A chalet in Wengen

---

In the time between the skiers of winter and the hikers of summer lies the month of May in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. It’s a time of the year when the residents of this out of the way hamlet on the edge of a cliff get to breathe a sigh of relief, take stock of their tiny town, and gear up for the next tourist season. My partner and a friend were lucky enough to experience this liminal time this past May, and wonder why no one else seems to have discovered this lost horizon.

Arriving on a sunny Tuesday afternoon after the amusement park ride of a cog railway up from Lauterbrunnen, we strolled into the tiny town of Wengen in awe of the Jungfrau peak hovering just above us. We quickly noticed that the whole town seemed shuttered and closed, despite the sun and almost balmy temperatures. Entire hotels were empty, as were restaurants, gift shops and sporting goods stores. Walking into a town that was obviously geared for loads of tourists was quite an eerie experience. Except for the grocery stores – which was our first clue that we were most certainly not alone in Wengen.

We had rented a small chalet through the Internet Holiday Ads (www.iha.com) website, and were smitten the instant we walked up to it. Set about a 10-15 walk from the train station up a slight hill, it had a balcony the length of the south side that looked out onto a pasture and the looming Jungfrau peak, once again. The Schilt-hus, as it is named, had a double bedroom, living room with fold-out couch, small kitchen, large bathroom, and unexpectedly spacious entry way. (In fact, the entry way was about as large as the kitchen itself!) We could describe it as cozy, but then doesn’t everyone describe a Swiss chalet that way? Let’s just say it was comfortable, but not so much so that you wanted to spend every waking hour lounging on the couch. It was charming too, but in the same way that your Aunt Fleta’s spare bedroom has a purple knit crocheted afghan paired with a harvest gold chenille bedspread. Best of all, it really felt like our home for a few days, and our mornings in the bathroom were met with a friendly cat in the window that needed some serious affection.

We spent our days hiking, again, in the blissful peace of a tourist town in off season. But again, how can we be alone in such a stunningly beautiful place and with skies that were lapis blue almost every day? Save for the trainloads (literally) of Japanese tourists with impossibly large visors, our days meandering the trails or gazing at secret waterfalls were spent in splendid isolation.

After a few days of this, I have to admit that the isolation of the place began setting in. And it wasn't the mere loneliness that was getting to us, it was the sense of emptiness in a town that is used to having exceptionally large crowds. To tell the truth, being the only ones sitting in a restaurant capable of seating hundreds, or peering into ski store after another with stacks of clothing but no customers or salespeople just seemed strange. Thus was the tradeoff for being in Wengen in May.

Would I do it again? You bet! The overwhelming feeling of having this town and its trails all for ourselves will be something I remember for quite a long time. The peace and quiet, and sheer beauty that seemed like it was ours alone, made this trip special in a way that we just couldn't have experienced with the loads of other tourists that Wengen is used to. And for that, I am truly glad.

---