thursdaysd

Signing on. I really need to revisit Switzerland. Love your photos.

Paqngo

I always enjoy your trip reports and am following along. Aren’t you so happy to be traveling again?

swandav2000

Thanks so much for those clues, Mel! On my last trip, I tried to transfer photos to a photo stick, using the right USB C adaptor, but couldn't get it to work. Clearly, I need to work it out before my next trip, rather than in the middle of it!

Wonderful, wonderful photos, as usual!!

s

dreamon

Thanks for letting us share your holiday, Mel. I am SO envious! It looks amazing.

Have you been tempted to go and live in Switzerland? I know it's a favourite.

swandav, same concern here. I've become so dependent on my phone for photos (and other stuff) that the prospect of losing it (and all my photos) makes me really anxious.

Melnq8

Appreciate the kind comments - yes, very happy to be traveling again! Although, I must admit, every time I got a text from BAG (through the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health), my heart skipped a beat. I was afraid they were going to ask us to leave! And weirdly, it took me longer than usual to relax this time around, I felt a bit stressed...and with that came an urge to go, go, go, which thankfully, eventually abated.

When Fodorites began planning trips again, asking questions and advice, and then actual trip reports started trickling in, I did a little happy dance.

dreamon, yes, we've been tempted to live in Switzerland (and New Zealand) but that's a pipe dream. I do admire how swandav upped sticks and moved to Germany though, now that's inspiring.

I'm very thankful for the years we spent living outside of the US (now more than ever).

I hope that those of you planning trips to Switzerland and elsewhere make them a reality.

Melnq8

Oct 2 –

My poor blistered toes were craving an easy hike. Bill had done his due diligence and had come up with a promising plan. Unbeknownst to us at the time, his find was a doozy.

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/...-areuse-gorge/

Because my toes were so angry, we decided to only hike a portion of the 11.6 km point-to-point trail.

Instead of starting at Noiraigue and hiking to Boudry, we started at the Champ-du-Moulin railway station, having taken the train about an hour from Grenchen Süd, with a change in Biel (10.90 chf each). From there we planned to hike the Gorges de l'Areuse to Boudry.

But, plans change. When we arrived at Champ du Moulin, I decided to go right instead of left, drawn in by a small settlement nestled amidst a canopy of lush green, which turned out to be a tiny information office and a food kiosk. I asked the woman manning the information office which leg of the trail from here was prettier. She said she liked the section from there to Boudry, but that the “saut du brot” stone arch bridge, considered the highlight of the trail, was about a 30 minute walk in the opposite direction, towards Noiraigue. Ah-ha.

So, blistered toes notwithstanding, we decided we couldn’t possibly miss the highlight, so we walked in the direction of Noiraigue, swimming upstream of other walkers and knowing full well that we’d just doubled the length of our intended walk.

Best decision ever. The walk was stunning.



Champ-du-Moulin to Noiraigue

Champ-du-Moulin to Noiraigue

Champ-du-Moulin to Noiraigue

Champ-du-Moulin to Noiraigue

Champ-du-Moulin to Noiraigue

Champ-du-Moulin to Noiraigue

Champ-du-Moulin to Noiraigue

Champ-du-Moulin to Noiraigue

Champ-du-Moulin to Noiraigue

“saut du brot” stone arch bridge

“saut du brot” stone arch bridge

We then backtracked to Champ-du-Moulin, and stopped for lunch at the kiosk next to the tiny information office, where we shared a ½ bottle of local red and a flammkuchen at an outdoor table, chuffed at the beautiful day, the thus far easy walk, and our gorgeous surroundings.



Lunch venue

Near lunch venue

Local drop

Flammkuchen

Then it was back on the trail, headed towards Boudry…having been lulled into thinking the hike was easy.

What lay ahead was a roller coaster of a track that follows the Areuse River; a series of catwalks, intimidating rock walls, and narrow passages dangling over the abyss of the gorge below. It felt like hiking through a rain forest in New Zealand, complete with wet slippery roots, rocks and about 4,000 stairs. You'd think we'd have learned by now that when the Swiss say "easy to moderate" they mean “potentially ass-kicking” and that when they say "two hours" they mean “better allow three”.

There were plenty of other hikers, and one in particular scared the bejesus out of me when he slipped on a wet root and slammed against a rock wall, all while carrying a kid in a carrier on his shoulders. I instinctively gasped and reached out for the kid, as did dad. The kid was fine, but I had the shakes for several very long minutes, and slowed down even more.

Background: I slipped on a wet rock while crossing a stream during a hike a little over a year ago, breaking my right wrist in three places. While very thankful it wasn’t a hip or my head, I’m still a bit timid when it comes to wet rocks and roots. Once broken, twice shy.

That gorge was beautiful though. No doubt about that.


Champ-du-Moulin to Boudry

Champ-du-Moulin to Boudry

Champ-du-Moulin to Boudry

Champ-du-Moulin to Boudry

Champ-du-Moulin to Boudry

Champ-du-Moulin to Boudry

Champ-du-Moulin to Boudry

Champ-du-Moulin to Boudry

Champ-du-Moulin to Boudry

The trail eventually evened out, and as we neared the end, we began to see kids on scooters and parents with strollers coming in from the Boudry end, and I had to wonder if they were actually going to tackle the whole hike or were just coming in partway for a picnic or a wander. We’re taking about the Swiss here after all; they’re mountain goats and put us mere mortals to shame.

The trail officially ended near a viaduct, but we still had to walk to the Boudry Süd rail station, which of course involved climbing another steep hill after already logging 7.5 miles. Those views made it well worth the effort though; terraced vineyards and green, green, green.

Sometimes Switzerland feels like one never-ending hill.


End of the gorge

Walk to Boudry railway station

Walk to Boudry railway station

Walk to Boudry railway station

Up, but of course

As tourists, we lack the Swiss talent of turning up for a train just as it arrives and timing our hikes to end with public transport arrival, so naturally we had to wait about 30 minutes for the next train.

Enticed by all of those vineyards, we decided to stop in Neuchâtel on our way back to Grenchen hoping to find a terrace overlooking Lake Neuchâtel on which to enjoy a local drop (train, 2.20 chf each).

After a bit of searching we stumbled upon Hotel Alpes et Lac and settled in on their terrace and ordered a glass of local Pinot Noir. The wine was served refrigerator cold, which I questioned with our waiter. He explained that their guests liked cold red wine, and offered to bring me a replacement.

It eventually dawned on me that the terrace was part of Restaurant MeiJing, a Chinese restaurant; and IME from spending a lot of time in Singapore when we lived in Indonesia and taking many flights on Singapore Air, red wine is more often than not served cold. Why? I have no idea.

Regardless, it was probably the cheapest glass of wine we’d had thus far in Switzerland (4.90 chf each) and the topic led to a nice chat with our Chinese waiter who told us he spoke three languages; German being the hardest to learn, but essential for his job.

Afterwards we caught a train back to Grenchen Süd (9.30 chf each), which once again took us alongside the beautiful Lake Neuchâtel and Lake Bienne/Biel, the latter of which I’ve since read is the language boundary between German and French speaking Switzerland.

To be continued…

annhig

<<Afterwards we caught a train back to Grenchen Süd (9.30 chf each), which once again took us alongside the beautiful Lake Neuchâtel and Lake Bienne/Biel, the latter of which I’ve since read is the language boundary between German and French speaking Switzerland.>>

Mel - I've heard that described as the "Roestigraben" which I think is quite funny. Â Interesting that your Chinese waiter found German the hardest of the three languages [English, French, German/] Â to learn - I found German a lot easier than French, but perhaps that was because the German teacher was better. Â Wiki also informs me that there's a "Polentagraben" in the Ticino as well

I'm loving the photos especially of the first part of that walk but I have to say I think I'd have gone home after lunch, especially with your poor toe!
Â

annhig

I seem to have picked up a weird A that I can't delete. Please try to ignore it.

Melnq8

annhig - the Rösti Ditch - I rather like that! Had not heard that before.

We also crossed the Polentagraben this trip, another first for us. Hadn't heard that one either.

Melnq8

Oct 3 –

We packed, tidied up the apartment and left Grenchen for our next five night stop - Grimentz - in the Val d' Annivers, a relatively undiscovered hiking and skiing area located in a side valley in the Canton of Valais and an entirely new area for us. I think it was Adelaidean who first piqued my interest in Grimentz when she was doing research for her own trip. If this is the case, thank you Addy!

Our planned journey was to take four hours and involve two trains and two buses (train to Biel, then another to Sierre, bus to Vissoie and then another to Grimentz, 42.20 chf each) but, before we even left the rail station in Grenchen we were approached by a conductor who told us our train would not be coming...evidently there was a person/train accident on our route. Yikes.

He whipped out his phone and suggested a few alternate routes – all of which involved getting to Solothurn first - and assured us we’d not have a problem with our already purchased tickets.

So we caught the next train to Solothurn and sought out help at the railway station there, where we were re-routed to Grimentz via a train to Bern, a train to Visp, a train to Sierre/Siders, a bus to Vissoise and a bus to Grimentz...more changes than we'd like considering we were dragging luggage...yet we would arrive the same time as planned.



Train food

Wouldn't mind one of these myself

It was Sunday, and we didn’t know if there would be an open grocery store in Grimentz, so I popped into a shop at the Visp station during a lull between trains and picked up a small carton of milk, so we could at least have coffee in the morning.

Our bus from Sierre to Vissoie was transporting several bikes and their owners and the ride was crazy curvy and steep, as was our connecting bus ride to Grimentz. These rides always bring a smile as we wonder what might lie ahead in this land of mountains and impossibly steep valleys. The Swiss penchant for building in the most challenging places never ceases to amaze me. Our bus driver was humming away and didn't seem the least bit concerned about the impossibly tight switchbacks and sheer drop offs as we clung on for dear life.


Bus snap, overlooking Sierre

Road we came up, taken from bus

Road we came up, taken from bus


We were eventually deposited in the too-cute-to-be-believed village of Grimentz, population 385, which I’ve heard described as a “cultural jewel”.

Bonjour. We were now in French speaking Switzerland, although I’ve since read that the second most common language in Grimentz is Portuguese and the third is German. Didn’t see that one coming.

After a slight issue finding it, we settled into our lovely Airbnb on the third floor of an “authentic Anniviard chalet”. Owner’s words, not mine.

Nice place this. Compact, but beautifully finished and exceptionally well-equipped – especially that kitchen. While it had the smallest shower I think I’ve ever stepped into, the apartment was highly functional and ideally located.

After googling Coop and finding it open on a Sunday (!) we headed there for breakfast provisions.

On the way to the Coop we passed Claire Fontaine, a tiny café offering drinks, crepes and an Apéro of raclette for 6 chf between 4-6 pm. So after unloading groceries we headed back there to partake of said offerings, alfresco at one of two tiny tables. Perhaps it was the long metal straw, but this is where my Aperol Spritz habit began in earnest, a drink I’d have many times in the coming days.

And that raclette (which came with a shot of Fendant) was the perfect light dinner (25 chf, two raclette, one Aperol Spritz and one Weissbier).

Then it was back to the apartment for a bit of R&R on our tiny balcony, where I put up my feet and counted six toes covered in bandages.


Grimentz

Grimentz

Grimentz

Grimentz

Grimentz

Apéro

Raclette

To be continued…

Adelaidean

Oh boy, that’s a lot of cheese, even for me, lol!

I’m loving this Mel, you’ve helped guide my last 2 trips and I can count on you to visit places I’d like.

Your long walk seemed familiar, and in my notes I had this blog
https://swissfamilyfun.com/areuse-gorge-hike/
good to know that the Champ du Moulin to Noirague section would suffice as my DH is not as forgiving as yours...

marg

So envious! just wish we were there.

Melnq8

Yep, that's the one Adelaidean. Those "family friendly" Swiss walks became a standing joke with us after that one.

Hi marg! Good to see you here.

October 4 –

In Grenchen we had The Bells, in Grimentz we had The Cross. A giant cross right outside our drape-curtain-shade free bedroom windows…illuminated all night long. One of two as it turns out, this one bathing the chalet’s bedroom in light despite being in a tiny village in the mountains. Bill tried to use a fabric bed garment (not sure what it was actually) over the window as a makeshift curtain. Didn’t work. So, he hung out the window and coaxed one of the exterior window shutters closed on the window closest to the bed. Voilà, problem solved.



The church bells only rang at 6 pm and 6 am thank goodness.

We woke to a wall of fog and utter bleakness. Gloom does not become me.






We went out to explore Grimentz in the rain, visiting the church and cemetery, going back to the Coop to pick up another box of those wonderful Frigor cookies (we’d wiped out an entire box the day before lickety-split).


Grimentz

Can't resist a window box

Grimentz cemetery and that wall of fog


Grimentz church

Grimentz church

Grimentz

Grimentz

October is off season in the Alps. My research indicated that the gondola to Bendolla was closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and that the Grimentz-Espace-Weisshorn cable car was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, whereas the Zinal-Sorebois-Espace-Weisshorn gondola was open every day through October 24.

So, we had to plan well, especially if the weather wasn’t going to cooperate.

We spoke with a woman at the Bendolla gondola station to inquire about the cost to go up as we couldn’t find any information online (which became the theme for our entire stay). We were told it was 10 chf each return with our Liberte Guest Cards, left for us by our Airbnb host (50% reduction).

Next we walked down to the tourist office, where we discovered that language was definitely going to be more of a challenge here. The web cam at the tourist office looked like it was a bit clearer up at Bendolla than down in the village, so we walked back to the gondola station and bought tickets to go up, thinking that if nothing else, we could have a nice lunch at the restaurant and perhaps find a short trail or two.

We climbed a few sets of stairs to get up to the actual gondola station from the ticket office, just to have our tickets rejected by the ticket machine. We didn’t need to know French to understand that the operator was telling us we needed to go back downstairs to sort this out because he couldn’t help. We should have taken that as a sign.

So back down the stairs where the ticket seller apologized and issued new tickets. Then back up the stairs to the gondola station and up to Bendolla in a gondola with no seats; perhaps they’re meant more for skiers and bikers? Just us, not another person in sight.

Big mistake.

The web cam had misled us. It was foggy up here too, and we couldn’t see a thing. We wandered into the completely empty restaurant – well, restaurant is a stretch, it was a self-service cafeteria operated by one or two employees, not a single guest. We couldn’t garner the interest for overpriced cafeteria food, so we changed our minds about lunch and went out to see if we could find a trail. We walked a muddy road for a while, but the fog got thicker and thicker so we finally gave up in disgust. Our Grands Plans had backfired.


Bendolla

We took the gondola back to the deserted village and sought out lunch, ending up at Hotel De Moiry, only one other table occupied. Bill had the Plat du jour, a red deer stew with noodles, red cabbage and pear, which he said was really good, despite not looking very appetizing. I had cheese fondue for one, which was also very good (68 chf with one Aperol Spritz each).


Fondue!

So far French speaking Switzerland wasn’t treating us very well – in the less than 24 hours we’d been in the Valais we’d encountered three broken elevators at train stations forcing us to drag luggage up many, many stairs, one broken train door necessitating a race to the end of the carriage to get off before the train took off with us still on it, our Grimentz Air BNB owner scolding me when I called for directions because I couldn’t make heads or tails out of what he sent me, the woman at the ticket office selling us the wrong ticket, then our self-inflicted ill-advised trip up to Bendolla.

We were also finding this area hard to navigate; it was difficult to find information and to sort out logistics.

Oh well, tomorrow was another day. We retreated to our apartment and actually turned on the TV for the first time this trip, wishing we had that massive TV with Netflix from Grenchen that we never even turned on.

The sun finally made an appearance around 3 pm for about five minutes.


View from apartment

View from apartment

To be continued...

annhig

<< So far French speaking Switzerland wasn’t treating us very well – in the less than 24 hours we’d been in the Valais we’d encountered three broken elevators at train stations forcing us to drag luggage up many, many stairs, one broken train door necessitating a race to the end of the carriage to get off before the train took off with us still on it, our Grimentz Air BNB owner scolding me when I called for directions because I couldn’t make heads or tails out of what he sent me, the woman at the ticket office selling us the wrong ticket, then our self-inflicted ill-advised trip up to Bendolla.

We were also finding this area hard to navigate; it was difficult to find information and to sort out logistics. >>

I think you've just described one meaning of the Roestigraben Mel. One side of it things work; the other side not so much. [according to those on the German side, anyway, and no offence intended to any French-Swiss here] .

Melnq8

We pretty much said the same thing between ourselves annhig! Why did things stop working? Why is everything more difficult? Why are the menus so meat heavy (that would be me, lol).

dreamon

The walk from Boudry to Noiraigue looks wonderful. And Grimentz looks like a beautiful village (and probably more so when the fog clears).

Mel, did you buy a half fare card this year, or not bother? With the travel you're doing I would have thought it worthwhile but you mentioned a different card provided by the apartment owner.

Melnq8

dreamon - Yes, we purchased a Half Fare Card and it saved us a bundle.

Some apartments and hotels come with local guest passes for buses, etc, but it varies considerably by canton and village. Just paying the tourist tax doesn't mean you'll automatically get a pass, as we (and swandav) have learned.

Our apartment in Grimentz just happened to come with the Liberte pass, which covered all of our bus transport amongst the various villages within a certain range. It also offered discounts on cable cars and various other activities. This particular pass is only good from May-Nov.

https://www.valdanniviers.ch/en/pass...berte-198.html

WeisserTee

We feel the same way, although with 13+ years living on the German side, we are biased.






Â

WeisserTee

Anyway, it’s Herbstmesse time!! We are so glad that HM and the Christmas Markets are back on the schedule!!



balloons everywhere!



My fav food stand. Line was huge!

Mini Spalentor


Â

Melnq8

October 5 –

Weather be damned.

We put on our fleece lined pants and waterproof jackets and took the bus down to Vissoie (most buses were free with our Liberte Guest Cards, Sierre and Vercorin were not) and then another bus up to Chandolin, situated on the sunny eastern slope of the Val’d Anniviers and one of the highest continuously inhabited settlements in Europe.

*** When planning this trip we waffled over which village to stay in. Zinal caught our attention first, because it’s located at the end of the Val d’Anniviers and is surrounded by the highest mountains in the Alps. But, being at the end of the valley also meant it was more difficult to get in and out of via public transport. We knew we’d want to visit other villages, so the very thing that attracted us to Zinal in the first place – its remoteness – also disqualified it.

St-Luc and Chandolin appealed because they’re on that sunny slope, and sunshine can be hard to come by in Switzerland’s many valleys in autumn and winter. We also considered Vissoie, as it’s a transportation hub and all area buses pass through there, but we thought it was too low in the valley and might be too cold and dark in October.

And then there was Grimentz, situated above Vissoie, potentially offering more autumn sunshine. The description alone seduced us, “a charming, picture-postcard Swiss mountain village made up of century old chalets”. Who could resist that? ***

From Chandolin we took the one hour walk to Illgraben, a massive rock crater, the result of a mountain that collapsed from erosion, and one of the most geologically unstable valleys in Switzerland.

Things got a bit dicey as we made the mercifully short slog to the summit; the rain making the roots and rocks seriously treacherous. We could hear rocks falling as we stood there looking down into the 1,500 meter abyss, which was a bit freaky. The crater is fascinating, but one needs to be very careful up here with the sheer drop offs and perfunctory guardrails.

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/...ces/illgraben/

I’ve just read that there’s also a 134 meter long suspension bridge (Bhutanbrücke) that spans the ravine and joins Upper Valais with Lower Valais, but we didn’t see it. Not sure if this was because of the poor visibility on this lousy weather day or if it just wasn’t visible from our vantage point.

https://www.outdooractive.com/en/rou...ecke/26819955/


Waiting for the bus in Grimentz

Chandolin

Illgraben

Illgraben

Illgraben


We then walked back down to Chandolin, losing the trail in the process, delaying our return somewhat. Once in Chandolin, we caught a bus to St Luc, where we sought out the funicular to Tignousa, which was a bit of a walk from the bus stop. We got in the queue to ask for price info as we’d been unable to find it online.


Near bus stop in Chandolin

We considered taking the funicular up and either having lunch at the self-service restaurant at Tignousa or hiking from Tignousa to the Historic Weisshorn Hotel, four hours return. The ever-changing skies had me waffling, unable to make a decision. So we bailed, walked back down the hill and looked for a restaurant in St Luc Bella Tola,ending up at La Fougere, which turned out to be a great option. Sometimes indecision pays off.

Note: St Luc seemed to have two very distinct parts of town with two bus stops, St Luc Bella Tola, which was the closest stop to the Tignousa funicular and St Luc Posta, which didn’t seem to have much in the way of restaurants or services. I really liked the St Luc Bella Tola area and went a bit crazy taking photos of this beautiful little village.


St Luc

St Luc

St Luc

St Luc

St Luc

St Luc

St Luc

St Luc

St Luc

St Luc

While dining inside La Fougere, I noticed a family at a table nearby trying to coax a wasp out an open window. I told Bill that it’d be just my luck that the wasp would escape and then come and sting me.

And that’s exactly what happened! I had my hands in my lap, minding my own business, and suddenly felt a sting; that sucker had stung me between my pinkie and ring fingers. And it hurt like the devil.

We kept our eyes on the wasp and finally asked the waitress if we could move tables to get away from it. Once she realized I’d been stung she brought me some vinegar from the kitchen. She also managed to get the wasp out the window. My hand swelled up like a balloon and stayed that way for the next five days.

From then on, we seemed to be dodging wasps on a regular basis; they were everywhere, especially a pain when dining outdoors.

We had a lot of time to kill before the next bus to Vissoie, which were only running every 90 minutes, so we ordered another round and just hung out at the restaurant (70 chf, two pizzas, three Hoegartens, two Aperol Spritz, excellent and good value). Thus far, we were finding it difficult to plan well.


La Fougere

While waiting in Vissoie for our return bus to Grimentz (a lot of waiting when one travels by public transport) we were entertained by a guy high up on the church roof - cleaning the flashing and gutters with a broom. Thanks, but no.


Waiting at bus stop in St Luc

Near bus stop in St Luc

Vissoie

Bus to Grimentz

Back in Grimentz, we spent some time rugged up on our tiny balcony, watching the fog roll in and out.

I felt like we were living in a cloud.

To be continued…