Escaping the Summer Heat with Good Friends
It’s been a brutally hot summer in Italy. Since early June the temperatues have hovered in the high 90s and low 100s and it had not rained in two months. We were excited about going to Wildhaus, Switzerland again this year to escape the heat and hang out with our dear friends Ute and Winnie.
Klangweg Toggenburg
Wildhaus is 3,593 feet above sea level so it takes a couple of days to acclimatize to the altitude. We always start with an easy walk and we can definitely feel it when we walk uphill. We did a walk along the Klangweg (Toggenburg Tone Trail) a nice route for families that most people can do. Another nice thing to do is to take the ski lift up to a small restaurant. After taking a walk there and picking some blueberries, we also stopped in one of the herder’s huts for apple cider and tea, and to buy some cheese and butter.
It rained later that afternoon, so we went into the nearby town of Nesslau-Krummenau to check out some items at the Landi store. James found a really nice outfit!!!
We normally do some swimming at the nearby Lake Schwendisee. The water is pretty cold, but if the day is hot or if you’ve just done a difficult hike, it feels great. This year Winnie brought a paddle board! The TandemSpirits were both able to stand, maintain our balance and paddle for a good amount of time. Neither of us fell off the board! If we had lakes that were closer, we would definitely consider getting one.
Hiking the Churfirsten Range
After a few days, we were ready to tackle a more difficult hike. The goal was the 2262 meters high Chäserrugg Peak which is part of the Churfirsten range. The climb would be about 1062 meters. Virginia and Winnie started out from the house. Ute and the other guests, Bernd and Lorenz and James took the lift part of the way. It was tough going in some sections, but the views were stunning. Winnie and Virginia stopped at a herder’s hut along the way and had coffee and ginger tea with honey and a slice of melon. We all met up at one point and then hiked to the summit together. We enjoyed expansive views of Lake Wallensee and the Glarus Alps in Northeastern Switzerland as we picnicked on fruit, cheese, sausages, and hard boiled eggs
On the way up and on the way back we got up close and personal with some of the cows that pasture up in the hills. We actually had to crawl up the hill a bit to get past them! One gave Virginia a gentle nudge as if to say, “Hay, mooove along there”.
Mushrooms and Crazy Cows
It rained Wednesday evening so Winnie and James went out to see if they could find any mushrooms. They didn’t find many edible mushrooms, but they did find some beautiful specimens.
They also had a less-than-friendly encounter with a herd of cows.
“Toward the end of our hike, we came across a guy who was cutting down trees. He told us that they were infested with a beetle and needed to be felled. As we approached this spot, a small group of cattle emerged from the trees. They were obviously agitated by the noise being made by the cutting machinery. We had already tried to put some distance between us and the cows, but then, suddenly they charged down the hill at us. Winnie yelled ‘THEY’RE COMING.’ I haven’t run that fast in years. We did make it to the electric fence where they stopped and snorted at us. It’s still funny thinking about what it must have looked like with two old guys running down that hill pursued by a bunch of cows!!”
James got to show off his prowess in the kitchen and we feasted on spaghetti with truffle sauce, chili, baked cod with grapes and roasted rosemary potatoes, green curry with chicken, vegetables, and basmati rice. We had also brought some excellent red and rosé wines from our favorite wineries, Dionigi and Madonna del Latte. Ute made some great desserts with wild blueberries we picked on one of our walks and blackberries they brought from their yard. She combined them with either a soft cheese or a mixture of quark and cream.
We’re really fortunate to be able to spend time with our friends Ute and Winnie in Switzerland. We’re looking forward to another week together next year. It sounded as if Winnie has plans to hike us up the mountain on the other side of the valley! It’s time to start training!!!!
