Untours, Kandersteg
We traveled to Switzerland
with Untours, a great way to travel. The package includes an apartment, airfare,
Swiss Pass, a couple of optional group activities and an orientation. The
important part of the orientation is learning how to use the transportation
system. The Swiss Pass covers the train
system, city buses and Post Buses. The
mail is delivered by an extensive system, part of which is the Post Bus
(usually called Post Auto), so they go to many out of the way towns. The train
master schedule is about three inches thick, the Post Auto schedule only
two. A few buses are special tourist
buses and require extra fare. Chair
lifts, trams and gondolas are not covered, but often have a discount with the
Swiss Pass.
Our hometown was Kandersteg,
a quiet mountain resort for skiing in the winter and hiking/biking in the
summer. There were very few Americans
there, many more Germans and British, very few Japanese. Other parts of the country seem to draw more
Japanese and Americans. It takes only
30 minutes or so to walk across the entire town, so a car was not
necessary. I rented a bike for fun
outings and to run to the store. It
quickly became expected for Vann to bike to the bakery each morning for fresh
Gipfeli (croissants). Vanilla and Chocolate were the favorites with the
kids. I didn’t mind, it was a nice way
to start the day.
There are several hotels in
town, but many, many chalets and rooms for rent. Our Untour package was unusual in that we got a chalet, not an
apartment, with a small additional charge..
It was nice to be able to spread out. All Untours accommodations have
kitchens, and make for relatively inexpensive travel.
Above Kandersteg is
Oeschininsee “Jewel of the Alps” a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains and
cliffs, with a score of waterfalls plunging into the lake. Further up the valley is Gasternal,
“Yosemite of the Bern Oberland”, and high above Allmenalp. We traveled somehow, most everty day. I bicycled, we all hiked and took train and
bus to all sorts of adventures. Chair
lift to Almenalp, and hike down. (Why
don’t I have any pictures, missing roll of film?) Breakfast at home, picnic lunch or sometimes a cafe, dinner at
home or other. Raclette, rosti, too
much! Cheese, chocolate, fresh breads
and fruit, sausages of all sorts. Gemischter salat,
gruene salat. Ja, Ja!
One nice feature of
Kandersteg is its location.
Domodossola, Italy was only an hour away by train, Stresa half an hour
beyond that. Spiez and Thun were very
close, and Bern only an hour away.