Scuol, Switzerland
Jan 6th, 2015, 01:24 AM
#21
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The old center of Montreux (above the railway line) is just a small place with narrow cobbled streets and local people living and working there. It's all but touristy. May be it's therefore I like to cross it en route to the hiking trails leading to the waterfalls of Chauderon Gorge or to Glion - Caux and finally to the mountain restaurants of La Cergniaule, Col de Jaman or Sonchaux (with breathtaking views over Lake Geneva).
I like the villages around Gstaad too:
Rougemont with it's more than 1000 years old castle and church (with frescoes) and it's more than 300 years old wooden chalets;
Lauenen with it's mountain lake;
Gsteig with a small cableway (gondola) to Lake Rawil from where you can continue to Sion (capital of Valais) by postbus....
... or to Glacier3000 by hiking along the Tsanfleuron Glacier
I like the villages around Gstaad too:
Rougemont with it's more than 1000 years old castle and church (with frescoes) and it's more than 300 years old wooden chalets;
Lauenen with it's mountain lake;
Gsteig with a small cableway (gondola) to Lake Rawil from where you can continue to Sion (capital of Valais) by postbus....
... or to Glacier3000 by hiking along the Tsanfleuron Glacier
Jan 6th, 2015, 01:46 AM
#22
Unpleasant shock returning to Oz for you, we have not been enjoying the heat Perth sent to us in Adelaide either, although tomorrow is 'cool' at 38C compared to last week's 44.5C.
What an interesting trip you had.
What an interesting trip you had.
Jan 6th, 2015, 02:14 AM
#23
I do recall you mentioning that kja. Weirdly enough, Gstaad felt much more highflutin to me than St Mortiz, which I liked.
I suspect my negative impression of it had a lot to do with time of year - when we visited St Moritz last year it was a few weeks before ski season, so we undoubtedly missed the throngs of wandering posh. All the fur, sparkles, designer boots and fur collar-wearing miniature dogs strolling along the Gstaad promenade just seemed OTT.
But I liked what I saw of the surrounding villages, much more my cuppa.
I suspect my negative impression of it had a lot to do with time of year - when we visited St Moritz last year it was a few weeks before ski season, so we undoubtedly missed the throngs of wandering posh. All the fur, sparkles, designer boots and fur collar-wearing miniature dogs strolling along the Gstaad promenade just seemed OTT.
But I liked what I saw of the surrounding villages, much more my cuppa.
Jan 6th, 2015, 04:01 AM
#24
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I go to Gstaad several times a year, but avoid it during the holiday weeks. I have a Swiss train day pass that I plan to use the next time there's a heavy snowfall in Gstaad.
My experience with Gstaad has been very positive. I love wandering the back streets and walking to the village from Saanen/Schonried. I don't eat at the fanciest places, instead prefer the little "sports" restaurant about a block from the train station that serves good (and reasonably priced) salads, including a nice chevre chaud salad. There's also a wine bar I like. (And FYI, our cocker Raisin went on many walks in and around Gstaad and she wore a $4 collar from Petco; nobody seemed to mind...)
Summer in Gstaad is lovely. It's not that crowded (except maybe around the tennis tournament), there is a good concert series, and the walks among the villages and in the mountains are wonderful. It's much less crowded in summer than other hot spots in the BO.
In terms of what you might have missed, one thing that you did miss -- and I will miss even more -- is the von Siebenthal kitchen store, now permanently closed. It was one of my favorite kitchen/home decor stores in all of Europe, as it carried beautiful cookware from a wide range of brands and gorgeous pottery/ceramics from Swiss artisans. Service was always welcoming, friendly and helpful. I have a beautiful hand-painted platter from them that sits in the center of our dining table. I love the skill and crafstmanship that went into it.
http://www.vonsiebenthal.ch/geschaft...hal-4217/#main
http://www.vonsiebenthal.ch/geschaft...i11-0030/#main
http://www.vonsiebenthal.ch/geschaft...ortrait4/#main
http://www.vonsiebenthal.ch/geschaft...sen-0144/#main
http://www.vonsiebenthal.ch/geschaft/galerie/
My experience with Gstaad has been very positive. I love wandering the back streets and walking to the village from Saanen/Schonried. I don't eat at the fanciest places, instead prefer the little "sports" restaurant about a block from the train station that serves good (and reasonably priced) salads, including a nice chevre chaud salad. There's also a wine bar I like. (And FYI, our cocker Raisin went on many walks in and around Gstaad and she wore a $4 collar from Petco; nobody seemed to mind...)
Summer in Gstaad is lovely. It's not that crowded (except maybe around the tennis tournament), there is a good concert series, and the walks among the villages and in the mountains are wonderful. It's much less crowded in summer than other hot spots in the BO.
In terms of what you might have missed, one thing that you did miss -- and I will miss even more -- is the von Siebenthal kitchen store, now permanently closed. It was one of my favorite kitchen/home decor stores in all of Europe, as it carried beautiful cookware from a wide range of brands and gorgeous pottery/ceramics from Swiss artisans. Service was always welcoming, friendly and helpful. I have a beautiful hand-painted platter from them that sits in the center of our dining table. I love the skill and crafstmanship that went into it.
http://www.vonsiebenthal.ch/geschaft...hal-4217/#main
http://www.vonsiebenthal.ch/geschaft...i11-0030/#main
http://www.vonsiebenthal.ch/geschaft...ortrait4/#main
http://www.vonsiebenthal.ch/geschaft...sen-0144/#main
http://www.vonsiebenthal.ch/geschaft/galerie/
Jan 6th, 2015, 10:05 AM
#25
Looks like it was a dangerous place WeisserTee - I have a thing for kitchen stores. Just as well I guess as there was little luggage space to spare. Too much chocolate, and a set of wine glasses from Alsace.
Jan 6th, 2015, 09:46 PM
#26
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Hi again,
Hate to be piling onto Melnq8 -- certainly different folks have different experiences and different appreciation for towns. But for the sake of others who may read this in the future, I'd like to add what I've seen and experienced in Gstaad --
I've been there a few times, both in winter and in summer. I go most often in summer now because I love their Menuhin Music Festival -- chamber music within the thick stone walls of churches that are hundreds of years old. It's just sublime. I've spent a few days there, a week there, and my last trip was for 10 nights.
I did see some of the chichi types that you note, Melnq8 -- some model-thin blonde women tottering on impossibly high heels in leggings that cost as much as my apartment. But they were amusing (to me) and relatively few. Mostly I saw mature folks who were out walking and wearing hiking clothes (shirts and hiking shorts/capris and hiking boots). One day I was wandering through town, stopping at a few benches to just sit and enjoy the architecture and to people-watch, and I noticed an older couple doing the same thing -- but it seems that they were stopping to catch their breath. It was a fun time, the three of us sort of hopping from bench to bench through town.
Because of the music festival, you might have thought that I would see a lot of those chichi folks, but I didn't. Generally I (retired woman on a fixed income) was wearing the most expensive outfit, while most of the other attendees were in their Sunday-meeting best. There were dresses in dark blue and black, some pantsuite, but none were new or flashy, and some didn't match very well. It felt more like country folks going to town to hear good music.
Well, that being said, I didn't attend any concerts in the main tent but only in the churches, so the attendees may well have been different.
As for Montreux -- well, that I can't really comment on. I've spent a lot of time in the hills of the old town, walking through Veytaux or just getting lost in the streets above the train station. I usually spend ALL of my time at the lakeside and avoid the main street in town unless I'm catching a train or shopping. I love it because I have personal history there (boarding school when I was 13 years old); I've heard a lot of people who don't enjoy the architecture & crowds. I'm not sure how much I would like it if it weren't an important place for me personally.
Anyway -- I am really happy you enjoyed the spots you picked to stay in, and I'm happy you got a taste of Gstaad. It has really beautiful scenery, I think, and to me it's more beautiful than the drama of the Jungfrau region. I want to say I hope you go back . . . but I know sometimes people just don't like the same things. So --
I just hope to continue reading your wonderful travel adventures!!
s
Hate to be piling onto Melnq8 -- certainly different folks have different experiences and different appreciation for towns. But for the sake of others who may read this in the future, I'd like to add what I've seen and experienced in Gstaad --
I've been there a few times, both in winter and in summer. I go most often in summer now because I love their Menuhin Music Festival -- chamber music within the thick stone walls of churches that are hundreds of years old. It's just sublime. I've spent a few days there, a week there, and my last trip was for 10 nights.
I did see some of the chichi types that you note, Melnq8 -- some model-thin blonde women tottering on impossibly high heels in leggings that cost as much as my apartment. But they were amusing (to me) and relatively few. Mostly I saw mature folks who were out walking and wearing hiking clothes (shirts and hiking shorts/capris and hiking boots). One day I was wandering through town, stopping at a few benches to just sit and enjoy the architecture and to people-watch, and I noticed an older couple doing the same thing -- but it seems that they were stopping to catch their breath. It was a fun time, the three of us sort of hopping from bench to bench through town.
Because of the music festival, you might have thought that I would see a lot of those chichi folks, but I didn't. Generally I (retired woman on a fixed income) was wearing the most expensive outfit, while most of the other attendees were in their Sunday-meeting best. There were dresses in dark blue and black, some pantsuite, but none were new or flashy, and some didn't match very well. It felt more like country folks going to town to hear good music.
Well, that being said, I didn't attend any concerts in the main tent but only in the churches, so the attendees may well have been different.
As for Montreux -- well, that I can't really comment on. I've spent a lot of time in the hills of the old town, walking through Veytaux or just getting lost in the streets above the train station. I usually spend ALL of my time at the lakeside and avoid the main street in town unless I'm catching a train or shopping. I love it because I have personal history there (boarding school when I was 13 years old); I've heard a lot of people who don't enjoy the architecture & crowds. I'm not sure how much I would like it if it weren't an important place for me personally.
Anyway -- I am really happy you enjoyed the spots you picked to stay in, and I'm happy you got a taste of Gstaad. It has really beautiful scenery, I think, and to me it's more beautiful than the drama of the Jungfrau region. I want to say I hope you go back . . . but I know sometimes people just don't like the same things. So --
I just hope to continue reading your wonderful travel adventures!!
s
Jan 6th, 2015, 10:14 PM
#27
Pile away swandav. If we all liked the same things, life would be very boring indeed.
Gstaad definitely has great scenery, there's no denying that. The village right before Gstaad when coming in from the direction of Blankenburg (the name of it escapes me) struck me as a potential base for a future visit - beautiful surroundings.
About those churches, we looked high and low for St Joseph, which was to have a free NYE concert - we also asked at the tourist office and asked the owner of our apartment but no one knew what we were talking about.
I think it the was main church on the promenade, but we went there and there was no reference to the name. Still confused about that. Are you familiar with it?
Gstaad definitely has great scenery, there's no denying that. The village right before Gstaad when coming in from the direction of Blankenburg (the name of it escapes me) struck me as a potential base for a future visit - beautiful surroundings.
About those churches, we looked high and low for St Joseph, which was to have a free NYE concert - we also asked at the tourist office and asked the owner of our apartment but no one knew what we were talking about.
I think it the was main church on the promenade, but we went there and there was no reference to the name. Still confused about that. Are you familiar with it?
Jan 6th, 2015, 10:26 PM
#29
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Ahhh, I believe that was Saanen. I guess you changed trains in Zweisimmen? There is a beautiful, short (like 30 minutes) walk between Saanen and Gstaad, one of my favorites.
Hmmm. For the Fest, everyone just refers to the churches by the town they're in: Lauenen church, Saanen church, Gstaad church, etc. I've just been dropped off at the church by the hotel shuttle bus. But according to "The Catholic Directory" (found by googling the church), it sits at Kirchstrasse (duh!). According to google maps, Kirchstrasse intersects the promenade and is about a block away from Hotel Bernerhof.
The church used during the Fest is the one the promenade.
(Glad you enjoyed the Gabriel!)
So enjoying your travels -- !
s
Hmmm. For the Fest, everyone just refers to the churches by the town they're in: Lauenen church, Saanen church, Gstaad church, etc. I've just been dropped off at the church by the hotel shuttle bus. But according to "The Catholic Directory" (found by googling the church), it sits at Kirchstrasse (duh!). According to google maps, Kirchstrasse intersects the promenade and is about a block away from Hotel Bernerhof.
The church used during the Fest is the one the promenade.
(Glad you enjoyed the Gabriel!)
So enjoying your travels -- !
s
Jan 7th, 2015, 09:56 AM
#30
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Hi Melnq8, glad to hear you're back, but sorry about the heatwave. Yuck. I'd hate that, too.
The village before Gstaad coming from Blankenburg is Schönried. The catholic church St. Josef in Gstaad is one block off the promenade in eastern direction (take one of the lanes vis-a-vis the ref. church at the promenade.)
Very glad you liked Lenk very much. It's family-oriented, down to earth, relatively wide open valley with majestic peaks in the south. Many hiking options, too.
Of course I'd like to know more about your stay in Scuol. Very sorry about the weather, btw, but this year we all had a lousy December weather. Ugh.
I.
The village before Gstaad coming from Blankenburg is Schönried. The catholic church St. Josef in Gstaad is one block off the promenade in eastern direction (take one of the lanes vis-a-vis the ref. church at the promenade.)
Very glad you liked Lenk very much. It's family-oriented, down to earth, relatively wide open valley with majestic peaks in the south. Many hiking options, too.
Of course I'd like to know more about your stay in Scuol. Very sorry about the weather, btw, but this year we all had a lousy December weather. Ugh.
I.
Jan 7th, 2015, 11:26 AM
#31
Thank you Ingo and Swandav. I believe the village is Schonreid, will have to look it up. It's definitely not Saanen.
All trains from Blankenburg to Gstaad stop in Zweisimmen Swandav, which we got to know pretty well. We did our food shopping there, had a couple of nice dinners there, and took the bus from there to Sparenmoos, as well as trains to Gruyeres (twice) and Montreux.
We walked from Rougemont to Gstaad - didn't care for the section between Sannen and Gstaad, which was basically just on a road alongside the river and through a campground - perhaps it was different than the one you took Swandav. We really enjoyed the section between Rougemont and Sannen though.
I think we're all talking about the same church, which we found, but never found the name of. We never did make it too the concert, as by then we were a bit put off by the crowds in Gstaad and didn't really want to deal with it anyway.
We still adore Scuol Ingo, details to follow as soon as I recover from jetlag.
All trains from Blankenburg to Gstaad stop in Zweisimmen Swandav, which we got to know pretty well. We did our food shopping there, had a couple of nice dinners there, and took the bus from there to Sparenmoos, as well as trains to Gruyeres (twice) and Montreux.
We walked from Rougemont to Gstaad - didn't care for the section between Sannen and Gstaad, which was basically just on a road alongside the river and through a campground - perhaps it was different than the one you took Swandav. We really enjoyed the section between Rougemont and Sannen though.
I think we're all talking about the same church, which we found, but never found the name of. We never did make it too the concert, as by then we were a bit put off by the crowds in Gstaad and didn't really want to deal with it anyway.
We still adore Scuol Ingo, details to follow as soon as I recover from jetlag.
Jan 7th, 2015, 09:30 PM
#32
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Hi again,
Part of the walk between Saanen and Gstaad is on an asphalt path next to the river -- maybe 10 minutes of the 30 minutes. But the rest of it is through rolling hills. Here's an album of the walk:
http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/v...bbd47cbb382743
s
Part of the walk between Saanen and Gstaad is on an asphalt path next to the river -- maybe 10 minutes of the 30 minutes. But the rest of it is through rolling hills. Here's an album of the walk:
http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/v...bbd47cbb382743
s
Jan 7th, 2015, 10:02 PM
#33
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Sorry, that link may not work. This one should:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...0EauGrJq5bMWK9
s
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...0EauGrJq5bMWK9
s
Jan 7th, 2015, 11:01 PM
#34
Sure looks different in the summer!
There was also a portion alongside the airport - a section in the woods and a section closer to the landing strip that seemed popular with dog walkers.
There was also a portion alongside the airport - a section in the woods and a section closer to the landing strip that seemed popular with dog walkers.
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