squeezing lemons

Half term break.  Honestly, didn't they just start back at school?  We have opted for the stay-close-to-home, explore-our-own area kind of holiday.  A "staycation" of sorts, but that is a word that bothers me.

geared up + ready to go...

First stop on the holiday tour was a trip to the Seilpark, in Zweisimmen just down the valley.  It's quite a vast ropes course, one that would never fly in Canada.  The park appears to be safe, but the Swiss do not seem to be as concerned with issues of liability.  Before you are allowed on the course, the one staff member walks you through how to do the course safely - clipping the carribeaners on and off (one at a time), only 3 people on a platform, using the zip-line (including braking) etc.  Once she is satisfied that you can participate safely, you're cleared to go.  Pumped with enthusiasm and armed with their Kilcoo training, the boys took off with their friends and quickly moved through the lower courses and onto the really high and challenging ones.  Esmée was more restricted because of her height and had 3 of the lower courses to choose from.  I even participated and moved between Esmée and the boys, but to be honest, they all left me in their dust. There was no keeping up with any of them.  Both Jeff and I were amazed to watch them focus and work hard, to be scared and work through it, to be both challenged and exhilarated.

On Sunday, after a delicious mountain-top lunch of schnitzel, rösti, pasta and a couple of "alpine rings", 17 of us headed off on what ended up being a 3 day hiking trip.  Four families, including 13 kids, set off from the Relleri for the Grubenberghütte, one of the many alpine huts run by the Swiss Alpine Club.  The 3.5 hour hike (give or take) was beautiful, mostly gentle traversing along alpine meadows, but with a 30 minute kick-ass hill climb right at the end.  Again, I was amazed at how well the kids did.  Now, Esmeé did not carry her own pack very far, but she hiked and hiked until we got to the hut, chatting, playing + singing with her friends all the while.  The boys hung with their friends, closer to the back of the pack, exploring everything along the way and according to one witness who walked with them for awhile, telling disgusting and inappropriate jokes.

 dinnertime at the Grubenberghütte

We arrived at the Grubenberghütte just in time for a well-deserved cold beer before dinner and we settled in for the night.  The hut sleeps a total of 34 people in 2 dormitories.  It is cheek by jowl so you had better hope that your dorm-mates do not snore, fart or both!   Dinner was deliciously simple - tomato soup, salad and pasta - and all prepared by Hans, keeper of the hut.  While the huts here evoke some memories of hiking in Nepal, this is a far cry from the Nepalese experience.   This is Switzerland afterall, so you can count on neat, clean + organised.  The woodpile outside is impeccably stacked and the dorm beds are stocked with perfectly folded duvets and identically placed pillows.  There is cold running water and depending on the hut, the WC may be an outhouse or indoor toilets.  One thing is for sure, the views are outstanding everywhere you look.

sunset from the Grubenberghütte

After a cosy, but somewhat chaotic sleep, a smaller group of 8 decided to continue on and make our way to another hut - the Chalet du Soldat.  We were relying on the advice from 2 Swiss hikers who had the misfortune of spending the night with our group of 17 at the Grubenberghütte.  We did not have a map or GPS, but they pointed us in the right direction after breakfast.  Again, this is Switzerland and in the name of order, almost everything is marked.  There are yellow trail signs posted all over the country pointing the way for walkers, bikers, hikers and red + white trail markers painted on rocks and trees indicating the hiking trails.  And if you mis-read a sign, chances are you will run into another hiker somewhere along the way who can set you straight.  It is not impossible, but it is hard to get lost in Switzerland.  

Peter, Jeff and I, along with 5 kids (2 of Peter's and 3 of ours) made our way, following the signs.  It was amazing hike, not too long or difficult, but the geology of our surroundings changed and it was fascinating.  As it turned out, we were hiking along the "Sentier géologique des Gastlosen",  also known as the Swiss Dolomites.  It was breathtaking.  

The Chalet du Soldat was a much larger hut, more like a mountain hotel.   It was packed with other families - tables full of kids playing Uno + drawing mountain-scapes, parents drinking wine and taking in the sunset.  While we waited for our fondue dinner, Graydon spent a long time trying to build the perfect house of cards, Eli drew optical illusions, George and I played an inspired game of Scrabble, Esmée + Madi mastered Spot It, Peter drew the mountains and Jeff read Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence.  It was a really lovely night.  

sunset reflecting on des Gastlosen

As I've mentioned a number of times, Switzerland is country that expects order and detests clutter or anything out of place.  The huts 

have rules, like any other establishment in this country.  When you enter a hut, there is a mud room of sorts where hiking boots are to be left, in an orderly fashion.  

NO boots inside, only slippers, which are, of course, provided.  There is always a rack of slippers in the mud room, organised and labelled according to size.  At the first hut, Hans took tidying up to a new level.  When I came down at sunrise, I found all the hiking boots neatly lined up in rows with the laces tied together! 

Tuesday morning, we left the Chalet du Soldat, headed for a town called Jaun that we had never heard of and quite frankly, had no idea where it was in relation to Saanen.  We suspected that we might have to take a bus and/or train to get home, but we really weren't sure.   Another gorgeous hike into the valley and it all worked out.   We're now back in Saanen, trying to figure out what to do for the next few days before heading to Villars to see Andy Cleghorn and Greg Moore for the weekend.  

The adventure was a total success - we all loved the hiking and staying in the huts.  We were dirty and smelly and a little overtired, but so, so happy to be out hiking in the mountains for 3 days under a glorious blue sky.  

One of the things I loved most was being able to give into whimsy.  We had a vague idea of what we were doing - going up a mountain to stay at a hut - but with a little spontaneity we decided to continue and figure it out as we went along.  It has been a long time since we, as parents, have been able to make on-the-spot decisions like that.  Our lives have become full of schedule and structure, always having to be here or there.  There is too little room to indulge in the vagaries of wanderlust.  

At the Chalet du Soldat, Peter struck up a conversation with a man from Paris who was on a brief holiday by himself.  He arrived in Geneva by train with no set plans.  He decided to go hiking, picked an area and set off.  He told Peter that he only had a few days in Switzerland and wanted to see as much as he could in that short time.  He wanted to "squeeze all the juice from the lemon" before he had to return home to Paris.  

I love that.  And I get it.  I want to squeeze the juice from lemons to.