May 14 - another fabulous day at Our Chalet

Another perilous, spine-chilling, nerve-wracking drive along a VERY narrow road further down the valley took us to the famous (at least in the area) Trummer woodcarver today. BTW – the adjectives are from Shirley, who was the passenger, not even the driver! This is a 2-hour one-way hike option from Our Chalet, but since we were trying to cram as much as we could in today, we traveled by car. This family business has produced carved works for several
generations. At the workshop down the valley, they have a number of specific items for Guiding, which you can have personalized while you wait.



We had coffee and scrumptious lemon cake at the home next door – highly recommended by Our Chalet staff, so we couldn’t miss it.








Clouds still down low so we haven’t yet had a full view of the mountains around the valley – disappointing, but it sounds like the forecast is for more of the same for the next couple of weeks.

As viewed in other parts of the valley, the numerous structures dotting the hillsides are a combination of home and barn – and are HUGE! All are perched along the mountainside, connected by a lacework of narrow roads which aren’t visible when you look up or across at the mountainside.







After returning to the valley floor, we headed east driving through the beautiful town of Frutigen, then around the lakes toward Brienz and the Freilichtmuseum Ballenberg Open-Air Museum.












It has more than 100 original, age-old buildings from across all of Switzerland, and gardens over many acres. Traditional handiwork is done in several of the structures and each is adorned/furnished as it would have been. From the homes of day labourers, to the wealthy farmers/business owners, the home structures are grouped in theme areas and are connected by walking paths. We hardly got through ¼ of the site in the few hours we had available – but we focused on the Bernese Oberland area of the park since this is the area we are visiting.















The drive was very picturesque as we traveled along the shores of first the Thunersee then the Brienzersee (lakes). The town of Interlaken lies on a narrow strip of land between the two lakes – quaint! Boat tours on the lake are offered as a way to see the numerous communities situated on the banks – but in the rain, not such a good deal so we passed. Interlaken is a tourist resort popular with hikers and mountaineers in the summer and skiers in the winter.

On arrival back at Our Chalet for dinner, we were greeted by a troupe of 15 9-11 year olds from the American Army base in Stutgard Germany who are here for the weekend. Dorm is MUCH busier tonight!

Tomorrow, sadly, we leave Our Chalet for travels on to England and Pax Lodge. We’ve been able to see some of the key sights in this beautiful area, but would definitely need to stay longer to get a better sense of the whole area as there is much to see. Another trip some day!