With all day to explore several towns and a Swiss train pass to travel between places we still managed to get in almost ten miles a day visiting castles, and walking the waterfront of Lake Geneva. Our first day off we actually traveled back to Zermatt where we finished last year’s Haute Route hike. It seems bizarre to zip around on a few trains and a cog railway just to go to lunch, but with the rail pass you can travel anywhere in Switzerland on buses, trains and some gondolas, so why not have lunch in Zermatt? The Matterhorn wasn’t as glorious a view as last year’s cloudless sunny day, however it’s fun to notice and see the changes taking place.

The Chateau du Chillon in Montreux was a favorite site on Stanna’s 2012 trip and impressed me as well this year. Unlike other historical structures, one could visit almost every nook and cranny of this 1200-year-old many-leveled castle, from the dungeon to the ramparts. The castle was far larger than it appeared from the lake bank where it was situated on a toll road “pinch point” between the mountain slope and waters of the lake, because we spent over three hours wandering thru the reception halls, bed chambers, wine cellars, chapels and quarters.

Most interesting was to learn that the Count (the highest local nobles of the times) only spent three days in most of his castles, traveling continuously with his entire retinue around his realm in order to maintain his authority. Seeing and learning about the way they transported every item of their household from clothing to dishes. As many as three hundred carts hauled everything in trunks which were carried up into each castle where staff setup bedrooms, hangings, bathtubs and the lot.

Another interesting fact was what was required of the locals each time the royals showed up. They had to fete the group for their entire stay, providing everything from firewood (1000 carts-full), 100’s of animals for meat and literally tons of other food stuffs (a list of which would fill our largest supermarket several times over). Of course each castle housed the local bailiff or constable who collected taxes for the region, generally consisting of in-kind goods, which were audited with each of the royal visits.

Stanna’s special day was celebrated with a lakeside dinner and chocolate dessert and we learned that Wiesbaden, my German heimatstadt in the 70‘s, was only 4 days 7 hours and 30 minutes hike from Montreux.

Rather than zip back to Geneva on the train we choose to walk along the lake to the next town, Vevey, where we ran into a memorial to Charlie Chaplin who happen to live here many years. Interesting contrast to see the opulent and grand chateaux lakeside compared to the farmers’ huts and homes in the mountains. Even the cities and urban towns had some agriculture within the city limits although most the lakeside crops were vineyards.

Another great trip to Switzerland.

What we like most about traveling is the constant thought, discussion, comparison and even research (thanks to instant access usually nightly to the Internet via iPad) that we involve ourselves in. The cultural, economic, infrastructural, construction style and method, domestic and commercial ways that are different as well as those that are the same.

Almost every construction site is a place to pause and ponder, “what would McKenney think about this…?” Half timber construction is everywhere in the mountains, scaffold techniques and requirements that would warm the hearts of TSA-emboldened OSHA inspectors, copper rain gutters on the steep snow- and ice-prone roofs, not to mention 300-year-old buildings serving contemporary needs.

Public transportation we know surpasses ours, but we spend continued hours realizing, or better speculating, why the Swiss have theirs working like their renowned clocks. Trains that depart shortly after regional buses arrive, even buses that leave minutes after gondolas descend. It all makes perfect logical sense but to see and experience it work is not only convenient but inspiring. Just the stable of bus sizes ranging from intracity 3-car articulated buses to the 3 or more sizes of ubiquitous Post buses deployed in rural and mountain communities. There just isn’t a need for a car, and when there is one the size of a Rav4 is large.

Construction and transportation are easy comparisons but we get challenged by population distribution, GDP, percent tourism provides to the ecomomy, ethnic diversity, ownership of the alps and fascination with why mountain bikers strap their helmets on their handlebars riding the tortuous uphills trails, how it is that families are still farming right within towns, even to the point of mowing and raking the grasses down those steep slopes around their homes. Or even why public restrooms have blue lights.

What’s finally occurred to me is that even if Switzerland and Colorado were equal sizes in population, GDP and geography (which they aren’t quite), the difference is that Switzerland’s federal taxes go directly into funding infrastructure within it’s borders while Colorado’s federal tax contributions go to a much broader national budget. If Colorado had that 15 or 20% of it’s Income as tax to spend on infrastructure we might afford trains, eduction and roads like Switzerland. Or we might see more soccer fields downtown with parking underneath for the adjacent stores.

There are still plenty of things I like better in the states. It’s just fun to think how two western cultures do things differently and yet how many of the things are the same, just with different logos or labels.

The climb over the last pass and descent into Adelboden was anti-climactic probably because we’ve become jaded looking at “Swiss calendar” views of snow-capped peaks, vibrantly green alps and micro-sized villages and towns down in the valleys. This is only said in the context of remembering to pull out the camera to capture still more views of our hike along the Via Alpina.

You’d think in an eight hour day of hiking and using a digital camera that we might be taking hundreds of photos a day, however the truth is we have to make ourselves stop and record that moment or view. Wanting to share photos on the blog helps and some of you know that we use our extensive travel photo library (numbering almost 20,000 photos) as a random collage screen saver on our computers and Apple TV. So we know we’ll enjoy the Swiss alp farmhouse juxtaposed with a Paradox cockpit scene almost daily.

Looking back, whether it be months and years later, or simply up from the micro-viewed valley town at the end of the day, does give one a sense of accomplishment you don’t seem to garner while you’re trekking along one foot in front of the other.

And in the spirit of full disclosure, Stanna admits that she “pass-ed out” on this trip. On the next-to-last climb she got about half-way up to the pass, decided conditions were not right for her, and hiked back down to get bus & train transportation to that night’s village. And for this final pass, she train-ed and bus-ed to Adelboden then climbed up half-way to meet me coming down the pass on that side. She says it was the best 10.8 francs she has spent in Switzerland.

We’ve not seen any wildlife this trip except for a few marmots and squirrels so far, but there have been a number of domestic animal trail encounters.

We had a great stay at the Blumental Hotel in Murren. Another classic vintage hotel and this one even had internet. Many of our hotels have had balconies and this one looked out over the narrow carless street of Murren and further to the walled cliffs rising to more of the Bernese Oberland’s highest mountains.

One thing that surprised us at dinner in the hotel was that almost every table had English speaking guests. Enough Anglophiles that we got into conversations with several tables which wanted to know about our hike, since they overheard us talking.

Shortly after tasting the creamed carrot soup we knew we were in for a treat. All of our hotels have reservations made with the half-pension plan, which includes dinner and breakfast along with our room. We really like this concept, especially after coming in from an all day hike, where we don’t have to make a decision about where to go to eat and then what to chose from the sometimes bewildering menus. Many of the fancier hotel restaurants actually print out an evening dinner menu for the half-pension guest, so along with the phalanx of silverware and display of glassware one can have fun translating the fare.

AccuWeather promised “Mostly Sunny” for Murren but that must have only been accurate above the the fog and clouds. The almost 4,000′ climb to the pass only gave hints of the wonderous peaks flanking our rise in the clouds. Part of the trail was called the “North Walls Trail” and had 2×3′ interpretive signage from each vantage point detailing the first ascent routes on each wall, when and by whom.

This pass was one of the highest we encounter on the Via Alpina and the fog and low hanging clouds made it the least exciting, almost joy-less in a viewless fog shrouded 4,700′ descent. Oh, and the 7% chance of rain was correct if you don’t count drizzling the last two hours down to Griesalp. And in case you’re curious, there were 261 steps off the back side of that summit. Straight down into the fog.

Day 3 of 5 days hiking across the heart of the Bernese Oberland and it’s pretty wonderful even with the throngs of tourists to rival the Grand Canyon south rim. Hiking the Via Alpina routes us up and over three major passes (we added a day at Grindelwald, where we climbed 5,350′ to Mannlichen just to keep our legs fit and mostly to reminisce back 42 years), so we don’t see or hike with too many folks until we reach a train or gondola terminus at the top.

Selecting a few photos of the 48 that I just took today becomes problematic because they’re hard to choose and review on a mobile device let alone edit them with filters or photoshop. The classic of the three in the center of today’s hike is the Eiger. I learned today from Stanna that Eiger means ogre in German and the Monch is defending the Jungfrau from the Eiger. Today not all three were visible at the same time and fit in the viewfinder. Check them out in Google Earth 3D or on the map above.

The transportation infrastructure in this area is remarkable taking literally thousands an hour up the various mountains. We were the only ones we saw trekking up the mountain. (See Stanna on the trail as we pass under one of the three cog trains an hour that wend their way up hundred year old rail beds). A number, lets say a tenth of a percent, do hike down some portions. And we did see five old men trying to get “younger next year” cycling mountain bikes just as we approached the pass.

One paraglider passed us going down above the Lauterbrunnen cliffs. He said he’d “only have to rapel 7 meters [thru the trees to the edge] before I can launch”. Paragliding has been a frequent sight in the skies along our route, as roads, lifts and access make launching for 5-7,000′ elevation flights easy. Looking down to Lauterbrunnen will give you an idea of his flight path.

Each time we come thru villages there’s plenty to stimulate discussion whether it’s Swiss construction, marveling at cutting grass on 45+ degree slopes with tractors or just the abundance of gardens and geraniums festooned like bunting from every house’s window box planters.

Since Rosenlaui was so remote and back at least a century we didn’t have wifi, nor access to the weather. Good thing because within minutes of starting up the hill to Grosse Scheidegg we had to don our rain gear once again and it’s better to be surprised and acquiesce rather than stifle your dread. Actually the two different days we hiked in the rain have been almost enjoyable. Not really cold and not much storm, just steady light to moderate rains. Our ultralight rain gear is more than adequate, for those of you wondering how our 3 oz rain coats work.

Not many photos just a few climbing up to the pass before the rain and a couple after on our descent into the Grindelwald valley.

After the rain clouds subsided we started getting glimpses of the Wetterhorn and even the Eiger itself. Wish you could see all of it with us, but this foggy shot will have to do.

Maybe this 3D Apple Map screenshot will give you a better feeling for the alpine setting.