The Tour de Rösti----Our Family Trip to Switzerland
Jul 28th, 2007, 05:43 AM
#21
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Okay, honey, I've been very patient (well, sort of 
), waiting calmly for your next segment. But it has been 5 days ... (tap, tap, tap)
I even made rosti last night, in your honor!
Please, maybe just another tidbit! [-o<
), waiting calmly for your next segment. But it has been 5 days ... (tap, tap, tap)I even made rosti last night, in your honor!
Please, maybe just another tidbit! [-o<
Jul 28th, 2007, 08:37 AM
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enzian--Somehow I missed this when you started it. I kept wondering when you were going to write, lol! Sounds like a great trip! And I am NOT telling my DD about yours and the clay courts. We were not able to take racquets to Paris and she would have loved to play on the clay courts there. But you have really upped our interest on Switzerland, so now the wheels are turning in my head about how to make a trip work. Thanks, and keep writing please
Jul 31st, 2007, 08:46 AM
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LLindaC, thank you for that gentle prodding! I've tried, and got nowhere with this gal! 
You know, enzian, some of us didn't get to go to Switzerland this year
so reading reports gives us the fix we so desperately need!
Work schmirk! Hurry up and git-r-done!
I've tried, and got nowhere with this gal! You know, enzian, some of us didn't get to go to Switzerland this year
so reading reports gives us the fix we so desperately need!Work schmirk! Hurry up and git-r-done!
Aug 2nd, 2007, 11:03 AM
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Not quite finished, but here's the next part:
Oeschinensee—this is our favorite spot in Switzerland, and the hotel there is our favorite hotel. It is a Berghotel, or mountain hotel—a rustic lodge that must be reached on foot. (There is actually a road up there, but it is not open to public traffic). This one is pretty upscale as Berghotels go—some have no electricity or hot water. This one has both—but no ensuite bathrooms. The kids stay in the Matratzenlager, or dormitory, which has space for almost 30 people. Most often they have had it to themselves, although on one occasion it was full. We (the parents) stay in a private room, with a large clean shared bathroom down the hall.
This hotel sits right on the lakeshore. The family that owns it also has an organic farm, and the food in their restaurant is wonderful. The only downside is that dinner is served very early (around 6 pm), so the staff can clean up and get back down the mountain. But then, it is still light for long after, and one can wander around with the cows, who move up to graze the meadows around the hotel in the evening.
To get here from Kandersteg, you can either ride the chairlift, which has fully little wooden chairs that travel sideways, or walk up. It is around 3 km and a climb of 1800 feet from town. From the top of the chairlift, it is still a 20-minute walk to the lake, but there is horsedrawn coach if you wish to ride. There is also a Rodelbahn (summer luge run) up there, which is very popular with all the kids that visit the scouting center in Kandersteg. It was closed when we were there because of the rain.
Have I mentioned all the rain? Even coming from Seattle, we were beginning to tire of it. I looked forward to the next day’s travel to Zermatt, hoping for sun. Zermatt lies well south of the huge Berner Oberland mountain massiv, and thus has a different weather pattern.
Vain hopes. It was drizzling when we arrived, and we had to walk to the very far end of town to our apartment. Everyone was cheered, however, when we entered—the apartment was lovely. Two bedroom, 2 bat luxury apartment with expresso maker, flatscreen TV, the works—and it cost less for the 6 of us than a regular hotel room for two. Apartments are definitely the way to go. We dropped our bags and headed back in to town to look around and buy groceries for dinner and breakfast. Unfortunately, we missed the 5:00 pm webcam appointment I had set up with kopp–this day and every day we were there. Sorry, kopp—but I’m sure you enjoyed looking at Zermatt each day!
During the evening, and over the next few days, the Matterhorn would tantalize us with glimpses of her beauty (is that mountain a “she”? I think so. Clouds would lift, but swirl around the summit. It wasn’t until the morning we left that we saw the whole mountain, unobscured, and dazzling in her brightness. But even partial views draw a crowd—every viewpoint in Zermatt, particularly the bridges, is thronged with photographers when the mountain lifts her skirts.
We did two great hikes during our stay. The first day, we headed directly up toward Gornergrat from our apartment, not intending to walk the whole way, but just to have a nice hike. And it is. The part from Riffelalp up to Riffelberg is particularly nice—a narrow but well-graded trail up through the meadows—and lots more Enzian. It was snowing a bit on this stretch, but was still very pleasant. At Riffelberg, we caught the train the rest of the way up to Gornergrat. This was my first time there, and I was very impressed with the views. I’d take this trip over the (very expensive) Jungfraujoch any time.
We had a bit of an adventure on the way down—the train started, then jerked to a sudden halt, several times. The engineers were clearly worried about something—they got out, walked around the train, talked on their cellphones, and, after about 15 minutes with no explanation, took the train back up to the top. Must have been a malfunction in the braking or something–very un-Swiss. At the top we changed to another train and rode down without further incident.
Oeschinensee—this is our favorite spot in Switzerland, and the hotel there is our favorite hotel. It is a Berghotel, or mountain hotel—a rustic lodge that must be reached on foot. (There is actually a road up there, but it is not open to public traffic). This one is pretty upscale as Berghotels go—some have no electricity or hot water. This one has both—but no ensuite bathrooms. The kids stay in the Matratzenlager, or dormitory, which has space for almost 30 people. Most often they have had it to themselves, although on one occasion it was full. We (the parents) stay in a private room, with a large clean shared bathroom down the hall.
This hotel sits right on the lakeshore. The family that owns it also has an organic farm, and the food in their restaurant is wonderful. The only downside is that dinner is served very early (around 6 pm), so the staff can clean up and get back down the mountain. But then, it is still light for long after, and one can wander around with the cows, who move up to graze the meadows around the hotel in the evening.
To get here from Kandersteg, you can either ride the chairlift, which has fully little wooden chairs that travel sideways, or walk up. It is around 3 km and a climb of 1800 feet from town. From the top of the chairlift, it is still a 20-minute walk to the lake, but there is horsedrawn coach if you wish to ride. There is also a Rodelbahn (summer luge run) up there, which is very popular with all the kids that visit the scouting center in Kandersteg. It was closed when we were there because of the rain.
Have I mentioned all the rain? Even coming from Seattle, we were beginning to tire of it. I looked forward to the next day’s travel to Zermatt, hoping for sun. Zermatt lies well south of the huge Berner Oberland mountain massiv, and thus has a different weather pattern.
Vain hopes. It was drizzling when we arrived, and we had to walk to the very far end of town to our apartment. Everyone was cheered, however, when we entered—the apartment was lovely. Two bedroom, 2 bat luxury apartment with expresso maker, flatscreen TV, the works—and it cost less for the 6 of us than a regular hotel room for two. Apartments are definitely the way to go. We dropped our bags and headed back in to town to look around and buy groceries for dinner and breakfast. Unfortunately, we missed the 5:00 pm webcam appointment I had set up with kopp–this day and every day we were there. Sorry, kopp—but I’m sure you enjoyed looking at Zermatt each day!
During the evening, and over the next few days, the Matterhorn would tantalize us with glimpses of her beauty (is that mountain a “she”? I think so. Clouds would lift, but swirl around the summit. It wasn’t until the morning we left that we saw the whole mountain, unobscured, and dazzling in her brightness. But even partial views draw a crowd—every viewpoint in Zermatt, particularly the bridges, is thronged with photographers when the mountain lifts her skirts.
We did two great hikes during our stay. The first day, we headed directly up toward Gornergrat from our apartment, not intending to walk the whole way, but just to have a nice hike. And it is. The part from Riffelalp up to Riffelberg is particularly nice—a narrow but well-graded trail up through the meadows—and lots more Enzian. It was snowing a bit on this stretch, but was still very pleasant. At Riffelberg, we caught the train the rest of the way up to Gornergrat. This was my first time there, and I was very impressed with the views. I’d take this trip over the (very expensive) Jungfraujoch any time.
We had a bit of an adventure on the way down—the train started, then jerked to a sudden halt, several times. The engineers were clearly worried about something—they got out, walked around the train, talked on their cellphones, and, after about 15 minutes with no explanation, took the train back up to the top. Must have been a malfunction in the braking or something–very un-Swiss. At the top we changed to another train and rode down without further incident.
Aug 3rd, 2007, 10:04 AM
#28
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Hi enzian
It has been such a delight reading your report! I love your descriptions, most recently "when the mountain lifts her skirts." Brilliant!
We have often thought about stopping in a small village on the way in/out of Zermatt. So I looked up the Oeschinensee hotel, and it looks absolutely lovely - and the lake views, wow! Did you walk up the 1800 m. to the top with your bags?
Interesting about the Gornergrat train problem. Very unusual indeed. It's always unnerving when something like that happens. I remember once traveling from London on the Chunnel when it abruptly stopped (under the water, mind you!) for about 20 minutes. No explanation. Then it started up again. Very weird and very unsettling.
It was too bad about the weather. All that way for not much of a view, and snow! Wow. Gornergrat remains one of my favorite viewing places, and on a clear day it's fabulous with the 26 or so glaciers surrounding you. But in the clouds, well, it's a long trip for an applestrudel in the restaurant!
Good job!
It has been such a delight reading your report! I love your descriptions, most recently "when the mountain lifts her skirts." Brilliant!
We have often thought about stopping in a small village on the way in/out of Zermatt. So I looked up the Oeschinensee hotel, and it looks absolutely lovely - and the lake views, wow! Did you walk up the 1800 m. to the top with your bags?
Interesting about the Gornergrat train problem. Very unusual indeed. It's always unnerving when something like that happens. I remember once traveling from London on the Chunnel when it abruptly stopped (under the water, mind you!) for about 20 minutes. No explanation. Then it started up again. Very weird and very unsettling.
It was too bad about the weather. All that way for not much of a view, and snow! Wow. Gornergrat remains one of my favorite viewing places, and on a clear day it's fabulous with the 26 or so glaciers surrounding you. But in the clouds, well, it's a long trip for an applestrudel in the restaurant!
Good job!
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