Switzerland June 2 - June 9

We drove from Italy to Switzerland over the Splugenpass which was a very long, dramatic climb and the view probably would have been outstanding but it was raining and clouded over, so you couldn't see much. We were hoping the sun would break out as soon as we hit Switzerland but that didn't happen for awhile. We picked up a map and started on our way to Appenzell, our first stop.

One of the first things you notice while driving is the stacks of fire wood everywhere. Where the Germans did it well and then in Austria it became and art form, here in Switzerland they took it to yet another level.

The town of Appenzell itself was a little too manicured and a lot too expensive for us so we stayed in Wasserauen in a Gasthaus outside of Appenzell right next to the Ebenalp lift. The restaurant wasn't open so we had dinner down the road at another Gasthaus that was traditional Swiss and the first place in Switzerland where we had Rosti with cheese and eggs, a classic!

The next day it was supposed to rain but we took a chance and went up the cable car to hike the mountains around the Ebenalp.

When we got off the lift, we hiked further up the mountain where after awhile we started to hit large sections of snow that we had to traverse to get back to the path. That was where Tom decided to do his Jamaican bobsled run without the sled. One minute, while Pat was trying to take his picture he was in the viewfinder of the camera and the next minute gone! Pat watched while Tom slid down the hill trying unsuccessfully to stop himself until, thankfully, he finally ran out of snow and came to an abrupt stop when he hit the grass and mud. What's that they say, "God protects drunks and fools", so after he climbed out and we washed some of the mud off his butt, we hiked to the next hut and had a beer.

Afterwards, we got really stupid. We're here to tell the story so; it's all good Mom(s). When we left the hut we were supposed to find the path that led part way down the mountain to the place we were staying that night. Instead, because we never found the "left hand turn" we just kept going straight along the ridge line. The path eventually turned into hand held cables fastened to a sheer rock face wall with the path only about 15" wide.










We started thinking we might be in the wrong place....

It continued along across avalanche zones with snowfields blocking the trail that we had to traverse.









At this point in time, the light should have gone off that we just shouldn't be here, especially after the bobsled run earlier. If we had any brains, we would have known we were in a bad place.

It was starting to get late, the weather was turning so we made the smart decision to turn around, except now we had to backtrack over those same areas. Only then did we really realize the severity of the poor choice we had made. To explain, if old "Bobsled Tom" decided to take another run, there would have been nothing there to stop him but a couple of rocks on the valley floor 6000 feet below!

Suffice it to say, we found out later the trail was closed.

Once arriving safely back at the cable car, our starting point, we continued our descent following the trail for about 1/2 a mile to the Berggasthous Aescher, the mountain hut where we planned on staying that night.


We picked the place based on a tiny picture we had seen of it in a book. The picture showed the hut just clinging to a mountain ledge with the sheer rock face of the mountain behind it and with unbelievable views of the valley below and the mountains above. To get to the Aescher, you first walk through a small opening in the mountain into a large cave which was lived in for hundreds of years by hermit Monks and as you exit the cave you pass an altar cave, a chapel, built by the monks into the side of the mountain.










Continuing along the ledge you come to a turn, and as you round that bend, 100 meters away is the Aescher,



just sitting on the edge of the cliff like the picture showed.

The back wall of the hut is actually the mountain wall itself.

We sat on the outside deck with a group of guys from Switzerland, Austria and Germany who gave us great ideas on other places to hike and stay in the area.

Once they left, we sat outside on the deck overlooking the valley before we went inside to set up our room which was a three bunk dorm that we had all to ourselves. We went down to dinner knowing we were the only ones staying at the Aescher that night. However, we met two other guys from Switzerland who had hiked up for the day and were having dinner before they left. These guys were a boatload of information about hiking the area and about Switzerland in general and after dinner we ended the night together with shots of Appenzeller, a locally made "tonic" made from 43 different herbs which is a cross between Sambuca, B&B and Robitussin. Good stuff! It's known throughout Switzerland and a picture of the Aescher is actually on the label.
Appenzeller is also known for its Appenzell cheese, some of the smelliest stuff we have come across in Switzerland except for the cows. The next morning was raining so we packed up, hiked back to the cable car to take it down to the valley floor and we started our drive to Lake Lucerne. Because we had already been to Lake Lucerne in the past we didn't want to stay in the main town of Lucerne itself. We drove around the lake trying to find a town with a rock in the lake that looked like an elephant.


This was the only landmark from a trip 20 years ago of a town that we remembered we wanted to go back to. We found it on the other side of the lake in a town called Weggis where we hooked up an apartment for the night at Grandma's house. The town was very nice, right on the lake and far away from the hubbub of Lucerne but the weather was still not cooperating. In the morning we had to decide if we were going to stay at Grandma's to wait out the weather in hopes the sun would appear. Instead we decided to leave Grandma and Grandpa, who were standing on the steps waving goodbye as all good grandparents do, and we headed towards the Alps. On the way out we stopped at the head of the lake at a town called Brunnen, did wash at the hostel and sat at a lakeside cafe for awhile. Lucerne is a beautiful lake, ice blue and ice cold, and we need to come back to the elephant when the weather is better.

We started our drive to Rosenlaui, a valley that one of the guys at the Aescher told us about, which we were able to add to the trip because we were ahead of schedule. We got most of the way there only to find out the Sustenpass, the pass we needed to cross was still closed because of snow and we had to take a detour around two other passes, the Furkapass and the Grimselpass. The weather was nasty and we were completely fogged in for most of the ride but once we were above the tree line,

Tom was able to get ice for the cooler, it's all good!
The snow beside the road in places was still over 20' high. We stayed that night on top of the Grimselpass in another small, old and strange Gasthaus where, once again, we were the only ones there. We stayed there in hopes that by morning the weather would clear and give us some nice views on the way down; it cleared a little but the visibility was still pretty poor. Once down, we drove through the town of Meiringen (the only fast internet in Switzerland), to the Rosenlaui which was a long drive up the mountain through a beautiful forested area. You entered the valley on a single road which runs parallel to the river for the entire ride.


The Rosenlaui Hotel itself is an incredible place. This was what we believed to be our splurge for Switzerland. It was originally built in 1909, not a typical Swiss chalet design, and there were additional sections added later on. Not having reservations we were lucky to get the last room in the corner of the hotel on the top floor. The big draw here, in addition to the location and the hikes in this beautiful valley, is the gourmet food; alpine buffet breakfasts and exceptional four course candlelit dinners all served with special touches provided by the couple that runs the place. Difficult when you are serving around 100 people. We checked in for two days, which in itself was a luxury, and ended up staying for three. We were able to do a number of hikes, including a hike through a gorge with many beautiful waterfalls, a hike to the Rosenlaui glacier and a hike to Reichenbach fall, which is were Sherlock Holmes was knocked off along with his nemesis Professor Moriarty, in the last book.



The valley itself is absolutely beautiful and the views from our window were spectacular. The river below us and the snow covered mountains kept you in awe. We are really thankful we met the guys at the Aescher, because this place was a find!