Swiss Alpine Hiking and the Melody of Cowbells

We enjoyed another slow start day with breakfast in our hotel. The Hardleys had stayed at the same hotel (Hotel Alpina) back in 2009 on a last minute trip up the mountain. On that trip they had planned to stay in Interlaken the entire time, but quickly realized that there was enough time to go to the small town of Murren. The hotel was full of hospitality then, and almost ten years later we found the same to be true. The breakfast was very complete, with a wide variety of meats, cheeses, breads, yogurt and granola type cereals. You could even boil an egg if you wanted one. Coffee was free flowing and the wait staff seemed to take so much joy and pride in their work. A few times the woman working there said "it is not problem, I want to see your day start off well" when we asked her for things. Just a small reminder that whatever your job, do it with joy, as no job is too small or unnecessary.

Our hearts and bellies full, we set out on a hike to the nearby town of Gimmewald. This was a hike the Hardleys had done on their last trip, and though it is straight downhill one way and straight up hill another way it is an easier one along a country road. They learned about the town from the Westmont Kinesiology department faculty who used to go there on the Kinesiology Europe Mayterm trips.

By this time it is around 10:00. The high for the day should have been around 60 degrees, which would have made for a comfortable hiking day. The walk downhill was an easy one (of course!). Along the way we stopped at the little shops that were operated by the farming families. A number of the farming families would have small boxes or refrigerators with their cured meats and cheeses for sale. It was a self service system where you paid money into an open bin and made your own change. We bought a sausage and a cheese and can't wait to try them.

Walking through town we bumped into the Honor Store, which is a small gift shop for the region. This shop is all on the honor system. If you want to purchase something you wrote what you bought on an envelope and put the money inside. Drop it in a bin and you are done. The store donates all of its profits to various sustainability projects.

We tried to catch a pizza at the Mountain Hostel in town because we had heard that they had decent sized and priced ones but there was no one there. This is the one downside of small towns and being at the beginning of the season. Not every restaurant and shop is open. Sometimes this can be fine, but if you hit Murren too early in the season you can find that a good number of places are still closed from the winter. On the Hardleys last trip they came very early in the season, so only one hotel, one restaurant and the Coop grocery store were open. If you missed the closing hours on the last two the. You went without dinner. :)

We decided in the hike back up that we would try a slight detour to a small water fall. Unfortunately, maps of the area being what they were, we were not quite sure where to turn to go to the waterfall. Some of the maps are more playful for the tourist and less informational for the joker. We had a sense of where we needed to be and took a chance that the sense was accurate. Always a great way to go hiking, yes? :)

It turns out that our sense was correct and we were on the right path. The hike was down a bit more on the hill, but we were able to see the waterfall easily. On the way back up we stopped for a view and a bit of wine. It was helpful, as the 60 degree day did not feel like 60 degrees once you had been hiking for a few hours.

Back on the way up the hill we were trying to be mindful of the time. We knew that the community pool closed at 5:15, having missed it by about 30 minutes the night before. Some time in a cool pool and warm spa sounded good to our aching muscles.

We stopped off at the hotel and changed the contents of our hiking bag for swim gear. We had a small snack in the room of the left over meats, cheeses and bread that were in our hotel refrigerator. Knowing that we would be leaving in the morning, it seemed prudent to work through the food we had since we had also skipped lunch. We were at the pool by 4:00. Once we had figured out where to go (we accidentally changed in the team locker rooms instead of the public locker rooms, oops!) we were in the pool. The pool itself was warm, and we had hoped that the spa would be warmer still. Unfortunately there was not much of a temperature difference, but the jets in the spa felt good nonetheless. So good that both Tim and Christyn fell asleep!

We stayed almost until closing time. On the way back to the room we debated on dinner plans. Christyn was feeling tired and opted to stay in the room. Tim, Michelle and Susanne headed back to the street to see what the options were. There was always the choice to eat at the hotel restaurant, and though it would be a fine option, we were also looking for something a little different. Kim at the hotel in Interlaken had recommended a few different Swiss dishes (aside from the traditional fondu pots of cheese) and we were hoping to find a place that offered some of them.

The great thing about European restaurants is that they will display their menus outside of their shops so that you can see before you sit down. The problem is, the menu at this restaurant was blocked by a group of 6 locals who were sitting at the table under it. Not wanting to disturb them, we asked the waitress for a menu. She was carrying 8-9 drinks on a tray at the time and said "Yes, you sit, I bring it to you". Not wanting to commit to a table without seeing a menu we waited for her to deliver her drinks. When she came back we asked again for a menu, and now slightly irritated, she repeated her instructions to sit.
 

We dutifully sat, hoping that the menu would include the suggested meals we were looking for. The sun was going down, and Michelle was soon cold. She went back to the room and grabbed both jackets and some socks for Susanne. While Michelle was gone, the waitress came to get our order. The menu was full of long German words that challenge the American tongue and a rough English translation below the German description. Luckily our waitress could speak English, she was an older thin German lady with graying hair, but she was curt and efficient - picture the stern school teacher you had growing up that had perfected the disapproving glare. When Tim asked her about the items on the menu, she looked at us quizzically with a narrowed eyes (implying...cant you read english?). Another attempt to ask her how she would order Rosti she told Tim that this is his problem not hers. If she tells him how to order then it becomes her problem. Understanding the issue, Tim said "If I order it, then I will eat it." Relief came over the face of the waitress, as we had broken through the cultural issue. She said she would order Rosti with meat, Tim said I want that too but that wasn't an option under the Rosti section of the menu. She had Tim flip the page and shows him the meat section and the side orders that you can choose from which includes Rosti. ***The American comparison...I walk into McDonalds and ask the cashier how he would eat Fries. While I look at the side-order section of the menu, he directs me to the Value Meal area and tells me fries are included in the meal deal. Silly Americans :)

So what did we order: 1) Schweinsbratwurst mit Zwiebelsauce mit Rosti; 2) Rindsgeschnetzeltes and 3) Kaseschnitte mit Vorderschinken und Spiegelei

Which to the enjoyment of our waitress we tried to pronounce. The third one, she practiced with Tim a couple times, she collected the menus leaving Tim holding one. Then said to him, "Practice, when I return you try again" with a big smile on her face.

When she returned with the beer we ordered, she looked at Tim and said, "Soooo." Let the butchering of the German language begin. We had a good laugh and she said to keep trying.

When Michelle returned back to the table she was apprised of the interactions that had unfolded since her departure.

The plates of food arrived and we were delighted with the smells...except for Tim's dish which had the pungent smell of a very strong cheese melted over the entire dish. We got 1) Sausage in onion sauce with hash browns, 2) egg noodle stroganoff and 3) Toast with ham completely drowned in cheese with a sunny side up egg on top. And once we tasted all the dishes, they were wonderful! Even the stinky cheese tasted good.

Full to the brim we paid the bill and asked to take a picture with the waitress. She was more than happy to, but suggested that we all go around the cow statue that was near the front of her shop. We were more than happy to oblige.

Back in our room we prepped for the next days adventures. It is a solid travel day, with our first transport leaving at 9:28am and arriving in Munich at 5:28. We have many connections to make as well, and a few of them are only 5-10 minutes apart. Since Swiss trains run like clockwork, we should be fine, but none in our group tend to rest until we are in the last leg of a multi-leg trip. We will see what adventures tomorrow brings!