A great weekend in Switzerland, without John though
Well, he was originally intending to be with us - in fact, he was our reason for going there in the first place (that's John, our Aussie friend, BTW) Still, events back home in Tasmania meant he couldn't be with us after all and so we just had to make the best of it...
Arriving Thursday meant that we had an extra day to enjoy one of our favourite places and one more dining opportunity - we made a beeline for geschnetzeltes at the Kropf that night! We made the most of the good weather on Friday morning and set off to Emmental.
Wonderful countryside and fascinating to see the cheese being made, for though we've been here before, we'd never bothered going to the Emmentaler Schaukaserei As it was, we found plenty to interest us there for a couple of hours, and enjoyed sampling the products for lunch in their cafe too. The old buildings were lovely, and we were surprised to find some cheese quietly taking shape in the old cottage too (though the aroma might have given us a clue!) Dinner that night was at the Zeughaus, another favourite, where we chatted to a delightful couple from Texas who'd just dropped off their daughter for a year in Florence.
Saturday wasn't such a good day as far as the weather was concerned, but we'd decided to get up early and set off to Appenzell in the hope of seeing the cows come home for the winter (Abflug) Urnasch was the place to be, and so we went on up the mountain, parked up and waited in the rain. Quite a wait as it happened, though more and more people arrived to stand with us, reassuring us that indeed something would happen soon.
Then, there was a moo and a clank of cowbell and the herd appeared at the top of the main street, accompanied by the herdsmen dressed in their traditional britches and waistcoats. When they reached the inn in the village square, the innkeeper came out with a tray of schnapps which each of the men downed in one - running to catch up with their cows, who had now moved on beyond them. The most prized cows wore enormous bells, but all wore chains or collars and many had small pieces of marrowbone around their necks.
Of course, the young goatherd enjoyed his schnapps too, though strange how his female companion wasn't offered a glass!
We saw around half a dozen herds come down through the village - usually preceded by the children driving a few goats, followed by one man and three or four prize cows, four herdsmen accompanying the main herd (singing a kind of low yodel as they walked) with perhaps a calf or two at the back and, bringing up the rear, an older farmer, sometimes on a horse and cart and always a cowman and his dog at the end. What a fine sight.
We went back to the car and decided to make our way further up the mountain, in the direction from which the cows had come. No sooner had we set off than another herd appeared and we had to take refuge in a small alleyway off the street, to allow them past. Then again, off we set and half a mile up the road there was another herd...and a bit further along, a third! What fun - especially when one cow broke free and went into a neighbouring field to have a run around with another cow before being rounded up by the farmer and gathered into the bunch going through the village!
After such fun, the rest of the day seemed uneventful, though the drive back to Zurich was through more lovely countryside and our fondue at Chuchi was great as ever.
Sunday was cloudy and chilly. We didn't feel it was the weather for going to the Alps, so headed west to the Jura. Delemont was closed and having read interesting things about St Ursanne, we headed there to see for ourselves. A lovely village set above a river, it was also very quiet. Whilst there, we picked up information about a bio-markt at Saingelegier which sounded good - set off there around lunchtime.
What a great place! Lots of interesting and attractive stalls with food, crafts and other activities, all set in a purpose built exhibition hall styled like a barn. The place was packed and the atmosphere buzzing. Another super focus for our day.
It being Sunday, the Zeughaus was our dinner venue and last chance for geschnetzeltes.
Flew home today, Monday, after a spot of shopping in Zurich this morning and hot chocolate at Schober.
The bears of the "Teddy Summer" have been a fun diversion as we've walked around the city, Zum Storchen was as good as ever and we were welcomed as old friends. We look forward to our next visit!
(Originally posted by Gill)
Arriving Thursday meant that we had an extra day to enjoy one of our favourite places and one more dining opportunity - we made a beeline for geschnetzeltes at the Kropf that night! We made the most of the good weather on Friday morning and set off to Emmental.
Wonderful countryside and fascinating to see the cheese being made, for though we've been here before, we'd never bothered going to the Emmentaler Schaukaserei As it was, we found plenty to interest us there for a couple of hours, and enjoyed sampling the products for lunch in their cafe too. The old buildings were lovely, and we were surprised to find some cheese quietly taking shape in the old cottage too (though the aroma might have given us a clue!) Dinner that night was at the Zeughaus, another favourite, where we chatted to a delightful couple from Texas who'd just dropped off their daughter for a year in Florence.
Saturday wasn't such a good day as far as the weather was concerned, but we'd decided to get up early and set off to Appenzell in the hope of seeing the cows come home for the winter (Abflug) Urnasch was the place to be, and so we went on up the mountain, parked up and waited in the rain. Quite a wait as it happened, though more and more people arrived to stand with us, reassuring us that indeed something would happen soon.
Then, there was a moo and a clank of cowbell and the herd appeared at the top of the main street, accompanied by the herdsmen dressed in their traditional britches and waistcoats. When they reached the inn in the village square, the innkeeper came out with a tray of schnapps which each of the men downed in one - running to catch up with their cows, who had now moved on beyond them. The most prized cows wore enormous bells, but all wore chains or collars and many had small pieces of marrowbone around their necks.
Of course, the young goatherd enjoyed his schnapps too, though strange how his female companion wasn't offered a glass!
We saw around half a dozen herds come down through the village - usually preceded by the children driving a few goats, followed by one man and three or four prize cows, four herdsmen accompanying the main herd (singing a kind of low yodel as they walked) with perhaps a calf or two at the back and, bringing up the rear, an older farmer, sometimes on a horse and cart and always a cowman and his dog at the end. What a fine sight.
We went back to the car and decided to make our way further up the mountain, in the direction from which the cows had come. No sooner had we set off than another herd appeared and we had to take refuge in a small alleyway off the street, to allow them past. Then again, off we set and half a mile up the road there was another herd...and a bit further along, a third! What fun - especially when one cow broke free and went into a neighbouring field to have a run around with another cow before being rounded up by the farmer and gathered into the bunch going through the village!
After such fun, the rest of the day seemed uneventful, though the drive back to Zurich was through more lovely countryside and our fondue at Chuchi was great as ever.
Sunday was cloudy and chilly. We didn't feel it was the weather for going to the Alps, so headed west to the Jura. Delemont was closed and having read interesting things about St Ursanne, we headed there to see for ourselves. A lovely village set above a river, it was also very quiet. Whilst there, we picked up information about a bio-markt at Saingelegier which sounded good - set off there around lunchtime.
What a great place! Lots of interesting and attractive stalls with food, crafts and other activities, all set in a purpose built exhibition hall styled like a barn. The place was packed and the atmosphere buzzing. Another super focus for our day.
It being Sunday, the Zeughaus was our dinner venue and last chance for geschnetzeltes.
Flew home today, Monday, after a spot of shopping in Zurich this morning and hot chocolate at Schober.
The bears of the "Teddy Summer" have been a fun diversion as we've walked around the city, Zum Storchen was as good as ever and we were welcomed as old friends. We look forward to our next visit!
(Originally posted by Gill)
posted by Mark at
12:13 pm
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