TUMBLE DRY LOW • TRAVEL ADDICTIOn • Switzerland

Caution: if using the guidebook Walking Switzerland the Swiss Way, the book neglects to mention that the last bus from Meiringen to Rosenlaui is pretty darn early (3 or 4 p.m.). We made the bus by about 10 minutes, but could have easily been stuck in Meiringen for the night—not a bad thing, but the Berghaus Rosenlaui is definitely worth the trip. Just plan your day accordingly!

I hadn’t been sleeping well the last few nights—and I wasn’t sure if it was still jetlag, or the change in elevation (we were now at 1800 meters), or simply the luxurious fluffy down comforters the Swiss use, no bed sheets, which I sweated and sweated under. But there could be few things as pleasurable as getting out of bed with the sunrise, and writing in my journal next to the cracked open window, where even with my deep tiredness I could lift my head and see mountains, a huge 4000 meter peak, directly across from me, crowded with thick and white glaciers thick and white—and half covered in clouds. I wrote in my journal that morning: cold feet, true quietness, the ringing of cowbells, a deep tiredness, surrounded by mountains, a blue sky with a smattering of clouds, warm colored pine furniture, white lace at the windows, my husband slowly emerging from under the cover of down. What a peaceful morning.

Breakfast the next morning was a great buffet spread of good bread and yogurt they got from the alp right across the street. We had bought some extra bread in Luzerne, so we just needed some yogurt and cheese from the little shop across the street, and we were set for food for the day.

Again, the beginning of the day was pure pleasure – a beautiful and gradual ascent out of Engstlenalp. The crowds of the Bernese Oberland didn’t greet us for the first third of the hike, and it was us and the roaming clanging cows that were still novel for us at this point. You have options on how to get from Meiringen—a low flat route, a middle route if the weather is iffy, and a high route if you think you have the mountain legs already—we took the high route, and the exertion was not too bad in relation to the stunning views. We hiked along a wide crest between two very steep canyons, and the ups and downs were gradual and kept the terrain varied. Tour groups understandably seem to like this particular area, and we ran into several groups coming towards us, as well as other traveler sets—I was surprised that the majority of the hikers here were in their 50’s, and the young people hiking seemed few.

You have the option of taking three lifts down to Meringen—we walked the first third of the way, in an attempt to kick-start our going-down muscles, and took the other two lifts.

Once at Meringen, we stopped in at a grocery store in Meiringen to get some lunch supplies for the next two days, then it was a mad-dash to the bus station, once we realized the last bus to Rosenlaui left at 4:15 p.m. This was our first ride on the yellow tiny friendly Swiss buses, which have a distinctive horn that sounds like a battle cry—in fact, many times it is a battle cry, since the bus takes up most of the windy twisty mountain roads, and cars need to back up to a nook in the road and allow the bus to pass. I was glad to be a passenger and not driving.

It was nice getting to Rosenlaui earlier in the day (about 5 p.m.)—we had a chance to shower and get very hungry before dinner to begin. The Berghaus Rosenlaui was a magical and oddly elegant place, right next to a large stream (so we hear the water throughout the night)—an old Victorian place. Outside the Rosenlaui, there were hiking signs pointing to the alpine hut trails that were positioned near the tips of mountains, and from these huts you’d probably be able to see mountain climbers making ascents to summits, places that we wouldn’t go on this trip, but I glad that someone was there.

Dinner was a formal four course dinner that took 2 hours(!): romantic, fancy and slightly surreal, and the food was fine, the sop was spectacular, and the long meal filled us up. No private bathrooms, but no one was ever in the public bathrooms, so it didn’t really matter. Tomorrow was going to be an ultra-strenuous day, so we got to sleep early, to catch the earliest bus we could to Schwarzwaldalp.