Tag Archives: alps

Hiking the Männlichen Summit

sports, , , , , , , ,

View from Männlichen into the Grindelwald valley

In German, the word for hiking is wandern, and can be expanded to mean anything from migrating, journeying and wandering. And indeed, you can do quite a lot of hiking in Switzerland simply by wandering from signpost to signpost on the country’s 50,000 km of marked trails. Even the smallest mountain outposts are easily found via an intricate system of wanderwege routes (marked by yellow signs) found between lakes, valleys and towns, higher altitude bergwege mountain paths (marked by white-red-white blazes), and rugged alpine routen trails (marked by white & blue blazes) that can include steep drop-offs and sections with cables or handholds.

Since the phrase “relaxing vacation” is not in our vocabulary, Britton and I spent our last day in Berner-Oberland hiking. The guide at Balmer’s suggested taking the train from Interlaken to Wengen (with a train transfer at Lauterbrunnen). Round-trip tickets for this cost about CHF 25. From Wengen (1,274 m), we would hike the route to In Gassen and Männlichen (2,227 m), then walk along the mountain ridge to Kleine Scheidegg (2,061 m), and finally trek downhill from Kleine Scheidegg toward Wengernalp back to Wengen.  On the Jungfraubahnen Wandern map, that would be routes 46, 33 and 41.

The morning was marked with a heavy downpour and ominously thick cloud cover, and I silently fretted about what we were going to do if the rain didn’t ease. Fortunately, the skies cleared at about 10:30 am, and we set off with backpacks full of bread, cheese, salame and light clothing. Personally, I think that hiking in sneakers is often safer than using thick-soled hiking boots because you will have a better feel for the terrain. Besides, hiking boots are heavy, and that extra weight goes a long way when you are scaling a mountain. The same goes for hiking poles; they can be helpful if you’re going downhill, but for the most part, you’re better off using your hands for balance and feet to feel the ground. I had to laugh at the hikers decked out in shiny layers of North Face and poles on flat sections of trail. Newbs.
Continue reading Hiking the Männlichen Summit →

Mountain Biking the Lauterbrunnen Valley

sports, , , , , ,

View of the Lauterbrunnen valley on the way to Stechelberg

For CHF 35, you can rent mountain bikes from Balmer’s hostel, which is a decent deal for a full day of biking. (Hint: we were later informed by other travelers that you can go around the corner to rent bikes for just CHF 20.) Armed with a map of the Jungfrau region, the activities guide at Balmer’s suggested biking to Wildersil, through Zweilutschinen to Lauterbrunnen, where we could stop for lunch. From Lauterbrunnen, you can bike to Stechelberg, take the gondola up to Murren, then bike down the mountain back to Lauterbrunnen and Interlaken. The route is mostly gravel, with some short sections of dirt and pavement.

The trek from Interlaken (567 m) to Wildersil is flat and fast, about 15 minutes or so of biking. Once you pass Wildersil though, everything goes rapidly uphill. The toughest ascent of the route is a bit outside of Wildersil. Remember, there is no shame in getting off your bike to walk up the hill, unless your other friend is leaving you in the dust.
Continue reading Mountain Biking the Lauterbrunnen Valley →

Interlaken: Jungfrau’s Cosmopolitan Hotspot

travel, , , , , , , ,

Interlaken is an unusual confluence of college-age backpackers, international tourists, avid nature lovers and extreme sports enthusiasts. Strolling around the town’s grassy quadrangle, it is not unusual to see American frat boys, veiled Muslim women and Korean photographers, all gathered to take in the beauty of the Jungfrau peak of the Berner-Oberlander region, while sipping a beer at Hooters. Due to the town’s central location and diverse amenities, Interlaken is well-known globally as a tourist hotspot. English-speaking travelers should have no trouble navigating the town, given that there is signage and menus written in languages from French to Korean. On the downside, the town does have quite a few tourist trap restaurants and probably more souvenir shops per capita than any other town I have seen. The best meal I had in Interlaken was at the Cafe de Paris, just a block north of the main drag, with reasonably priced entrees (~20 CHF) and excellent food. The beer of choice here is Rugenbräu, which unfortunately reminds me a lot of Bud Light. For better alternatives, I recommend Buddy’s Pub, which also has Feldschlösschen Hopfenperle and Dunkle Perle on tap.

Interlaken is situated between two lakes (hence the name), at a relatively low elevation of 567 m. So, you will not see a lot of the Alps directly from Interlaken, but it is convenient to take trains further up, to the Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald valleys. You could pick a smaller town higher up as a base, however there will be far more limited options at night in terms of restaurants and nightlife.
Continue reading Interlaken: Jungfrau’s Cosmopolitan Hotspot →

Hiking and Ruminating the Italian Alps

food, , , , , , , , , , ,


Clockwise: Mural of a mountain goat and cow outside Fratelli Lussiana creamery, fresh wheels of cevrin in warm room, foothills of Piedmont, aging wheels of cevrin in cold room

A couple weeks ago while on the Piedmont stage, our class visited Fratelli Lussiana creamery, a cheese producer in Giaveno, about 35 km west of Turin. The primary cheese they produce is cevrin di Coazze, made with half goat and half cow’s milk and aged for 3 months. At the time, I was tired, hot and not in the mood to see yet another farm, but we all fell headlong in love with this cheese producer. After showing us an overview of the cheesemaking process and aging rooms, the lovely Lussiana siblings piled us into a hay-filled tractor and trundled us up a narrow, rocky mountain path, while we tried to keep our balance, yodeled and ducked under overhanging tree branches. Once we reached the mountaintop farm, we were greeted by a herd of seriously dexterous goats, placidly ruminating cows, and the friendliest donkey in the world (who kept sneaking into photos and nuzzling for attention). The farm caretakers welcomed us with fresh wheels of cevrin, salame, bread and red wine, and we ate cheese next to the animals who produced the milk for it, as the sun went down over the Italian Alps. It was one of the best days of my life.

Determined to recapture some of that high, some of my classmates decided to contact Fratelli Lussiana and ask if they would allow us to return for a second visit. Only, this time we wanted to see the cevrin making process, which happens every morning at 6 am. With the 90 minute drive from Bra, this meant that we would be setting out on a 4:30 am road trip. Totally worth it!

After duly waking up at a rather uncivilized hour, the first challenge was figuring out how to get back to the creamery. We were armed with an address of questionable accuracy (the GPS was telling us to go to a different town) and also a phone number. To complicate matters, no one present was terribly fluent in Italian. So, over the next hour, we called three times, and using an amalgamation of broken Italian and French, managed to get within a few streets of the creamery. As we drove through Giaveno, desperately looking for familiar landmarks, we spotted an elderly gentlemen walking briskly down the street. I rolled down a window and asked him for directions to Fratelli Lussiana, and he broke into a toothy grin and began to wave wildly. Seeing our blank reactions, the man said, “You know what, I’d better just point out the way myself, do you mind if I hop in the car?” And before I knew it, I was scooting to make room for a swarthy Italian man in the backseat. We explained that we were students at the University of Gastronomic Sciences, interested in cheesemaking, and he said “Ah yes, of course! Who do you know of the Lussiana brothers? Oh Luigi, yes I know Luigi!” Within a few minutes, he had steered us to the creamery. We thanked him for his help and asked if he needed a ride back. “No no, I walk a lot, 20 km a day! I’ll be just fine.” He stuck his head into the barn to say hello to Luigi, and sauntered off back into town.
Continue reading Hiking and Ruminating the Italian Alps →