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Been offline for a couple of days so bit of a long update this time. Check extra photos below. Tuesday 19 May:
As planned we got to Zurich airport to make our 10:13 train to Bern, the first leg of the journey to
Adelboden. That train ran a few minutes late so it was a bit of a mad dash up a steep flight of steps and down another hauling all our luggage to get to the platform we needed to get the next train. Just managed to get in on time, and we were then told we would have to move carriage in a couple of stops as only the front half of the train went where we needed. This done we got to Frutigen and then caught the bus, thus maintaining our 100%!r(MISSING)ecord of making planned connections! It is times like this when you have tight connections that you are pleased that time was spent researching and planning.
The weather wasn’t too flash but the ride from Bern was still very scenic, especially the last bit on the bus. We were picked up as arranged at the
bus stop and taken to
Our Chalet, which is one of the GirlGuiding five world homes. We had managed to organise to have dinners and breakfasts catered here: 15 francs each for dinner, 8 for breakfast, with no charge for Zachary so happy with that after Zurich! We had a bit of a wander round the property, saying hello to the quite friendly cows, but then the rain really set in and we retreated inside to play Snap, Mastermind (remember that!), Memory Match, and do some puzzles. Zachary enjoyed Mastermind and got the hang of it quickly, it’s a shame we don’t still have ours at home. He has been really getting into some number recognition and ordering games on his tablet too so the logical / mathematical side of his brain is developing very well. He can already do more with numbers (recognising, matching, making sets, ordering, simple adding) than most new entrants I have taught so that’s good news!
Dinner was very good – roast chicken, potatoes, carrots, bean, Yorkshire puddings with apple crumble and custard for dessert! Our Chalet is currently undergoing a changeover in staffing so there were quite a few people there
for dinner. At each table of 6 or 7 one plate had a trefoil underneath it and that person was responsible for service for their table – getting the platters and putting them on the table as well as tidying afterwards. Predictably enough, at our table Zachary’s plate had the trefoil so it became a team effort! Met someone from the Faroe Islands for the first time. I only knew of it as a country that regularly gets thrashed in football world cup qualifiers so it was good to learn something new.
I wasn’t feeling to great so I borrowed a book from their library and had an early night. Heather headed downstairs to do some Guides work.
Tomorrow - there are a number of decent hikes that can be done from here which Zachary can manage, but they will require a bit of cooperation from the weather so we’ll see how we go.
Wednesday 20 May:
A bit of a disturbed night with Zachary waking up a couple of times and a bit of re-shuffling of sleeping arrangements but all up at 7:20. The sky was clear
and fresh snow had fallen overnight on the mountains (although it didn’t make it as far down as us) but certainly beautiful views to wake up to. Half an hour later and it was all enclosed in fog again. Went downstairs for breakfast which was the usual fare, and then it started to clear again. While not great, the weather is certainly better than was forecast a couple of days ago so we decided to go for one of the shorter hikes to a waterfall and to see the “Magic Tree”.
Heather went to the “Flag” ceremony and then it was time to put on thermals, gloves, and woolly hats. We headed up, following the road and path. This was what you imagine Switzerland to be: mountains, cows with bells, chalets. We knew we couldn’t get all the way to the waterfall at the moment but that was fine. We got to a nice spot by a river and the clouds cleared so we could see them quite well. It was getting a bit chilly up there so we didn’t stay too long, but headed back down. We turned off the road to go into the forest
to see the Magic Tree. It is hollow inside so the idea is that you stand inside it and make a wish. From there we could turn around and go back down the slippery slope we had just managed to get up or carry on through the forest. Heather was not too keen on this idea as the path was narrow and alongside the edge, with quite a drop away. Also the path was just natural, so was a bit muddy and potentially slippery. I went in front with Zachary and, us both having mountain goat blood in us, we got to the top in pretty quick time. Heather is terrified of walking along paths like this so she did really well to conquer her fear and do it. She commented that she would have probably rather held a tarantula than do that, which is saying something!
After that it was an easy walk back down the road to Our Chalet and we got back in good time for lunch. The camera battery was flat so we thought we might go back out after lunch and take some shots of the chalet and surrounds in the clear
weather. However, after eating and putting on some laundry, it promptly began to snow! Not hard, but hard enough to be a bit exciting. Bizarre to think that 4 weeks ago we were in the desert heat, and indeed, just 2 days ago not far from here we were walking around in tee shirt and shorts. As the afternoon progressed the snow got more consistent and the flakes bigger so we put on our coats and went and caught snowflakes for a while. It got heavier still later and Zachary went out a second time. The snow even started to hold on the grass and trees, giving the grounds that classic “Christmas Card” look. Very pretty indeed and an unexpected bonus as the weather is usually quite warm this time of year (indeed it was warm here last week). Unseasonable weather does seem to have been following us around – although up to now it has been unseasonably warm!
Another excellent dinner (Zachary again picked the plate with the trefoil) and then packing and preparing for a travel day tomorrow. We are getting dropped off at the bus stop for the 8:54 bus to begin the trip
in reverse back to Zurich. From there it is an express train to
Innsbruck, Austria. We could leave at 9:54 but then if we miss a connection or the train to Zurich is 10 minutes late we miss the Innsbruck train and its 100 francs to get new tickets. Better to leave an hour early to be safe. If we get to Zurich with an hour to spare we can spend the last of our francs on some groceries.
Thursday 21 May:
After falling out of bed twice last night, Zachary and his parents woke up to quite a different landscape this morning. The snow had continued to fall overnight and there was a good layer on the grounds and in the trees. Zachary and I went outside briefly so he could walk and leave hand and footprints in the snow, which was of the soft and fluffy variety, but with the temperature at a crisp minus one we didn’t stay out too long! After breakfast we got a lift to the bus stop and made all our connections back to Zurich, arriving with just over an hour to make our connection to Innsbruck
– enough time to do some shopping. While I was at the supermarket Heather and Zachary had all the luggage and were sitting down in the underground shopping area. An elderly lady came and asked Heather if they were homeless! She seemed genuinely concerned for their welfare, rather than concerned they were ISIS militants.
We enjoyed our stay at Our Chalet, Heather especially, and it was nice, and unexpected, to get that snow. But it was a good day to leave as we wouldn’t have been able to do a lot more and Zachary tends to go a bit stir crazy if stuck inside for too long!
A nice trip to Innsbruck. The train from Zurich basically travels through mountain passes and it was quite scenic, although the weather wasn’t flash. We got to Innsbruck on time allowing us to make the planned connection to
Seefeld on Tirol where we are staying. This was about 40 minutes from Innsbruck and we climbed very high, so the views out the train window were spectacular, if not necessarily for the faint-hearted.
We checked into our accommodation. We have a spacious 2 bedroom apartment
in a hotel with separate toilet, bathroom, and kitchen, as well as a balcony. We went to one of the hotel restaurants for dinner and both Heather and I ordered the special Tyrolean dish of various meats, bread dumpling, and sauerkraut. Magnificent! Undoubtedly the best meal of the journey this far. I washed that down with a litre of the local beer and then dessert and schnapps and it was time to prepare Zachary for bed. We have established there is a kindergarten / day care facility at the hotel. Zachary seems quite keen on the idea of doing this tomorrow while the adults do museums and the like in Innsbruck, but we’ll see if he wants to do it in the morning. We have 2.5 days in Innsbruck so hopefully he does this tomorrow and then on Saturday we can do the funicular and cable cars, and maybe the alpine zoo. The “Innsbruck Card” is a very good deal that allows us to do all these things in a 48 hour period for just €41 per adult.
So, a very good travel day and a superb dinner. I have fond memories of Innsbruck from my 1994
visit and look forward to an excellent few days.
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