Yes, it has been an unconscionably long time since my last report. The Spouse and I have been hosting the first wave of summer visitors and doing a lot of traveling of our own, and my free time has gone to studying German and getting admitted to the local rowing club. Each subject will be discussed in due time, but I thought I’d begin with a survey of our continued exploration of Switzerland’s valleys.
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| Lauterbrunen Valley |
Faithful readers will remember our first ecstatic experience of the Lauterbrunen Valley last fall. We have returned there twice since then and have traveled to other well-known valleys such as Davos. But, increasingly, we have realized that Switzerland has an inexhaustible supply of beautiful mountain valleys, each with its own network of challenging and breathtaking hikes. Even if we explored a new one each week I doubt that we would be able to catch them all in our time here. But we are giving it a good try.
When you first think of Switzerland, most likely you think of its mountains. But from the point of view of daily life, the valleys are more important. In that sense Switzerland can be seen as a dense network of valleys. Some, like the Lauterbrunen, deadend into high mountain cirques.
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| Furkapass |
Others connect to other valleys by means of steep mountain passes. Most valleys have others opening off them at right angles, so that when you begin to explore one valley you discover others that you want to return to.
For example, our first hike of the spring was in a valley that opens above the town of Meiringen in the Haslital (tal being the German word for valley). In early May we returned to this second valley, the Reichenbachtal, for further exploration. (The literary among you might recall that Sherlock Holmes met his death in a fall from the Reichenbach Falls, which mark the river’s abrupt descent into the Haslital. In recognition of this connection, Meiringen has a bronze statue of Holmes in its main square.)
This time we started our hike farther into the Reichenbachtal and hiked into the hills above it. This afforded striking views of the Wellhorn and Engelhorner peaks on the opposite side of the valley. While I was back in the U.S., The Spouse made a solo hike into the Urbachtal, which opens off the Haslital just to the east.
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| Rosenlaui Hotel in April |
Returning to the valley also allowed us to revisit an interesting mountain hotel at Rosenlaui, in the heart of the mountains, which had been closed on our first visit.
Several weeks later in May we decided to check out Glarnerland, a valley that we passed during our trips to Davos last winter. It’s named after its major town Glarus and a major peak the Glärnisch. This time we got a head start by taking a funicular railway, called a Standseilbahn here, to the village of Braunwald. In the winter it is the heart of a ski area and in the summer is full of charming vacation chalets, but we were ahead of the season so most of the shops and restaurants were closed. (It has been a recurring theme of our hiking career so far, that we set our sights on a relaxing coffee break at a particular restaurant marked on the map, only to discover when we arrive that it is closed. Peak hiking season doesn’t begin until late June or early July.) Nonetheless, we were treated to spectacular views and fresh displays of mountain wildflowers.
At the end of the hike, instead of returning the way we had come we decided to drive over the Klausenpass, said to be the longest pass in Switzerland, that connects Glarnerland with the Schächental, leading in turn to the town of Altdorf and the Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Lucern to the English – and you can’t know how proud we are of having learned to pronounce that!), which lies to the south of Baar. For those who aren’t crazy about winding narrow precipitous mountain driving, I wouldn’t recommend this road to you, but it is entertaining, especially when you meet packs of bicyclists or motorcyclists on one of the many hairpin turns. The pass reaches 1,948 meters (6,393 feet), and I couldn’t imagine riding a bicycle over it, but the Swiss are intrepid bikers and seem to think it makes for an entertaining Saturday jaunt.
We were so delighted with the Klausenpass that we drove it the other way a few weeks later to show off the mountains to a visiting friend.
And a few weeks later in search of a pleasant Sunday afternoon hike, we returned to the Altdorf area and rode a small mountain tram to a plateau above the Vierwaldstättersee and then hiked above the Schächental. From there we could see a number of other valleys that bear further exploration.
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| The Rhone, with Glacier in Background |
One of the great valleys of Switzerland is named, appropriately, Valais, in French, or Wallis in German. It opens at the far end of the Furkapass, with a glacier that is the source of the Rhone River. This valley is so big that it fills an entire canton in southeastern Switzerland. As the Rhone flows eastward it grows and the valley widens, its steep sides affording perfect conditions for vineyards that produce some of the finest Swiss wine. So, one rainy Saturday we decided to drive over and see what we could discover.
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| Lötschental Valley from Fafleralp |
We discovered not only the beauty of Valais, which will bear much further examination (and visits to vineyards), but yet another valley, the Lötschental. The steep cliffs guarding its entrance into the Valais kept the Lötschental isolated from the outside world until recently, especially in the winters. It is famous for a number of colorful folk traditions that have been preserved, including carving of grotesque wooden masks used at Fasnacht. Today it is marked by a line of charming villages that have only recently begun to be developed for tourism. We followed the ever-narrowing road to its end at the village of Fafleralp and found a wonderful mountain hotel that fortunately had a room available.
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| Langgletscher, with stream flowing out of ice cave |
The following morning we headed beyond the road’s end up to the Langgletscher, one of the most southerly of a huge network of glaciers known as the Jungfrau-Aletsch, which collectively has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage natural area. Looking up at the awesome and slightly menacing glacial forms, one has a sense of the inhuman power of the mountains and the natural forces that have carved them over millennia.
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| View from Furgglen Restaurant, opening of Glarner valley in distance |
Finally, last weekend we traveled east toward the Wallensee, a large lake bounded by awesome uplifted cliffs that we had passed during previous trips. We drove to the village of Amden and then rode further upward on a Sesselbahn, a chairlift, to reach the starting point of a lovely hike through yet another mountain valley. From its heights we could see the opening of Glarnerland, one of our previous discoveries. We enjoyed a coffee break at one of the many mountain restaurants that have opened, in which farmers offer food and drink for hikers in addition to their usual summer activities.
For all their similarities, each valley offers stunning new views and new opportunities to explore. Each time we go out we learn a little more and, I hope, gain strength to take on the steep parts!
Bis später! Until later!
