(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)
My last post focused on the first part of our summer 2006 trip to Switzerland. Now it’s time for the second part!
After Fribourg, we tried something completely different: a farm stay near the town of Spiez in the Berner Oberland. I had never heard of the village of Hondrich, but it became our home base for several days. We started each day with a hearty farm breakfast, with many elements (including the mint tea!) sourced from the farm itself. Our host even shared some amusing ads from one of his farming magazines!
Our first day trip was to Wengen, which I consider to be my “home” ski area. We took the train from Lauterbrunnen up to Wengen, and then further up to Kleine Scheidegg. While we continued to be cursed by cloudy weather, we still saw enough of the legendary Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau mountains to make it a memorable day. At Kleine Scheidegg, we were greeted by a couple of goats who were employed to greet tourists outside the train station.
After the obligatory goat photos (sadly, they weren’t very photogenic), we hiked down to Wengen. We retraced the route I have taken on skis hundreds of times…except the steep slopes were replaced by gentle paths and contented farm animals. It was hard to believe that this same terrain hosts the fearsome Lauberhorn ski race (and its 40 metre Hundschopf jump) every year.
The next day saw us explore the nearby towns of Spiez, Thun, and Frutigen. We cruised on the Thunersee (Lake Thun), bought some classic R&B music on the Atlantic label (as one does in Switzerland), and ensured hydration through ice cream. Just for fun, we decided to have dinner in the “Cafe Restaurant Bad” in Frutigen. Named for the thermal baths in the region, the food was naturally quite good.
Our next day was spent on a whirlwind tour of my ancestral valley: the Simmental. We started in Weissenbach: we would stay here in my grandfather’s chalet during family vacations in the 1970s and 1980s. We then hiked to the nearby village of Boltigen (getting licked by a cow en route), where we caught a train to Zweisimmen and then another one to Lenk.
Lenk, as you may know, is my Heimatort (place of origin) in Switzerland. We hiked partway up the massive Simmenfälle (see also the photo at the very top of this post), where my ancestors probably wandered hundreds of years ago. It felt great to go “goating” here, and I wish we had more time to explore the beautiful mountains. Alas, we had to make sure we got back to our farmhouse before it was too late.
Stay tuned for the conclusion of our summer trip!