Karen -

Yes, we'd take another 6+ week trip again. We've traveled five weeks at a time several times, but this year was a test to see how we'd do with longer, and neither of us felt it was too long. We preferred it over our previous back-to-back month+ long trips.

Having said that, we did slow down as the weeks went on...not that that's a bad thing!

Sept 29 - Time for cheese

We were up at six and on the 8:02 am Panoramic Golden Pass train towards Monreaux; changing trains at Montboven and then again at Bulle, where we connected to an RE train to Broc-Fabrique. The fare as far as Rougemont was covered with our Gstaad Card, then it was 11.90 chf each for the rest, a journey of 2.5 hours each way.


Zweisimmen bahnhof

The day began cold and foggy, but the sun came out enroute and it turned beautiful.

Once at Broc-Fabrique, we walked to the nearby Cailler Chocolate Factory. We weren’t here to take the tour, which we’ve done twice before, but rather to visit the nearby Nestle Factory Outlet Shop, which sells various items produced by the Nestle group at reduced prices; it's Nespresso and Starbucks coffee pod heaven.


Broc-Fabrique bahnhof

Train at Broc-Fabrique bahnhof

Train at Broc-Fabrique bahnhof

In 2023 I scored a 2.5 kilo bag of Cailler Neapolitans here for a shocking 32.95 chf (50% off at the time). I was hoping to find a similar deal again, but no such luck, their one kilo bags were 45 chf. So, we went into the Cailler shop attached to the factory (surprisingly not very busy), where I picked up a one kilo bag on sale for 30% off, 32.50 chf. I like to take these back as gifts for friends and family.

Afterwards, we each had a cup of dark hot chocolate in the Cailler caf� (5.50 chf each and very good), then it was back to the outlet to pick up a box of the Cailler Cremant I had my eye on, on sale for 50% off, 15.50 chf. I also picked up a Cailler chocolate blonde bar with almonds for Bill, and so began our new addiction, it was fantastic.


Hot chocolate at Cailler caf�

Then it was back down to the bahnhof where we caught the next train to Bulle, where we changed to a train towards Montbovon, getting off at Gruy�res for a cheese extravaganza.

We walked up to the medieval town, situated at the top of a hill overlooking the Saane Valley.

Gruy�res is a tourist magnet, so we’d played it safe and made a lunch booking at our preferred raclette emporium, Auberge de la Halle, but were surprised to arrive to an almost empty restaurant at 12:30 (Monday).

We sat outside on the terrace to people watch as we set about our cheese orgy, both ordering their all-you-can-eat raclette, warning our waitress that we’d be consuming a lot of onions and gherkins; we generally pass on the potatoes to save more room for cheese (78 chf with � liter of Fendant white wine). Delicious.


So begins the cheese orgy

Raclette...ooey gooey goodness

After lunch we poked around Gruy�res, surprised at how quiet it was, and eventually walked back down to the train station and retraced our steps to Zweisimmen (11.90 chf each to Rougemont, then free with Gstaad card).


Gruy�res

Gruy�res

Gruy�res

Gruy�res

Gruy�res

Gruy�res

Gruy�res

Gruy�res

Gruy�res

Walking back down to the train station

View from Gruy�res train station

None of the trains were busy until we boarded the Golden Pass Panoramic train at Montbovon, which was headed to Interlaken Ost from Montreux. We nabbed two unreserved seats, but barely.

The train got busier and busier and was standing room only by the time we got off at Zweisimmen.

It’d been a long day on trains, something we’d not normally do, but for chocolate and cheese we’ll make an exception.

Then it was back to the apartment for drinks on the patio, a nice chat with the owner’s mom and a load of laundry.

An enjoyable day; we’d not need to eat again until Wednesday😊

To be continued…

Did someone say all-you-can-eat raclette? And chocolate, no less.

Oh my! Cheese and chocolate ! SIGN ME UP 🧀🍫

Sept 30 - Where is that Iffigsee?

Time to work off some cheese. It was 8c, a high of 15c expected, perfect hiking weather.

We’d found what we thought was a three-hour return hike from Iffigenalp, a terrace located 1,600 meters above the Simmental Valley near Lenk, surrounded by three-thousand-meter peaks, including the Wildstrubel and the Wildhorn.

So, we took the 9:07 am train from Zweisimmen to Lenk and connected to Bus 282, all covered with our Gstaad cards.

Wow. We had no idea we were in for such a beautiful winding drive, which led us past the Iffigfall, said to be one of the most impressive waterfalls in the Bernese Oberland; impressive indeed.


Iffigfall, photo borrowed from Trip Advisor

The bus continued to wind up, up and up. A man onboard provided commentary, but unfortunately, we understood very little of it.

The road was so narrow in spots that I wondered if it’s one way; I later looked it up and found that it has timed one-way traffic during certain hours and is closed in winter.

We sat on the left going up and the right doing down; perfect for the views.

Once at the top, we set out on the hike we’d read about, but the sign indicated two hours - one way - so we knew we were in for a long one.



And so began our hike to Iffigsee.

It began innocuously enough, but soon became steep and rocky, the worst bit starting as soon as the gravel road ended. As we climbed, we saw a few workers clearing out what we think might have been some sort of invasive pine tree; working on the side of a mountain didn’t look like much fun.

The views were stupendous, but we were soon asking ourselves, “where is the iffiglake”?

As we climbed, I kept turning around to size up the descent, worried, as I knew it’d be hard on my wonky knees and treacherous with loose rock and mud.

We finally reached the lake, and later discovered we’d missed the trail that led down to the lake, but we had some great views from above. We only saw a handful of other people.


Looking back the way we'd come, hike to Iffigsee

Hike to Iffigsee

Hike to Iffigsee

Hike to Iffigsee

Hike to Iffigsee

Hike to Iffigsee

Hike to Iffigsee

Finally...Iffigsee

We returned the way we’d come, making it intact, but we were both worn out; we’d only logged five miles, but it was a tough five miles, 1,765 feet up and back down, 4.5 hours.

We had time for a drink at the Berghaus Iffigenalp near the bus stop before our 3 pm ride home; here I managed to spill my hard-earned Aperol Spritz all over myself, my bag, and my jacket, adding a new scent to my sweaty clothing, and it not our washing day at the apartment (16.50 chf for a beer and an Aperol Spritz).


Berghaus Iffigenalp

Then it was back on the bus for that gorgeous drive down, thinking we should have hiked down to the falls too, maybe next time.

It’d been a beautiful cool day. We were both wrecked, but it was a good kind of wrecked.

Back in Lenk, we boarded a train back to Zweisimmen arriving in time for a quick run to Migros for salads, then it was back on the balcony for dinner.

Bring on the Voltaren.

To be continued…

Wonderful trip report, Mel

I'm really enjoying the detail.

Thank you margo!

Wow, basically that's 1,765 feet in 2.5 miles (5 miles roundtrip right?) ! Do you guys use hiking poles? Beautiful scenery for sure!

yk - yes, we use hiking poles

Another wonderful trip, enjoying your TR.

Oct 1 -

We took the 9:02 train to Gstaad, getting off at the bahnhof, with plans to walk the three-hour panoramic loop trail from Gstaad-Bissen-Turbach-Gstaad, described as:

The leisurely hike goes from Gstaad village along the Louwibach and Turbach streams into the scenic landscape of Turbach Valley. From there the trail leads to Bissen, which offers a wonderful view onto Gstaad. The turning point of the hike goes over Scheidbach near the small village of Turbach. Then it�s back towards Gstaad - this time along the sunny southern slopes on a flat trail higher up. From here there is a great view onto the Gstaad mountains � the R�blihorn, Gummfluh and Stalden. A hiking trail then leads through Overbort, with its magnificent and noble chalets, back to the center of Gstaad.

We�d chosen this hike as an easy option for our last day in the area.


Trail sign

Gstaad

We located the trail, which began on the road and then dropped down alongside the river. It then led up alongside a construction area and then to a road with scattered houses. We reached the hamlet of Bissen, then kept climbing, the path eventually cutting over to a cow pasture. It was humid and sunny, the trail exposed, and it wasn�t doing much for either of us.


Gstaad

Gstaad

Prettiest part of the walk

So, when we came upon the Wasserngratbahn bus stop, we consulted the timetable and learned that a bus to Gstaad would arrive in five minutes, so we decided to bail, having walked mostly uphill for an hour and not having much fun.

It was a small bus, we the only passengers; in the four days we�d been in the area, we�d only had to show our Gstaad Card on the train from Zweisimmen to Gstaad and from Zweissimmen to Lenk.

Enroute to the bahnhof, the driver said �cows� and sure enough, there was a small parade of cows being returned from the alpine pastures. The driver pulled aside and waited for the cows to pass.


Bus shot

Back in sleepy Gstaad we wandered for a bit and popped into the Coop, surprised at how big it was, later discovering Gstaad has a population of about 9,200. We then sought out Mango for lunch, an Indian restaurant we knew from a previous visit, we the only customers.


Gstaad

Gstaad

Mango menu

Here we each had a nice Kadai curry - chicken for Bill, paneer for me, rice, and a shared too thick, not-very-good garlic naan (63.50 chf, free tap water). As we ate, we watched various Bollywood films dance across the screen in the restaurant, Gstaad the filming location for several Indian movies. There�s just something odd about sitting in an Indian restaurant in a Swiss village, watching Bollywood movies surrounded by staff only speaking English.


Gstaad isn't cheap! Menu posted outside of a restaurant

After lunch we wandered some more, popped into the St. Niklaus Kapelle, then returned to Zweisimmen via train to do some laundry and relax.


St Niklaus Kapelle

Bill had been feeling crummy for about a week, and as expected, he�d passed it on to me. Despite our best efforts, we can�t seem to travel without one or both of us getting some sort of crud.

It�d been another pretty day, with a high of 12c.

We�d enjoyed our second stay in Zweisimmen; the apartment was huge, and incredibly well equipped, we didn�t even use half of it. The best bit; it�s a five-minute walk from the bahnhof, the drawback, it�s situated on the corner of a noisy thoroughfare.

To be continued�

Oct 2 -

We tidied up the apartment, disposed of the recycling and trash and walked to the train station, where we boarded the 10:02 regional train to Spiez, using our previously purchased Super Saver Tickets.

The train was quiet at first, but grew busier as we approached Spiez. With 45 minutes before our connecting train, we relaxed over a glass of wine at the station restaurant (10.40 chf) and took some photos of Lake Thun.


Lake Thun

We then caught our connecting train to Visp, a ride of only 26 minutes, our carriage not terribly busy, although the luggage racks were full.

We’d been through Visp many times previously, but had never explored the area.

During our research, we’d run across “the unspoilt countryside of Visperterminen”, which is situated above Visp in the Valais, the language border between German and French speaking Switzerland. This area is known as Heidadorf, home to Europe's highest contiguous vineyard and Heida grapes”.

It sounded like our kind of place.

We arrived in Visp around noon; we’d arranged with our Air BNB owner to meet us at the Visperterminen Unterstalden bus stop at 2:00, so we had lunch at the nearby Migros cafeteria, chicken sausage cordon bleu with noodles and veg for Bill (14.90 chf), salad for me (6.50 chf). I then left Bill with the luggage while I picked up some provisions so we wouldn’t have to return to Visp again later in the day.


Migros lunch specials

The six minute bus ride to Visperterminen Unterstalden led us up a steep curvy road, our driver whipping around the corners (2.20 chf each). Here we got our first views of the Heidadorf Visperterminen vineyards. Wow.

The owners met us with their wagon, which they loaded our luggage into and then led us to the apartment, situated in a small chalet next to a 300-year old stadel (grain storage barn) overlooking a vineyard.

They then graciously gave us an hour-long introduction to the apartment and to the area in general, and knowing we were hikers, suggested several trails. They also gave us our guest cards, which unfortunately didn’t cover buses - our main mode of transport for the upcoming days - but did cover a few chairlifts.

The chalet was a lot smaller than our previous apartments, but it was well equipped and comfortable and best of all, very quiet.

We’d soon learn that Visperterminen Unterstalden is a tiny hamlet situated between Visp (4 km below) and Visperterminen (6 km above).

The abundance of dark wood chalets perched up on stacked wood slabs immediately reminded us of Grimentz. Many of these were under renovation, including those closest to ours, making us wonder if they were all going to be turned into holiday units.

We spent the rest of the day sorting out what to do over the coming week in this unfamiliar area. We also booked seat reservations for the train from Locarno to Domodossola later in the trip; something we’d been trying to do for months, having to wait until they opened the reservations for our date (€8 for both, we’d already bought tickets).

Dinner was cheese, crackers and the Heida wine left for us by the apartment owner, no grocery store or restaurants here, just a handful of houses and a bus stop.

To be continued...

I truly look forward to your travel posts; thank you for sharing these exciting experiences!

Thanks for reading ravionbachviet9640.

Continuing the journey, my left knee aching in sympathy! We love the Dolomites so much, but your report is tempting us with Switzerland. But the prices! Ouch!

"I then walked to the Frutal Bakery and Caf� right around the corner from our apartment. I�d seen the huge meringue outside their shop the day we arrived, and later read that meringue supposedly originated in Meiringen, said to be invented here in 1600 by the Italian confectioner Gasparni."

I�m late commenting it but I�m on board for one more of your great reports. Beautiful pictures and Arnisee does look like a fabulous place!

I liked reading about the Frutal Bakery and Caf�. I was there a week after you and had one of those delicious meringues with cream. So, I almost bumped into you there 😊

PJ - my left knee is my worst too, but these days they both give me grief.

leifields - sounds like I need to go back and get a meringue with cream!

I'll get back to posting today - it's been rather busy the past two days.

Oct 3 -

We both had a great night’s sleep; we didn’t hear another sound, a nice change from the traffic noise in Zweisimmen.

We’d received cold weather warnings on our phones the previous night, so weren’t surprised when we woke to a chilly morning, necessitating fleece lined pants for the first time this trip.

We walked the three minutes to the Visperterminen Understalden bus stop and caught the bus to Visperterminen Busterminal, the terminus station (2.30 chf each), then walked about five minutes to the GIW chairlift station, with plans to take the chairlift up and hike the three-hour Panorama-Rundwanderweg, GIW-Stafel-Gebidum-Gebidumsee-Gebidumpass-GIW, as suggested by our hosts (chairlift free with guest card). We’d been told the Matterhorn could be seen from the trail.

After some floundering at the top station of the 2,000-meter GIW, we found a trail, and began the steep climb. It eventually leveled off and we were treated to some great views of the surrounding 4,000-meter peaks, much of the trail above tree line.


Top station GIW

Top station GIW

When we arrived at the lake (Gebidumsee), we followed a trail that led up a steep hill behind it, confused as there were only random winter wanderweg signs with no destinations. It didn’t feel right, no one else was headed up this way; we climbed for a bit, and then decided we must be on the wrong trail, so we turned back.


Views from the trail

Larches turning yellow

The 3,934 meter Bietschhorn as seen from the trail. One of the highest peaks in the region.

Bietschhorn

Bietschhorn

Interesting clouds

Gebidumsee

The confusion sets in

Back at the lake we joined a different trail that led along a road for a bit and then began to descend through forest, returning us to GIW 3.5 hours and five miles later.

We later figured out that we probably should have continued up that unmarked hill to Gebidum for those promised views of the Matterhorn. Well, crap.

Swiss signage is generally excellent, but there were a lot of intersecting trails up here, and we found it a bit confusing.

We had lunch at the GIW Panoramic Restaurant; soup and salad for me, a chicken breast sandwich and fries for Bill, one wine, one beer (57.50 chf). I think we were overcharged, but I failed to get a receipt so didn’t pursue it.

We thought we had sufficient time to take the chairlift down before the next bus at 3:25, but we arrived at the GIW chairlift and discovered that not only did it close from 12-1 (which we knew about), but also from 2:45 to 3:45, so we had to wait an hour. Best laid plans.

We eventually made it back down to Visperterminen Busterminal, then had to wait for the next bus at 4:15, so we sat on a bench and watched the bus driver wash the bus.


Oops...

Visperterminen Busterminal

Instead of going directly back to Visperterminen Understalden, we bought tickets down to Visp to do a bit of food shopping as we knew shops would be closed on Sunday (3.60 chf each). Afterwards it was back on the next Bus 524 up to Visperterminen Understalden (2.20 chf each).

To be continued…

Oct 4 -

Rain was expected. We were a bit slow this morning as we were both feeling crappy and full of snot.

I thought I’d researched this area pretty well, but a lot of my hike choices turned out to be much further away than expected. So, we spent too much time researching our options, which slowed us down even more.

After significant waffling, we decided to visit St. Jodern Kellerei for a tasting, a short downhill stroll from our accommodation. Our apartment owner had told us we didn’t need a booking, but warned they would be busy harvesting.

Despite our poor timing, we were warmly welcomed for a tasting and a tour offered by the affable Neil, son of the winemaker, fluent in English, ready to start college and a most excellent guide.

We tried six wines with bread (15 chf each), three of them Heida wines, including their award-winning Heida Veritas, which has won numerous awards and is made from 100-year-old vines that produce very few grapes.

We were then taken on a personal tour of the winery, where we learned about its history, and that its operation is dependent on some 600 grape growers who own and look after small plots on the surrounding hills, forming a cooperative.

He told us that the growers were hobbyists, not professionals, and they provide the winery grapes in exchange for payment and discounts on wine.

I’ve never seen so much gleaming stainless steel in my life; all computerized. And the Barrique was very interesting, their former wine barrel room, now used for events.


St. Jodern Kellerei

St. Jodern Kellerei

St. Jodern Kellerei

St. Jodern Kellerei

We also learned that they spray their vines via drones, which is much more efficient than helicopters as the terrain is so steep and difficult. Many grape growers have to walk some 50 minutes to their plots to access the vines; all the grapes are handpicked. If that isn’t a labor of love, I don’t know what is.

We purchased a bottle of their Heida Barrique and a bottle of their Jodru Assemblage Blanc, the maximum we could drink before we left Valais, unfortunately.

As we left the winery, we saw small trucks filled with plastic bins full of grapes pull up, deposit their grapes onto a conveyor belt where they were weighed. They’d then wash the bins and return them to their trucks. It was fun to watch, especially the group with a kid of about 12 washing bins like crazy. A family effort.


St. Jodern Kellerei

St. Jodern Kellerei

Afterwards, they’d grab some wine and sit down at a picnic table with huge wheels of cheese and bread and socialize.


St. Jodern Kellerei

A most fascinating visit.

We then we took the bus down to Visp for lunch (2.20 chf each), where we had kebabs at a the very busy Charisma Pizza and Kebap shop near the bus station, what I consider the European version of fast food.


Visp

Lunch venue

Service was so slow we thought they’d forgotten us. Bill had the jumbo chicken durum, I chose a regular sized Vegi Durum, no drinks. It was pretty good, but the onions were seriously strong (32.80 chf).

While Bill finished his jumbo durum, I dashed across the street to Zenh�usern and picked up a piece of cake for later.


Yum

On the return bus to Visperterminen Unterstalden, we noticed vehicles pulled to the side of the very narrow road, stacked with crates; grape picking was in full swing.

Back in our neck of the woods, we walked through the hamlet end to end - not much to it, then returned to our chalet for wine on the patio.


The hamlet's vegetable sellers

Wandering through Visperterminen Unterstalden

Visperterminen Unterstalden

Visperterminen Unterstalden

Visperterminen Unterstalden

Visperterminen Unterstalden

To be continued…

Wow!!! What a wonderful report! Gstaad looks gorgeous! Your wine tasting sounds like so much fun! And the vegetable sellers are so cute! I really and truly admire you and your husband for all the hiking that you do.