The Swiss Alps

Immanuel was kind enough to take a week off and take us to the Swiss Alps. Our first stop was Schynige Platte which can only be reached by a historic narrow-gauge railway that was built in 1893. The well-preserved antique trains slowly climbed the mountain at 8 MPH until it reached its destination at 6500 feet. The view from the train was spectacular, but nothing could come close to our first hike up to the Oberberghorn peak where it felt like we were at the top of the world.

It was our intention to stay overnight at the railway-owned Berghotel, but we changed our mind at the last minute and traveled on to Grindelwald. Both Schynige Platte and Grindelwald were in the Jungfrau region of Switzerland which is one of the most touristed area of the Alps. However, Grindelwald does make a good home base as there are plenty of hotel choices and restaurants. It is also centrally located with easy access to several scenic train and gondola lift lines.

We opted to stay at the railway-owned hostel called Downtown Lodge for $36 per person which includes breakfast. The managers were very friendly and offered us all kinds of tips. Based on their recommendation, we took the gondola lift to a mountain top called First. From there, we hiked to Lake Bachalpsee which was still frozen. On the way down, we rented stand-up scooters and glided down the last third of the mountain on paved mountain roads.

After two nights at Grindelwald, we met up with Immanuel's friend Ywo in Luzern. Ywo's family has a cabin in Gitschenen, an untouristed area of the Alps. We took a short train ride from Luzern to Flüelen, then hopped on a Postal Bus around Lake Urnersee, then up a narrow one-lane road up to St. Jakob. At St. Jakob, we got on a small self-service gondola lift up to Gitschenen. That night we did a barbecue with homemade barbecue sauce and the next day hiked up to another mountain top. On the way down, we met up with a group of alphorn players who were serenading the cows. Now this was a perfect day.

Unfortunately Ywo and Immanuel had to get back to Basel. But we loved Gitschenen so much we decided to stay another night. So we moved down the road to a bed and breakfast. That evening we ate dinner at the local lodge and met up with the same group of alphorn players again. After dinner, the alphorn players brought out their accordions and clackers and soon the music started flowing again.

The next day, we took one more hike around the valley and then headed back to Basel. My two weeks in Switzerland was over, but Italy awaits.

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(Also see Smile Politely food column)