So ends our time in Switzerland. I have been reading the beloved book, Heidi, written in 1879 and could just imagine we were on the same mountain with the beauty of wildflowers, the laughter of frisky goats and the magnificent mountain peaks shining down on us. Okay, okay-- but it is majestic and hard to put into words!
We spent 6 days in the Bernese Oberland Alps among the mighty Eiger-Monch-Jungfrau peaks. First in Wengen, a small resort town frequented mostly by Swiss families. Second was in Gimmelwald, a tiny village on a very steep, green, flower-covered slope. This is one of the last villages in Switzerland without cars and the only access is by a cablecar.
I think my pictures will describe so much better than words and bring Heidi to life! Please click on the link for photos (you can also click on each picture-some are videos).
"Sorry, we do not speak French." These past three weeks housesitting in Switzerland have been really interesting, challenging and different for us. We have struggled with communication, shopping, the washing machine, directions, car breakdowns, reading signs (resulting in a parking ticket), and a very reclusive cat. But we wouldn't trade it for a minute!
We have been exploring our "neighborhood", or actually the 7 villages that make up the community of Vully les Lacs in this canton of Vaud (cantons are a division similar to counties or states). We have had the use of a small car which has been nice to get out and see some of the area and try to find local festivals and events. One weekend we drove nearly 3 hours to the mountain ski resort of Haute-Nendez, an adventure in itself. Google Maps took us up a very narrow, windy road that eventually dropped us on a dirt path. Nervously we turned around and eventually found another way up the mountain. Just around the bend, voilà--a year-round resort village that was much larger than expected with many hotels and condos, restaurants, sports and services. We were there for the International Alphorn Festival, a 3-day celebration with over 180 Alphorns, an international competition, along with other folk dance and music.
With no buttons or valves, the sound depends on the alphorn's material, thickness and shape, and of course the way you work your lips- the greater the tension, the higher the note.
There were several regional folkdance troops as well as the Italian Fiorentino Historical Flag-wavers.
We epecially enjoyed the Jodlerklub Alperösli, which was very different than we expected. When a solo yodeler starts to sing a slow sequence of notes, the other yodlers hum along with the appropriate tone, and provide a spontaneous melody-resulting in natural yodel singing without words.
I loved this and looked for more events, but to Jack's relief we missed the Swiss Yodeling Festival last month where there were thousands of yodlers!
We found a local Tomato Festival at a farm in our little village of Salavaux one day and enjoyed an awesome plate of about 6 or 7 different kinds of fresh tomatoes. We like finding this local events even though we often don't fully understand what is happening.
Swiss National Day, August 1 - a celebration of the founding of the Swiss Confederation in 1291--just a few years back!
Less of a big marketing campaign, the smallest of villages have speeches by public figures, music concerts, gymnastic displays, firework, bonfires, national anthem récitals, or just time spent with families and friends in the alpine huts. The traditional huge bonfires, often on hillsides, date back to ancient times when they were communication as beacons or celebrations.
homes are decorated with flags and banners from the Cantons
picnics at the lake
we could see the red bonfires at night (Karen showing how big this one is) miles and miles away
yea it's open!
We have tried to make the rounds of several of the local wineries here in Vully. Again it is difficult due to the language difference and just the culture of business, and most of the vintners speak French or German.
We discovered that most of the Caves (wineries) are open only on Saturday morning for a couple of hours. We wonder how they sell their product but people do stop in and buy by the case.
most of the red wine is aged in large barrels
finally got our wine!
advertising (?) on the side of the farm house/winery
Family Loup ("wolf") is in our village of Montmagmy
Finally there are an amazing amount of Roman, medieval. and WWI sites around here. Not too far from us in Avenches there are some of the best Roman ruins of the then-known Aventicum, which was the Capital of Helvetia (from 15 BC) during Roman Rule.
original ruins on the bottom & the rest was restored 100 years ago...pedestrian entrance on the left and taller one for chariots
It had a population of 20,000 and there are ruins of a theater that held 9,000, city walls and gates and a Amphitheater that could seat about 16,000. Gladiators battled each other and fought animals but today the sound of fury comes from modern rock groups. It was really facinating to see how a 2,000 year old amphitheater is still in use today.
the ancient Amphitheater with stone step-seats and modern plastic seats getting set up for a 4-day musical event
Redoubt from WWI
Our two housesitting gigs have allowed us to immerse into local life in small villages in England and Switzerland while giving us time to take a break from hectic travel and engage with the communities. While not for everyone, we have found this is a new way of cultural travel for and we plan to do more.
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