Berner Oberland Three Weeks in Lenk, Switzerland, September 2024

[Pauline]

Thursday September 12, 2024​

We left Dorset Tuesday morning to drive to Switzerland. We’ve been doing this trip every September for several years now and this year we also did the trip in June. Each year the drive seems longer.

We took the tunnel and overnighted in Arras and Colmar, arriving Thursday afternoon in Lenk. We are staying in the AlpSunne apartments on the outskirts of this small mountain town. This is our third stay in this apartment. We’ve tried several apartments around town over the years.

In the tunnel on the car-train heading to France.

It was cold when we arrived and there was snow on the hills. More snow was forecast for the next day. We drove into town for groceries but I had brought a lot of basics with us so we didn’t have to spend all our time food shopping.

First look at the mountains. I think the deer recognized me.

Friday September 13, 2024​

Friday was cold and overcast. When I realized how cold it was going to be our first few days here I packed an extra bag with winter coats, scarves, hats, and gloves. We used them going out for an afternoon walk into town (1 mile each way). We were pretty tired out from the driving days.

Big news - I figured out how to set the oven panel to English. And found an English manual online. It is a microwave and an oven. Maybe I’ll have better luck with it on this trip!

Cold and overcast on Friday. No snow in town but it’s not far from us.

 

[Pauline]

Saturday September 14, 2024​

It was around 40F, overcast but no rain!

Cow Parade! Alpabfahrt in German. The tourist office never announces the date until a few weeks before but it is always the second Saturday in September (except one year when it was cancelled because of a death in one of the families that put it on).

The Cow Parade takes place near the train station and lumber yards of St Stephan, a village a few miles from Lenk on the main road that runs down the valley. We arrived at 11am. Parking is well organised. There were a lot of people already parked when we arrived.

The first cows usually reach the valley floor at noon. People arrive early and line up along the mountain road where the cows will walk. Watching everyone waiting for the cows is half the fun. Lots of families. Mostly locals. After 45 minutes waiting in the cold we all heard the distant sound of bells. Cows!

The parade starts up at the alpine levels where the cows and farmers live for the summer. The cows are dressed up with fancy head dresses and big bells. The bigger the bell, the better the milker. The families come down one at a time. The children lead the parade with one holding a sign with the family name.

The Cow Parade starts.

The family wear traditional dress. They walk beside the cows making sure they don’t run off into the crowd. They were very well behaved this year.

You spend all this time waiting and it is so exciting when the cows arrive that it seems like only a few minutes and it is over. Then you walk behind the cows dodging cow crap and pee to the food area. Your choice is a huge sausage at one booth or baked cheese on bread at another booth. Drinks at a third booth. Rows of picnic tables are set up and there is live music. We opted for cheese and sat at a table. Delicious. It doesn’t photograph well, but this was really good.

I’m wearing all my hand knits!

A last photo that Steve took of me watching the cows.

We did a quick spin around the handicrafts booths then headed back to the warm apartment.

More families come down in the afternoon. There are small unannounced parades in nearby towns. Gstaad is putting on a larger festival now. I found an announcement for another Cow Parade in Boltigen next weekend. That’s about 30 minutes from here.

 

[Pauline]

Sunday September 15, 2024​

Sunny and crisp, high of 57F

Brilliant sunshine today. We did our favourite walk along the river to Simmenfalle. There were lots of people out walking.

Simmenfalle

We bought alp cheese along the footpath. It is from this year and is mild. On Friday we bought cheese from a self service fridge near our apartment but got alp cheese from 2022. Much stronger.

View along our walk.

 

[Pauline]

Monday September 16, 2024​

Overcast and cold, high of 57F but it felt colder

We bundled up and walked from our apartment along the river going down the valley. There were a lot of bike riders on the trail today. We thought we would walk for a couple of hours then take the train back but it was getting colder and we had a late start (waiting for it to warm up) so we walked about 3.5 miles then took the train back from St Stephen. The train was due in 5 minutes as we were passing the train station so we agreed to cut the walk short. After all, we are here for 3 weeks. We don’t have to do everything this week.

On our walk we passed an area, part of the air field, where people were having driving lessons. They were practicing a fast stop at a red light. There was an instructor with a remote control for the light and about 10 cars, one student in each one, driving in a big circle. It was fun to watch. On another part of the airstrip someone was learning how to ride a motorcycle.

After our walk we drove into town for groceries. Visits to the Coop here are shockingly expensive.

We are settling in and it feels really good to be here, even in the cold.

At the start of the walk looking back. It looks cold doesn’t it?

Goats! On our walk back from the train.

 

[Pauline]

Tuesday September 17, 2024​

Mostly sunny, high of 57F

Today we drove into Zweisimmen, a 20 minute drive, where we spent two weeks in June. During that stay we saw that they have a weekly “market”. Just one vendor but with very good fruits and vegetables, many of them local. There is nothing like this in Lenk - only vegetables from the Coop supermarket (which isn’t that bad). We got a bag of vegetables for the week (fresh corn, zucchini, squash, and all the other regular things). Fruit-wise we got local plums and apples. As Steve likes to say “We’ll eat like Kings!”.

We picked up sandwiches at the cafe that we frequented in June then went for a walk along the river. It was a bit cold and windy but the sun came out from time to time. We passed a picnic area where two guys were grilling about 20 long sausages. There is a big outdoor climbing area where they take school groups and I figured this was their lunch. Sure enough a group of 20 or so kids appeared walking to the picnic area.

When we walked back, after having our lunch, the kids were finishing up and running around and jumping into a small river. What a fun place to grow up. Switzerland is notorious for keeping immigrants out but I was pleased to see a few ethnic kids in the group.

Today I used the laundry room in our building. This is our third time staying here but I’ve never used it. I just washed everything by hand. I really hate hand washing so today I figured out the machine and payment. You pay 2 CHF/hour and the time for the cycle on the machine doesn’t match reality so I was up and down to the laundry room several times putting coins in. I won’t attempt the dryer! They give us a clothes drying rack in the apartment.

You know how sensitive Steve is to fragrances? I bloody forgot to pack his fragrance free shave cream! I packed a small container for our toilet kits for the hotel and meant to pack a larger tube in my “extras” bag. It’s not there! Of all the things to forget, I forget the thing that is very hard to find. The pharmacy in Zweisimmen is seeing if they can order some. I’m trying to convince Steve that lathering up soap is just as good. The thing I dislike most about travel - packing!

House in Zweisimmen. I photographed this house in June. The garden looks different now.

 

[Pauline]

Photo of same house in June.

 

[Pauline]

Wednesday September 18, 2024​

Sunny and warm. 60F high.

We had a wonderful day! We drove out to Schoenreid and took the Hornberg chairlift up. This is my favourite mountain ride and is lovely on a sunny day. It takes about 20 minutes and is not too high above the ground. The ride has a plastic cover but you can push that up so you ride in the open air.

We do this ride and hike every visit. The chairlift is a bit expensive, 36CHF return per person plus 5CHF to park, but worth it.

We hiked from the top of the chairlift out and back on the ridge, 2 miles each way. You can do a longer hike but these days this is all we do. It isn’t flat but almost. We had a sandwich lunch on the trail but there are restaurants up there. The trail was not crowded. It can get busy on weekends.

We bought more mountain cheese from the farm at our turn around point. Farms sell alp cheese or mutschli usually. We bought the latter. It is sold in small rounds - we got half - and is mild and creamy. Very good. Normally we don’t eat much cheese but this year we are eating more (well I am mostly).

We stopped in Zweisimmen on our way home to see if the pharmacy had ordered the fragrance free shave cream but they are closed on Wednesday. They are across from our favorite cafe, so we sat outside in the last of the sun having coffee and plum kuchen. I’ve been drinking Milch Cafe so far on the trip.

By 4pm it was cooling down. I had walked wearing a light shirt over a hiking top but I had to put on a fleece.

Walking on the ridge at Hornburg with Lenk’s snow covered mountains in the distance.

Riding down on the Hornberg chairlift with a view to Schoenreid and Saanen.

The sun is blocked by the mountains in the early evenings but it is still on the mountains. View from our balcony.

 

[Pauline]

Thursday September 19, 2024​

Sunny and warm 60F. Heavy rain at 3pm.

As we were parking in town a group of young girls came up to us, speaking to me in German. They were all holding paper maps. Steve’s German is getting good and he understood but I asked if she spoke English and she did. They wanted to know where the playground was. I know that! Then she quizzed me about which was the shortest route because there were two ways to get there. Then they all ran off.

We did a lovely walk along the river, my favourite walk here because it is mostly flat, very beautiful and you can make it as long as you like. Today we did 4 miles. Then some grocery shopping. Then home for lunch.

At 3pm it got dark and the rain started. The deer in the field next to us (there are only 4 now - last year there were seven I think, and goats) were huddled together under the tree. I was out on the balcony. The rain got heavier and there was thunder. The four of them ran together to the barn.

Today I was charmed by beautiful young girls and those lovely deer.

I had a US friend order the Harris/Walz camo hat for me. They are finally available for preorder. Hope I get it before the election. I have my Obama hat hanging on my coat rack at home for “good luck” but I’m a bundle of nerves about all this.

I emailed the pharmacy in Gstaad and they are holding fragrance free shave gel for us. The Zweisimmen store wasn’t able to order it. It is from the French company Avene. Not all their products are fragrance free. They use spring water from Avène-les-Bains near Montpellier. There is a hike along the Saanen valley that ends in Gstaad that I’ve wanted to do, so tomorrow seems like a good day for that.

Log pile on the river walk.

The sky was nice shades of blue.

Not sure what this means and Steve some of the words aren’t German - probably Switzer-Deutsch, the dialect they speak in Switzerland. This is on a fridge selling cheese.

 

[Pauline]

Friday September 20, 2024​

Sunny and warm, 65F

Today’s delight was a horse in a field wearing a zebra patterned coat! What does the horse make of that?

Another beautiful day. We drove to Saanenmoser, a small town between Zweisimmen and Saanen, and parked at the train station. We walked on the “Gstaad Promenade”, a four mile trail that goes along the valley and then gently descends to Gstaad. We’ve done the first part of this trail before but not the part into Gstaad. It took under two hours and was fabulous. Big open views, old farm houses, mountains in the distance, a wide trail. Parts were on country lanes. There were other groups on the trail but it was not crowded. We had our lunch on a bench beside the trail.

We got into Gstaad just as the pharmacy opened after their two hour midday closing (many shops close midday here) and picked up the fragrance free shave cream. Finally we fixed my packing screwup and it made us try a new trail.

We got takeout coffees and waited at the train station for our train back to Saanenmoser. Then drove home.

We’ve just finished our first week, with two more to go, but it feels like the time is slipping by. We’ve been doing the easier, flat walks but I think we are ready to get back to more adventurous hikes.

Walking towards Gstaad.

There are a lot of farms in this area above Saanen and Gstaad.

The train from Gstaad to Zweisimmen is in the centre of the photo.

A picnic area and a cheese shop. They have snack size cheese.

Another cheese shop with a playground. They have a freezer with homemade ice cream.

Coming into Gstaad. The light isn’t good but you can see the large hotels that sit above Gstaad.