Mad King Ludwig II - Monday, June 28, 2010

Mad King Ludwig II - Monday, June 28, 2010


We left the Heiss farm this morning around 8:30 and set the GPS for Fussen, Germany. Just outside the city are located 2 castles inhabited by King Ludwig II. One, the most elaborate, known as Neuschwanstein Castle, was built by him in the the mid 1800s in an effort to match the style of Midieval Castles. Situated high above the valley floor, we parked and walked 15 min. uphill to a bus loading station. The bus took us up to within 20 minutes of the castle and we had to walk up the the steep path the rest of the way on our own. We were put on a list for an English speaking tour and then waited over 1 ½ hours for our number to come up. Inside we were not allowed to take pictures but a guide showed us through on a 35 min. tour showing Ludwigs living quarters, various chamber rooms and lastly the kitchen. The woodwork was mostly hand carved elaborately from Linden wood in the area. He was forced to abdicate the throne because of his behaviour (thus the nickname MAD) and took his own life they figure a few days later. The castle was never completely. It was interesting but the walk up and back was quite tiring. Another castle built by him named Hohenschwangau sits just across the valley facing Neuschwanstein - not as elaborate but he lived in H more than N because of his untimely death.
On our way back to the farm we made 2 more stops. At the Wieskirche (White Church) we saw again the elaborate paintings on the carved ceilings. It has changed in the past 8 years with a number of small stores outside the Catholic Church selling food and mementos. Inside people sat quietly in the seats - some sang a hymn - some gazed upward at the intricate paintings depicting much of the life of Christ and Church activities.
Stopped at the Echlsbacher Bridge which spans the deep rushing river gorge and the Ammer River far below. The vantage point we had visited in ‘02 was mostly grown over by natural vegetation making the view less spectacular.
After a brief stop for groceries, we returned to the farm to make supper.

Arrival in Krun, Germany - Sunday, June 27, 2010

Arrival in Krun, Germany - Sunday, June 27, 2010

We said good-bye to the Oesche’s around 8:30 a.m. and headed for Krun, Germany about 7 hours north-east. M&P left right ahead of us in their VW Golf and we got separated about 3 km into our journey because someone who shall remain “synonymous” made a wrong turn. No problem though since we had both set our GPS for the address where we were headed. Only problem was mine said 288 km and M’s said 406 km. About 3 hours into it we decided to pull over for a lunch break and whom should we pull in beside at a rest stop but M&P. The funny part was the couple next to us looked very confused. Here we were with a French license plate and a Swiss license, greeting each other cordially in the same language and carrying the same plastic lunch bags. How could we ever have planned that timing. M’s GPS took him on the autobahn most of the way and ours took us across country with some autobahn - go figure. Another “attraction” was a gentleman who arrived to use the WC in a traditional Bavarian costume - white shirt, brown shorts with black wide suspenders, knee high white socks and shoes. It was the thin white belt that went from front around down under to back and up then fastened to the suspenders that we couldn’t figure into the mix. We arrived in Krun at 3 p.m. about 15 min ahead of M&P, found our apartment, one of 6 under the same roof including the barn and it’s sheds. We can see little barns out our front balcony with rocky mountain peaks in the background. Their name is Johan and Barbara Heiss. They speak German only so it is difficult to communicate. We have several scenic spots on the agenda to visit tomorrow before the Passion Play at Oberammergau, Germany on Tuseday.

Simmental Valley - Saturday, June 26, 2010

Simmental Valley - Saturday, June 26, 2010

Today was a leisurely drive into an area of Switzerland where we have not ventured before. The Simmental valley is a mountainous region near to Spiez here but much more picturesque than we had imagined. The narrow valleys are scattered with many small farms and they were very busy today making hay. Around every corner and over every hill whole families were busy - some raking the hay down the hillside into rows so that the loose hay could be picked up - some with walk behind power rakes forming it into rows - some with hay loader type box on the back of a small truck that picked up the loose hay and stuffed it into the rack - some forking it onto a wagon by hand like we used to do 50 years ago and many with hand rakes or forks forming it into rows for the picker - upper. The machinery is modern but the terrain is simply too steep for most tractors to get it done without rolling down the hill. Speaking of down the hill, at one point the family raking the hay down the hill had formed such a large quantity that the hay slid down the hill much like a snow avalanche. Most farms are small with only a hand full of cows and relatively small acerage. The prominent crop by far is hay - we only saw about one field of corn and the same amount of grain - it was hay everywhere.
After picking up groceries for the next several days at the Co-op store in Spiez, we headed home for supper. After supper we all walked down to the Lake of Thun for one final glance before heading east tomorrow to Krun, Germany and the Passion Play on Tuesday at Oberammergau.

Back to Langnau, Switzerland - Friday, June 25, 2010

Back to Langnau, Switzerland - Friday, June 25, 2010

After a leisurely morning spent partly in the nearby town of Spiez where we are staying for 2 more nights yet, Jean and I went to find internet connection. I stopped in front of an abandoned store front parking lot and we were connected so for the next hour and a half almost I spent updating the blog and Jean sent several e-mails. It has been over a week since we were able to connect - very frustrating to say the least. What did we ever do before computers??

Then this afternoon we had been invited by Marion Rothlisberger from the Langnau Mennonite church to visit their farm upon her invitation at church last Sunday. They are a younger family with 2 daughters, one 17 and the younger 14 years of age. Her husband Kurt works in R & D at a local cheese factory by day and farms their 8 hectare farm in his spare hours. They live on her father’s divided farm - the other half went to the father’s brother then it was sold as I understand it. Her mother passed away 18 years ago and the father lives still in the original house/barn combination where she was born. Kurt and Marion built a new home or re-modeled it 15 years ago right beside the barn part so it is a compact little “community”. She was so good to us and has a real gift for entertaining strangers. We commented after, how reluctant we would probably have been to do what she did. She had also invited her 2 aunts - one speaks quite good English having been to Saskatchewan and Vancouver Island where another sister lives. The other aunt and her husband live nearby and were there as well. We were given a tour of the buildings including the stable where they have 8 brown swiss milking cows that they milk and send the milk away to be made into cheese. Three ponies and 2 rabbits made up the rest of the livestock although they did have a small pigpen. She has quite a few antiques sitting around outside and decorated tastefully with flowers - a very healthy garden and a great mountain top view. We sat out in front of their house and looked out over the fields and could see many farmers in every direction making hay while the weather is so favorable. Some farmers are very mechanized with balers and wagons while at least one we saw was pitching the hay onto the wagon by hand the old fashioned way. We counted at least 4 pitchers and 2 up on the wagon tramping it down and squaring the load - one driver of the tractor as well.
Outside the front door on the patio she served us Emmentaler cheese (that is their region) , 2 types of Swiss cookies, some fresh strawberries, coffee and an apple/ cinnamon cold drink. We left her our e-mails and addresses with the invitation to visit us in Canada if they ever come there for a vacation .
Over all it was a very fascinating experience and a rare privilege to have had a window into the life of a real working Swiss farm and family.

Can’t beat the apline flowers - Thursday, June 24, 2010

Can’t beat the apline flowers - Thursday, June 24, 2010

Even better weatherwise today - not a cloud in the sky as we left the Oesch’s. It was off to Steckelberg again for a trip to the top of Europe at the Schilthorn - almost. The Jungfraujoch boasts the “Top of Europe” but having been to both now I like the view from Schilthorn best. Maybe because it is up higher than Gimmelwald and Murren - two of our favourite places in Switzerland. It was 4 degree C up there when we arrived by cable car but the bright sunshine made it feel warmer. What a view from the observation deck. We could see the Thunersee far below but best of all the scenery on the way up was magnificent. Sheep were grazing just below the snowline on the bright green grassy slopes and closeby was always a rough barn or in some cases a house/barn combo where the cows and sheep are allowed to graze on the alpine grasses and flowers - a combination that produces some of the best cheese we have tasted. As were descending the 1 hour trip, we cut through the fog in places - a sure sign that the warmer air from below was mixing with the snow covered peaks.
In the afternoon we traveled up to Schynige Platte, an high alpine rocky plateau where wild flowers grow in abundance - almost any colour and size is there. Jean got out her pen and paper and wrote down the names of the ones she might like to get - I can just see a trip to the greenhouse in her cards when we get home.
While the ladies looked at the flowers, we men went in different directions. Merle went up and around the other side of the mountain for some better photo ops and I took off walking the path toward First, a rocky mountain trail that takes 4-5 hours to complete - only spent about a hour on it before returning for a coffee up there. The cogwheel train ride down was better than ever. Both the Thunersee and the Breinzersee are visible from the higher areas as the train passes through the rocks and trees on the way down. We chatted with 2 British men on the way down - both have been mountain trail climbing for 8 years or more - 2 weeks at a time on their vacation. Today they had completed the high walk from First to Schynige Platte in 4 hours.

Looking for Wingers - Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Looking for Wingers - Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Finally an almost cloudless day to travel up to Wengen so we left at 8:30 am and drove to Grindelwald, caught the train to Lauterbrunnen then switched to the cogwheel train for the trip up to Wengen. Wengen is a flat plateau at 4300 ft above sea level that was once the home of the Winger families before some of them moved to America in the early 1700’s . Many are still in the area, in fact we had a waitress several days ago with the surname Wenger.
We found the view up there spectacular as we had remembered. There have been many new chalets, condos and hotels built though since 2002 that in places we hardly recognized the once familiar surroundings. Merle and I walked around to a view point where we had been before and instead of the one bench that was there to rest and take in the view in 2002, there were 12. That was the ratio of changes we noticed around many corners today as we visited. Newer and larger trains are now used to transport people up to Wengen and beyond to Jungfraujoch. Many of the stores in town centre are the same and we enjoyed browsing through the souvenir shops. We stopped at a small café for coffee before walking up behind some of the homes before returning to the train station for the ride back down to Lauterbrunnen then transferring to the Grindelwald train. The name of the Grindelwald bahnhof has been changed to Zweilutschinen but the trains still come and go as we remembered.
We stopped on the way home at the Spiez Bibliotheca (library) to send off a few hurried e-mails before heading “home” for supper.

Our favourite apline willage - Tuesday, June 22 2010

Our favourite apline willage - Tuesday, June 22 2010

With clear sunny skies for a change this morning we decided to go up to Gimmelwald, Switzerland to show M&P the small willage we had fallen in love with in 2002. On the way up however it was decided to instead take the gondola on up higher to Murren and walk back down the 1 ½ hour pathway to Gimmelwald . Murren is basically a ski resort town but in summer caters to the tourist crowd. It is over 5300 feet above our starting point at the bottom. Many of the stores were closed but we did find several open including a great little café/bakery where we could warm up with a coffee. It was 2 degrees C up there when we arrived and some of us were not expecting that including me. After exploring the town we walked back down the steep winding trail to Gimmelwald at 3000 feet above the valley floor. Along the way are great vistas of little barns and alpine flowers sprinkled with the occasional hut and some brown swiss cattle grazing with cow bells a clanging..
Unlike Murren, Gimmelwald is a car free little village comprised mainly of alpine farms with several motel type chalets for visitors. Most barns are empty at this time of the year since farmers are in the higher alpine meadows where their cows can graze on the green grasses and alpine flowers which gives much flavor to the cheese that is produced up higher. We bought some of that tasty cheese from a lady in a small hut. Jean recognized the lady as the one shown on one of Rick Steves videos of Gimmelwald. We found many more homes built along the trail down and in town and we were actually disappointed that it has lost some of its unique charm over the past 8 years since we were here last. It is obvious that Rick Steves has been here and left his signature on many shops and motels - they display signs outside their businesses saying they are recommended by Rick Steves. For those who do not know he writes and produces travel shows in video and on TV.
While waiting for the gondola down at mid afternoon, I decided to walk the trail down instead and asked Merle to come along too while the ladies took the gondola and met us in the parking lot on the valley floor below. Ask Jean where she got to at the bottom. The walk down took 1 ½ hours and was mostly steep with many steps cutouts formed into the rocky hillside steps. It winds around the back of the canyon from Gimmelwald and crosses a number of rushing mountain streams on their way to form the main river and rapids along the valley to the Thunersee. Great camera shots at every turn today.