13 October 2023.
I am ready to burn all the clothes I brought along. Two months of a capsul wardrobe makes me realize why I do not have the discipline for such minimalism at home. Still, we dutifully packed our clothes today for the last transfer before flying home and will deal with the decision of keep, toss, or donate next week.
As we wrap up two months of travel, I find myself with miscellany to impart. I jot down things I think will make a good blog then occasionally use it as fodder inspiration.
No one topic stands out so perhaps a brief summary of crap I am thinking about things you might be interested in.
No bedbugs! We have escaped the Scourge of Europe 2023! Perhaps our long stay in Lauterbrunnen has been key. We have two nights near Zurich starting tomorrow but I am prepared to shine for the little rascals. I had what I think were bedbug bites in Florence in 1972. Do not care to repeat.
Weather irregularities. It has been warm and sunny almost the entire four weeks in Lauterbrunnen and actually dry for most of our stay. A blessing for certain versus last year (See More rainy day plans) but existentially frightening as we should be having days cool enough for a jacket even in the afternoon and nights so cold you need gloves in the morning. Instead, I wish I had packed a sundress and sandals for some days. (Many women are wearing them.)
Simply gorgeous weather, although sometimes you have to get above the clouds to find it. Here, at Alpine Tower, Meiringen, CH.
This is my favorite trip picture, hiking from Grütschalp to Mürren with the little mountain train that runs along the cliff and the Eiger and Mönch in the background. Another glorious day!
Long stays are the best. Settling in for four weeks in a favorite location is delightful. We have stayed in Lauterbrunnen and vicinity about 140 nights over the past 10 years. Why do we come back? We have a great time here. It is familiar, we love the apartment we have stayed in for most of those nights, we know what we are going to do while here yet we always find new places to explore and enjoy. Staying here requires little planning. We simply live and enjoy these incredible surroundings and the car-free lifestyle Europe affords. Maybe a little like people who have a lake cabin they spend the entire summer at. In my youth, I had friends whose families did that. It seemed narrow to me, to spend all of your vacation in the same place, yet here I am many decades on and I get it.
The view from our balcony at Ey Hus 6. The church in the background chimes the hour, 24 hours a day. You get used to it.
Paperless Travel. I used to pack along an inch-thick stack of confirmations, tickets, and related travel paperwork. I gave up hard copy books as soon as I got my first tablet (2011, I think) but still, there were all those printed documents. NO MORE. All of our passes and tickets are finally, as of this trip, on our phones. All confirmations saved only in email. I do bring a proper hiking map for the mountainous area we frequent, but that is it. The train conductors scan QR codes from our phones and we never have to visit a ticket machine.
Cooking while traveling. Anathema to some, but I like to cook while we are traveling. I get creative with what we can do with limited ingredients and locally available products. Each trip seems to embrace some consistent theme. This year we ate a lot of arugula salads (various preparations) and various pastas. I discovered a new-to-me balsamic chicken recipe and riffed a red-onion chutney to go with the chicken that will be a staple at home. Also, breakfast burritos. Switzerland finally has available some Mexican foods like guacamole, black beans, and tortillas. A few years ago, we started being able to get Asian products like coconut milk, Basmati rice, edamame, and Thai red curry paste. Years past we’ve had trends in chicken curry, chicken soup and pot pie, and giant salads featuring apples, spinach, blue cheese, and dried cranberries. It’s not all sausage and fondue when you cook at home.
Ethnic foods. Each year we find more and more non-Swiss options even in the villages of this small corner of Switzerland. Italian has been around for a bit but now there are two very good Italian places (not just pizza) we can get to by a short train ride which is a novel way to travel to dinner. We finally found a Thai place in Interlaken a few trips ago and the surge in Indian visitors has led to a number of Indian restaurants. Perhaps our favorite this trip was “discovering” a Lebanese restaurant in Interlaken.
Delicious Pad Thai at “sree manee Isaan Thai” in Interlaken.
Cows, cows, and more cows. We have seen cow parades more this year than any other: Little informal groups passing through town and tying up traffic. Large parades of 100 decked out in flowers. Scheduled parades with multiple stops to drop off cattle at various low altitude pastures when returning en masse from the high alps. Today there was a cow show in the church parking lot. Never have I ever imagined such an event. Of course there was beer, schnapps, and cake. Why not?
Just the tail end of a small cow parade coming through Lauterbrunnen as they veer off to their valley pasture.
Today’s Cow Show in a most picturesque location between the church and the waterfall. Each cow had a numbered tag on its forehead, secure with a headband of sorts. About 100 cows and a lot of mooing.
Off to Zug tomorrow. Who knows what fodder for the blog our final days will offer?
