost with such good signage.The river is higher thanks to the rain.We encountered no other hikers in our 75 minute walk.
Yesterday afternoon offered a couple of rain free hours enabling a little stroll with weak sunlight and we were back “home” right before a downpour. Switzerland, like most of Europe, needs rain so we can’t complain.
Today was supposed to be dry in the morning and it was. In fact it has been dry all day! The cloud deck is low so views are not stellar but we invoked our Pacific Northwest mantra, “At least it’s not raining” and headed out on a long walk through the valley and a stroll through Mürren, high on the cliff, with coffee in our favorite cafe. Number of people encountered in the valley in a three mile walk: four. The cows easily outnumbered humans by 50 to 1.
Housemade cake and coffee at Cafe Liv, Mürren.
In fact, the sun is breaking through so I think we’ll take advantage and have our evening passeggiata a little early in case it the weather changes its mind.
Tomorrow will be drier than the forecast above indicates…we hope! Rain hats and waterproof boots will ensure our plans aren’t ruined by some much-needed moisture.
I found this picture from the same day last year. We were eating outdoors in a beer garden. May that weather return in the coming weeks!
Leaving Bettmeralp and the amazing Hotel Waldhaus in snow flurries, we arrived Saturday, north of the mighty Jungfrau to find sun in Lauterbrunnen, the peaks here freshened with snow and a powdered-sugar dusting even in the high meadows.
The fabulous Hotel Waldhaus behind me as we head for the cable car to the valley. Goodbye, Bettmeralp!
We are “home” here for the next four weeks and settled into our favorite digs at Ey-Hus. We can’t seem to quit this place.
Yesterday (Sunday) dawned cold and bright, a delightful day to take in the views from perhaps the most perfect of easy-hiker hikes, Grütschalp to Mürren. The three iconic peaks are in constant view, watching over us, showing off fresh mantles of snow in the morning sun. The Eiger, the Mönch, and the Jungfrau have seldom looked better and the skies have seldom been clearer. The sun teases the 40-degree temperature to feel much warmer and soon we are shedding gloves and unzipping jackets. In and out of forests, over rivulets that become waterfalls as they hit the cliffs, with the little electric mountain train chugging back and-forth along the cliff. The train is filled with passengers intent on the cable car ride to the Schilthornbahn. Every step is picturesque and the only sound our footsteps. Only the cows are missing as the alpabfahrt (descent from high summer pastures) has already occurred for many.
The last mile or so of the hike is mostly level, with lovely views and in sight of the little train.
All of the work on this hike (featured in our book) is in the first half. With only about 500 feet of gain in a mile-and-a-half, the wide path has no tricky footing and accommodates those who run, those who seek more strenuous connecting paths, and those of us out for a little exercise and to take in the day. The last mile undulates with many flat portions along the tracks as it enters Mürren. I think this path actually made us fall in love with the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Now we have taken it perhaps a dozen times and it never gets old. Especially on a perfect day.
The Eiger (left) and the Mönch. The Jungfrau is out of sight on the right.
After a restorative cappuccino at Café Liv in Mürren we hightailed it to the mountain train and transfered back down to Lauterbrunnen via cable car and on to the eastern side of the valley, taking a cogwheel train up beyond Wengen to a place we know for Sunday lunch, Bergrestaurant Allmend.
Mürren main drag. No cars!
You have to experience it to understand the transportation here. This area is a wonder of Swiss ingenuity and the ability to efficiently connect multiple forms of transportation to get from car-free village to car-free village while respecting nature and serving the people. Every conveyance coincides seamlessly with the next.
The Wengernalbahn runs between Wengen and Kleine Scheidegg but stops on request at Bergrestaurant Allmend.
Sunday lunch is a thing for us when we are traveling. It is an opportunity to slow down, indulge a bit, and join with the locals. Wherever we are in Europe, we find families gathering on Sunday for a midday meal. Often multi-generational, sometimes groups of friends, and many couples like ourselves. While the tourists are taking photos on the Schilthorn and Jungfrau, we gather at Allmend with families eating fondue, couples enjoying a pre-lunch aperitif, and groups of adults, kids and dogs playing, eating, and lounging in the autumn sunshine.
Bergrestaurant AllmendLunch on the terrace”3823” Burger was amazing!View of Wengen from Allmend
My phone said it was 46 degrees at 13:00, but in the sun we peeled off jackets and ordered Radlers and burgers. What a treat at 4951 feet above sea level to gaze upon the peaks, watch the waterfalls, and be served fine food by a cheerful waiter!
The blue sky followed us back to the valley and the reality of needing to get groceries. Sunday means a lot of closures in this conservative country, so we hopped on a train to a neighboring village that had an open store. What a wonderful way to commute to the market! We arrived home just as the sun slipped behind the western cliff but it lingered for hours on the peaks to the south as we cracked open a bottle of wine.
A perfect day.
Our last day at Bettmeralp a chilly but beautiful hike from Fiescheralp to Bettmeralp. Tough downhill for my cranky knees but Ric handled it like a champ.
Frankfurt is an easy city to dismiss. We have merely passed through on flights a couple of times, landing one afternoon and leaving the next morning. In 2016, we spent a full day and self-guided using a tour in the Rick Steves’ guidebook. This time, we decided to spend two nights and take a tour with the highly recommended Jo of Frankfurt On Foot Tours.
There is far more to Frankfurt than the thru-traveler using it as a waypoint would know. Jo filled us in not only on the long and important history as a merchant city, but on current culture and the changing face of the city. After a fabulous 3-plus hours, we were exhausted but informed. We have learned over the years that a great private tour is an excellent way to get insight into a site or a city. Worth every Euro.
Frankfurt: old and new. And hot.
The reason we pass through Frankfurt so often is that there are non-stop flights from the West Coast on Condor Air that make for relatively painless travel, if 10 hours can be painless. Changing planes on the East Coast is a trial we’d rather not endure ever again whether coming or going. Far better to make a single hop to FRA and then jump on a train to our next location after a good night’s sleep. Having a favorite Italian restaurant there doesn’t hurt.
As to sleep, I had a few bad nights prior to departure with so many pre-trip things on my mind: Will Sven and Molly have separation anxiety? Will I have separation anxiety? Will Sven and Molly forget who we are after 2 months? Will our bags arrive or be cast onto a pile of 5000 others as we have heard in reports? Derek’s surgery, new house sitter to get organized for, third heat wave hitting this weekend: Good Lord, no wonder I was stressed! Oh, and then COVID hanging on. I packed a pile of masks because, sensibly, the Germans and Italians are still requiring them on public transportation. That included our German airline. Everyone was masked-up except when eating.
Speaking of Beyond the Guidebook, we are NOT updating the guidebooks this year. (THAT was a weak segue.) I wanted a trip where I was truly relaxing, not making notes and taking photos, and then spending the winter laboring over edits. I don’t envy the Rick Steves’ editors. It is a LOT of work checking and cross-checking details for a new edition.
This year is a true vacation and I will post discoveries on the blog instead of updating the books.
Click on any photo for a better view. The landscapes are stunning!
Clockwisefromtopleft:Morning light on the Alpe di Siusi; The Denti di Terrarossa above the Alpe; Before sunrise in the Alpe di Siusi; One of our many companions on a morning hike; Me fashionably dressed for the German trains; Long view on the Alpe to our hotel with the Sciliar and Punto Santander; The many faces of the Alpe di Siusi include forested sections; Center, pet alpacas at the AlpenHotel Panorama.
Thursday was a long train day traveling from Frankfurt to Munich where we changed trains for the journey south to Bolzano.
Our trusty driver, Ivan, picked us up and ferried us to the Alpe di Siusi where we nestled in to the AlpenHotel Panorama, a favorite spot on our Favorite Places Tour, for three nights. This is another Beyond the Guidebook place. The other guests — mostly Italians — are surprised to find Americans here, especially on a repeat visit. It is not in any guidebook I have ever consulted but it is in our own Walking in Italy’s Val Gardena. One of the best features: rooms include not only breakfast but a 5 course dinner. No cooking, no thinking about it, elegant, tasty, and many choices. We are never disappointed.
Fun story. We first met “Taxi Ivan,” as his business is called, in 2016 when we vacationed in the Val Gardena with our two cats, traveling from Rome to beat the heat for the month of July. (See Training Cats from July 2016.) We used to take a bus to Ortisei from Bolzano, but imagine getting on a bus — even a nice one — with 4 suitcases and two cats! Taxi Ivan rescued us and we have been using his services ever since.
Hope you will stay tuned as we continue our Favorite Places Tour.
March on the Oregon Coast is a crapshoot for weather. Spring teases us, lurking around the corners of lashing rain, and daffodils defy the wintry conditions promising better days ahead.
It is a true act-of-faith to commit to a non-refundable hotel reservation. One could endure staring at the ocean for four days of pelting, icy, wind-driven rain or one might get lucky and find chilly overnights give way to sun, blue skies, and tolerable mid-50s.
View from our cottage, a colorful sunset after the rain.
We were lucky. A mid-afternoon heavy shower greeted us as we hit Highway 101 but as we checked in, the western sky was clear, the ocean calm, and the temperature not-too-bad. The forecast: two days of clear skies and sun. The god of getaways was smiling on us.
Lincoln City is a history trip for us having lived here for a few years until the combination of a scary forest fire and the pandemic drove us into the Willamette Valley. I miss seeing the ocean where we live today but love that Trader Joe’s is 20 minutes away instead of a 75 minute one-way drive.
Molly’s last trip before her planned sibling arrives.
This trip gave us a chance to relax with Molly before we adopt a sibling for her, and to celebrate our anniversary at a special restaurant. Eating fresh fish tacos for lunch two days in a row was a bonus.
Revisiting two favorite locations for light-hiking, Cape Perpetua and the Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge, we fueled ourselves with ocean views, rainforest paths, and clean coastal air.
Cape Perpetua is even more magnificent in person.
The Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge from the lookout.
Our lodging was far from luxury but the only place I could find that would accept a cat. Salishan Lodge will take big dirty dogs (we brought one there ourselves a time or two) but not our sweet Molly. All of the “pet friendly” places I checked out were dog-only. WTF? The Ester Lee, dated but with amazing views, welcomed us with a modest daily pet fee of $10 and Molly was happy to explore the rooms and gaze out the window at seagulls.
Molly was terrific once we arrived but oh did she “sing” for at least half of the 90-minute car trip!
We departed under gray skies with high wind warnings in our rear view mirror. Happy #37 to us! Now, to find Molly a friend.
Seagulls and the big blue Pacific transfixed our little girl.
Girovaga 