This morning the weather seemed a bit doubtful as rain was forecast for about lunchtime. Maria decided it was too dodgy to head for the real mountains so decided we would go up to the Summer pastures about an hour away. Google said we would be there in half an hour but that was just to get to the base of the hills we were to climb. The winding unsealed road that Roland drove us up had more hairpins than old fashioned pin curls. It took half an hour of careful driving alongside sheer drop offs to cover the 15 verticle kilometers. Passing the few on coming vehicles was a breath holding experience.
Once we arrived close to the top of what we would classify a mountain we found grassey pastures dotted with basic Summer bungalows, a little white chappel and lots of "Swiss Browns". This is the breed of the most common dairy cows. Their colour ranges from creamy caramel to dark brown and they almost all wear a loud but not unmusical cow bell.
Once we had taken in the scenery we headed off on a medium scale walk. The first stop was the significant marker for the Geographic centre of Switzerland. We of course stopped for the obligatory photos which I will try and post at a later date because I stupidly deleted a whole batch of my photos. I had sorted them into separate groups and then became confused as to which file I was in and whiped them.
The wild flowers along the way were quite beautiful and I was chuffed to find some Alpine Orchids. These are like dainty versions of our Leek Orchids only in varigated shades of mauve. On the home run we stopped in at a home cheese making business and bought butter and cheese which we sampled later. Both fairly mild in flavour. We also spotted a couple of wild goats grazing and running along a high ledge.
Arriving back at the restaurant near the car park we stopped for coffees before braving the long road back. I must say Roland manages these roads with great skill. Halfway down we stopped at a roadside BBQ shelter. This had everything needed from a trough with constantly running mountain water, to a huge stack of firewood, an axe and bbq tongs, to first aid equipment and a bottle of Schnapps. All of this was to ensure the safety of people unexpectedly caught in a storm. Because everyone up there recognises the importance having this equipment in an emergency it is all left clean and tidy and not exploited. Maria had brought German Style sausages , salad and bread so we cooked up our snags and enjoyed our lunch.
On the way home we stopped in small town called Stans for a wander around the and the most delicious iced coffee with ice cream. Dinner was a strange Vietnamese take away because no one needed much. It ended up being quite tasty but a long way from it's Viet roots.
