Muggestutz Trail

Today was another beautiful day! We were up early to go hiking on the Muggestutz hiking trail. We had breakfast and then headed out. We took two trains and two cable cars to get to the start of the trail. On the way we went to the town of Meiringen, it was a nice town that seemed bustling with business. We walked from the train station to the cable car station, it was a 10 minute walk. At the station in Meiringen we bought our Muggestutz ticket which would take us up on the cable car to Magisalp, then we'd hike down to Bidmi and take the lift back to Meiringen. The ticket was 1/2 price with our Swiss Pass.

Cable car

We had great views from the cable cars these were small like gondolas, we had our own little car. When we got up to Magisalp there were tons of other families getting ready to hike the trail. The Muggestutz trail is for kids, it is themed based on a story about a dwarf who is said to have lived in the Hasliberg mountains. There are story books written about the Muggestutz. The trail is very popular with families.

Our view on the way up

The trail today was downhill which is nice in some ways but presents challenges in others. My mom doesn't like hiking downhill on gravel because she is scared that she is going to slip. About 5 minutes into the walk her foot slipped a bit and she thought maybe she should turn back and take the lift down. We convinced her she was overreacting and she continued on with us. The trail was very crowded at first, I worried it would be like this the whole way. We came to the first kids activity station and it was overrun with kids, we let the kids play for a minute and then continued on.

Starting out on the trail

Nice views

The trail

Happy kids

Crowded play area

As we hiked the group seemed to thin out some, I was definitely happier when we were more spread out. The second activity station we arrived at was one where the kids could use a saw to cut wood. There were two saws and a pile of wood. The kids had fun trying that out.

About an hour into the hike we came to a picnic area, it was very nice. There was a big pile of firewood, tables that were spread out, and firepits for cooking food. Many families had brought sausages to cook over the fires. We had packed sandwiches so we found a table and started eating. When we were done Connor was surprised to find there were no garbage cans. I told him you were expected to take your trash out with you. Now there were tons of families using the picnic spot, probably at least 100 people, and we did not see one single piece of litter. We actually haven't seen any litter anywhere in Switzerland. I think personal responsibility is taken very seriously here.

Picnic area

After lunch we continued on our way. The crowd definitely thinned out more after we ate. There were 5 or 6 stations where the kids could stop and play. The trail was steep and a bit challenging at some points. I know my mom was very happy when we got to the bottom. The kids did great hiking, the only issue was Connor was venturing a bit too far ahead and I was afraid we might lose him. The views were outstanding, I know I seem to say that about everyday but it really is true!

Fun wooden bridge

Cave play area

Apparently there were crystals in the nest

Ali on the trail, Connor is up ahead in the orange

A mountain drinking fountain

Fun maze for the kids

We were following the blue signs

Almost to the end

With about 30 minutes left in the hike Ali decided she needed a bathroom. I told her she'd have to wait until we got to the end, we went ahead of my parents at the end to get her to the lift station and the bathroom. Luckily she made it! We waited for my parents and then took the lift down from Bidmi. When we arrived at the station in Meiringen my kids spotted a fabulous playground, there was nobody playing so we went over. There was a really cool zip line swing which the kids loved! My parents left before we did because my mom wanted to stop in Brienz to look at at the shops. The kids wanted to play longer so I sat on the bench while they played. Eventually some other families arrived at the park. It was cute watching Ali show a little girl who only spoke French how to use the zip line swing. Ali also decided to do some gymnastics in the grass, two other girls went over and joined her. It was pretty cute watching them try to do what she was doing.

Ride down

Cool park in Meiringen

Fun zip swing at the park

Grandpa helping Ali on the swing

After about 45 minutes we headed to the train station. On our way we saw a bakery so we stopped and the kids chose a few things. They each got a meringue cookie that they ate on the train. Meringue was invented in Meiringen so it was fitting to get that kind of cookie.

Connor enjoying his cookie in the train

When we arrived in Brienz we saw my parents at the station, they got on the train but not in our car. We met up with them when we got to Interlaken. We got home late in the afternoon. I stopped at the store to get groceries on the way back. We had dinner and got thing packed up for the next day. We made plans to go to the top of the Schilthorn and we needed to leave early so we could be back to meet Dan. We wanted to be on the 7am train so lights were out early!

 

Posted with Blogsy

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.

 

Posted with Blogsy

St. Beatus Caves

I obviously made a good choice by changing our plans so that we could sleep in. Connor slept until we finally woke him at 9:30! I was hoping after breakfast that we could make the 10:30 train but it didn't happen. Peter came up and asked if Connor would like to run the train, he couldn't pass up the chance so he went out to play. I decided we'd take the 11:30 train instead, today was a laid back day so we didn't need to rush around. The weather was a bit better, there was no rain but the clouds were really low. I was worried it might rain later in the day.

Connor running the trains

Ali found a snail in the yard, she was so proud of herself for holding it!

While Connor and Ali were outside playing I packed the food for a picnic lunch. I knew that there was a picnic area with a playground at the caves. Our lunch was pretty simple, stuff for sandwiches, chips, fruit, and chocolate for desert. My dad brought Connor and Ali back up around 11:00 and we left a bit later for the 11:30 train. We took the train to Thun where we switched to a bus. The bus ride was about 40 minutes but it was scenic as we were driving along the lake shore. We arrived at the bus stop for the caves at 12:38, it is really amazing how accurate the bus and train schedules are here!

When we arrived I noticed right away how beautiful the setting was. On one side was the lake and then there was a steep incline with a waterfall up to the entrance to the cave. We started making our way up the path, the path was paved but it was pretty steep with switchbacks. My legs were burning by the time we made it to the top! We went to the ticket shop, we had to pay admission here and there is no discount for Swiss Pass, for 2 adults and 2 children it was 54 Francs. The man told us that the next tour would begin in 15 minutes. I suggested that we feed the kids a snack, take the 1:00 tour and then eat after. We did that and it worked just fine.

Connor, Ali, and Grandpa on the way up. Not sure why Ali looks like she's crying.

Pretty Waterfall

The cave enterance is where the white pillars are above the second bridge

Here is my smiling girl. Connor was wearing the hat he got for his birthday from our Swiss landlords

The guided tour was an hour long. According to legend an Irish missionary lived in the cave in the 6th century. The legend says he fought a dragon when he arrived at the cave. There is a small exhibit at the entrance about St. Beatus. Our tour had 30-40 people. The tour guide broke us into two groups, English speaking and German speaking. She had the English speakers come to the front and had the German speakers follow, when we arrived at the stops she'd explain things in English first and then in German. There were a couple of parts where there was an audio part played in German, she'd give us the short version in English before she played them.

The caves were interesting, you walk in 1 Km and then walk back the way you came. The caves are limestone with stalagmites and stalactites. The tour was not super informative about cave formation but it was still fun and I think my kids really enjoyed it. No photos are allowed in the cave.

After our tour we headed down to the playground and picnic area. Our picnic was perfect, both kids ate and they were happy. After they ate, they ran off to play on the playground. I'm really starting to wonder if American kids are louder than European kids. I don't think my children are extraordinarily loud, especially compared to other American kids, but they sure seemed like the loudest ones. I checked the bus/train schedule on my phone and saw that we could catch a bus then switch to a train that would get us home by 4:30. It seemed like the best option. We let the kids play for about 15 minutes and then walked the rest of the way down to the bus stop. The steep walk up was just as steep heading down. It was a beautiful walk though.

Our picnic at the park

Ali on the very cool dragon slide

Connor taking a turn

Lake Thun

When we got back to Frutigen my mom had been busy, she had done some wash in the sink, and she'd been for a walk around town. It's amazing how you can wash with a bar of laundry soap and a sink, I've even washed some things that way this trip!

We had an early dinner and tried to go to bed early. Tomorrow we'd be visiting a cheese-maker in the mountains and doing some hiking. We needed to be up and going to be on the 8:30 train!

 

Posted with Blogsy