Cheese day at Griesalp

Today was a day where we chose to do an organized activity with Untours. We would go to Griesalp and see a cheese maker making cheese and then have lunch and hike down part way. My mom had suggested it would be something the kids would enjoy.

We took the 8:30 train just one stop 3 minutes away to Reichenbach. We had to wait until 9:17 to meet the rest of the group, the rest of the group ended up just being Marietta our guide and her friend. My mom decided to stay home, she'd done the trip before and was worried about the hike down which can be steep and slippery. Reichenbach where we watied for the bus, is a tiny little town. After Marietta and her friend arrived on the train we headed to the bus, the bus stop had become quite crowded, lots of people were heading up into the mountains to hike. The bus was very crowded with people standing. Ali sat on my lap and Connor sat on my dad's lap because there weren't enough seats. The PostBus is the only way up if you don't have a car and it is the steepest PostBus route in Europe. Despite being crowded the ride was awesome. The road is twisty and windy but the scenery was amazing. The road is very narrow and kind of scary, I'm so glad I wasn't driving. When the PostBus goes around the blind corners they honk their special horn which plays a 3 or 4 note tune to warn oncoming motorists! It was quite a ride!

We arrived at Griesalp and walked to the cheese makers house. Ali and Connor were full of energy and running ahead along the path. It was uphill to the house but only a 10 minute walk. The weather was absolutely perfect, it was warm without a cloud in the sky. The scenery was like something out of a movie, it was absolutely breathtaking. When we arrived at the cheese maker's house they weren't quite ready for us yet, they needed to move the cows to another field. I loved the sounds of the cow bells. What a perfect moment, standing in a beautiful meadow with the sounds of cow bells! We rested for a bit and the kids enjoyed taking a look at the farm animals. Then Marietta took us down and showed us the cheese cellar with the wheels of cheese. The wheels of cheese had dates on them and she showed us how they dip them in a water and salt type bath and then later they brush that on.

Ali and Connor racing ahead on the trail

Checking out the bunnies

The witch

Looking up at the cow pasture

After the kids looked at the animals a bit more we headed into the room where they were making the cheese. There was a huge pot of what looked like creamy water. The cheese maker reached in and pulled out some curds to test if they were ready, apparently they were so he started the next step. He took a piece of cheese cloth and reached in a scooped out a huge pile of curds, then he moved those into a mold and then pressed down on them to get some of the moisture out. My explanation of the process is not very good and certainly not very technical but hopefully you get the general idea. Ali got a little warm in the room so she asked if she could go outside, truthfully I think she was more interested in the animals than the cheese.

The huge pot of cheese

Scooping out the curds

Ali and her doggy friend

The Cheese Maker's house

 

After watching the cheese making we went into the small shop to try some different types of cheese. They had 4 different types and they were all very good, we bought two types. Connor chose the Alpkase, a traditional cheese made in the Alps. After our shopping we headed to lunch. We walked about 10 minutes down to a restaurant. We'd brought lunch for the kids but my dad and I each had Rosti at the restaurant, that stuff is so yummy and very filling! At lunch we chatted with Marietta and her friend, we had a nice leisurely lunch. There was a play area where Ali and Connor ran off to play.

The samples

The shop

So beautiful!!

Happy kids

After lunch we started our hike, we went from the road into the forest. The hike was downhill which is hard on different parts of your legs than uphill is. The hike was beautiful, the scenery was absolutely stunning! We went through meadows, forests, by waterfalls, and next to rushing water. The kids did great, no complaints and they were always at the front of the group. Ali really liked Marietta's friend and she walked with her. She was very sweet to Ali, showing her different wild flowers and folding leaves into a dog face for her. It was a great hike!

Ali made another friend

 

Cool falls on our hike

The bridge over the rushing water

We hiked down to a bus stop, the hike was only 40 minutes or so. We had to wait a bit for the bus because we'd gone a little faster than Marietta had expected. The bus ride down was just as exciting as the bus ride up had been. When we arrived down to Reichenbach we said our good byes and hopped on a bus to Frutigen. It was such a lovely day, Marietta was a wondeful guide! I'd definitely recommend hiking around Griesalp to anyone, the area is just gorgeous.

We arrived back in Frutigen before 4. My mom told us about her relaxing day going to the shops in town and doing some more laundry by hand. I volunteered to the grocery store, the peace and quiet for 30 minutes was lovely. We talked about our plans for the next day and decided that since the lift to the Schilthorn was temporarily closed (something we found out from Marietta's friend) that we'd do the Muggestutz hiking trail. We planned to be on the 8:00 or 8:30 train so lights were out pretty early.

 

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