Each day M.E. and I would pick a different lift to go up to the top of the mountain. We walked for hours wondering through forests and high meadows, where cows were grazing on the mountain grasses. We saw small groups of cows everywhere. The farmers move their herds to the higher pastures (free range) in the summer months so the cows can graze on the lush grasses and herbs at the higher altitudes. You always heard cowbells ringing, it seemed the sound of bells carried for miles. Not all the cows had bells, so we figured that just the ones that tried to escape wore bells. We also pass through many stiles along the paths to keep the cows separated from one farmer to another. I have included some pictures of some of these stiles.

We always picked trails, where after several hours of hiking, we could stop at a mountain restaurant (called alms in German) to have a rest. Scatter all around the mountains, these alms are very popular both in winter and summer. They usually have a large outdoor patio, with great views of the valley and serve hearty mountain food. We would stop and have a beer, sample the local cheese plate and in this particular area try a dessert called Kaiserschmarren mit Zwetschkenroester . Translated this means emperors shredded pancakes with poached plums. How the dessert got its name is a whole other store, all we can say is, after walking for several hours it really hits the spot. We made it our mission to try one at all the alms we stopped at. Lucky for us we were only there for 5 days.

We went for a drive around the valley one morning  and came across a milkman collecting raw milk from a farmer. Apparently this farmer who moved his heard to the upper meadows, lowers large containers of milk, on a cable car, across the valley, to the roadside where a milkman collects the milk for processing. I’ve never seen this before. Leave it to the alpine farmers to figure this out, simple but quite ingenious.

One of the attractions we really enjoyed was called “The Treetop Path & The Golden Gate Bridge of the Alps. See this link It is very impressive and very well done. I was able to take great pictures from the top of the tress of the wonderful views at the end of the valley. It rained most of the morning so you could see many waterfalls off in the distance. Next to this was a very extensive “low rope-course” with 20 different stations. Just up the valley from this was the 5200 foot zip-line. You zipped thousands of feet zigzagging your way down the valley. And of course, strategically placed was this wonderful alm where we had to stop to try their Kaiserschmarren. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Next up San Francisco with the girls.

taking a rest after a good walk

view from the patio

local cheese plate

Kaiserschmarren mit Zwetschkenroester , translated means emperors shredded pancakes with poached plums

Kaiserschmarren mit Zwetschkenroester at another alm

Can you tell we enjoyed it?

one thing I really like is the inside of these alms, I love the detailed wood and the built in look, they all have a wood burning stove/heater in the center of the room

another view of the inside dining area

these alms are very cozy in the winter

a stile, we passed through many of them, all slightly different

stile

stile

M.E. at stile

milkman pumping milk from the containers

looking across the valley up the mountain

cows relaxing in the high meadows

M.E.making a pit stop

low-rope course

another view of the low-rope course

M.E. crossing the Golden Gate Bridge of the Alps

another view of the bridge

the tree-top path

tree-top path

tree-top path

the top of the tree-top path with view of the end of the valley

zoom in, waterfalls off in the distance

views from the tree-top path

view from the tree-top path

Bob trying to be artistic