The photo album for this
trip has been the most active, long before this log was posted.
This day started nice and
stayed nice all day. Krystallweg
(Crystal Hike) is one of the trails that tourism is marketing for kids and
families. There is a book based on
Grim, a magical crystal being who lives in this area, and the map for the trail
is designed like the book illustrations. Krystallweg Map Along the
trail, there was a place to see the quartz crystals from the area, and a couple
of geologic information signs. Lots of rock, water dams and glacial
moraine.
It starts with a bus ride
from Meiringen to Grimsal Hostel, a resort hotel far up a glacial valley. As the bus climbs there are views of two or
three dams, with reservoirs. . The Swiss love dams as much as they love
tunnels and bridges.
The trail begins with a
sharp drop along the trail and on steps cut into the rock, down the face of the
glacially carved valley wall, below the face of the dam. A huge dam and gorge below with a tiny
rivulet flowing. Strong warnings are
posted to keep the curious out of the gorge.
The trail winds down the grade of the valley, generally following the
stream. At first there are a few buildings
associated with the dam, but then they fall away and then only the trail, the
flowers and meadows and rocky mountains and cliffs above. There is water everywhere, flowing in the
streams, rivulets into the larger stream and even sheeting down a rock
face.
Peter is entertained by
searching for the crystals. He never
finds one of the quality in the glass cases at the resort or in the gift shops,
but finds plenty of quartz, almost as good to him. Our lunch spot is again perfect, benches at the edges of a stream
cutting thought the heather like grass, mosses and low brush. Below is the lake, Raetrichsbodensee, and as
soon as we begin to follow the train along side the lake, we come to a place
where the crystals are on display in their natural state, with a hand generator
powering a light to see them in the little cave.
The trail is cut into the
steep rock face and we have a nerve-wracking snowfield to cross. One slip and
you’d be sliding 100’s of feet down a rock face into the lake, not a likely
survival scenario. A couple of stream
crossings have Amy concerned about Peter, but he crosses like an Ibex. More signs along the way, they must have had
English translations, because I remember some of them. Step cut into the rock in the old, old way,
ancient trade routes from western Europe to eastern Europe and beyond to
Asia. Celts, Romans, the Germanic
tribes and Napoleonic armies.
The trail finally gets
beyond and below the lake. Here is a
climber’s paradise. A dozen groups of
climbers are scattered along the smooth-walled glacial valley. We notice that this trail is taking longer
than posted; only this time there is a bus we need to catch back to town. If we miss it we have an hour and a half
wait at the Handeck Hotel until the next bus comes. So we pick up the pace. The trail crosses another Swiss engineering
feat, a beautiful stone bridge. By now
I am carrying Peter and we are hiking briskly.
Without 45 lbs. of kid, Amy starts to outpace us and is soon out of
sight. Peter and I have great fun about
being ditched but keep up a good pace.
It becomes clear that we won’t make the bus. So we continue at a brisk but not rushed pace. Amy is far, far ahead. We don’t even see her
when we come down across a far reaching cow pasture. Yes, more cows. We , have
to pick our way through a herd of fifty or so, and reach the outskirts of
Handeck. It’s no more than the Hotel and the hamlet. Of course we have missed the bus, by about 15 minutes.
We entertain ourselves with
ice cream and the playground, a late afternoon serving of Pommes Frites (French
fries) and soup. Still more time. Next to the hotel is a garden of native alpine plants, complete
with a trout pond and water plants.
Nearby is a large cow, only this one is painted red and white and has
white Swiss crosses all over it. No
meat here, this cow is plastic or something.
Amy is reading in the shade, I’m looking at the garden and Peter is over
with some other kids by the cow. Then
they are rocking the cow. Then the
other kids back off and Peter keeps rocking the cow. The cow tips over and Vann
is mortified. I rush over to put it
back up and nobody around the playground bats and eye. The cow does have a broken ear from a
previous attack. I am not concerned
anymore, but still hustle Peter back to the playground proper. Finally its time for the bus. Others who were biding there time at the
hotel start working there way out to the bus stop, and climbers filter down
too. This was our last hike in the Bern
Heartland or Oberland, and we were all a little sad. That night we packed up out Meiringen apartment for an early
morning train ride to Urnasch, in the quaint Appenzeller region. We were excited about going someplace new,
but this apartment had become like a loved home.
Heartland Untours, Switzerland 2001
