A return to Switzerland – land of mountains, museums and moos! COMPLETED 12/4 About This Page:

[chezp]

Friday 6 September – part seven: this could be embarrassing if this was full!

We found Doris, who I’d been corresponding with about this, and she showed us up to the apartment. We were very lucky, as I got the impression we’d have a double room on our own: but we theoretically could’ve been sharing with up to six other people, as there was also this room:



… and another room with bunk beds in it, and all with one toilet and one shower:



I don’t think I’d have been impressed had eight of us been staying here. This was our room:



Mark set about getting the beds fit to sleep in, and he had some fun!



We waited until the massive group of people downstairs (I reckon there were maybe 20 or 30 of them ) headed off, until we went down to get the bulk of our luggage. It was so hot out there that we were boiling by the time we got back upstairs. Thank goodness they had blinds on the windows and curtains to keep the sun out. This really isn’t a problem that I figured we’d be having in Switzerland in early September.

We spent the next couple of hours catching up on the trip report and sorting out the photos (me) and reading (Mark). We were literally completely cut off, with no Wi-Fi whatsoever, and no TV, although if we got desperate, there was one in the room for four people, but then again a) it would probably be in German and b) the stench from the cows was strongest in there. Don’t get me wrong, I love cows, but if I did this again, I’d definitely know to bring some air freshener for the room with me, shall I say?

I also took the opportunity to photograph the Swiss money we had, as I hadn’t done so yet:



We did see the area where you could sleep in the straw:



However, I dread to think what the smell out there was like, as it was literally right above where the cows were.

I also discovered another issue if you were to have eight people in here. The towels they gave you wouldn’t cover up your modesty if you wanted to shower, shall we say. You’d have to go into the shower dressed, and then come out dressed, as trust me, their towels, which were more like the size of hand towels, would not do the job.

We headed downstairs at 6:30pm, the time we’d agreed for dinner, only to find no-one around. We wandered around for a few minutes, until we found Doris, who was looking after us, and she got us to sit down, ensuring we had some shade from the setting sun, which was still quite strong. She asked me if we wanted water, wine or beer, so I went for white wine, and what a lovely treat – it turned out to be local stuff, Riesling, which was just perfect.



We were immediately given a salad, which was lovely:



The main course was meat for Mark…



… while I got the veggie option, complete with rice and roasted vegetables. It was all wonderful, but I couldn’t finish mine.



As we sat there, we watched the cows grazing. The water buffalo had certainly moved around a fair bit, and were now over the other side of the farm. Doris told us that they take longer to milk, and they only produce eight litres of milk, whereas the rest of the herd are quicker to milk and produce 25 litres.



The reason we know all of this is that she’d asked us earlier if 10:30am would be alright for cow trekking, and at first, we said then we thought about it, and the fact it was four and a half hours to Luxembourg, where we’d be spending the night, and decided we needed an earlier time. She suggested 8:45am or 9:00am, which worked perfectly for us, although she had to think about it, as of course the cows needed milking, and that’s what they had to work around, but milking is at 7:00am. As Mark said, I’ll probably be up to watch it, and I may well be…

We also got to see some other wildlife during the evening, including the chickens…



… and the cat.



The dog was sitting right by us for much of the meal, but I forgot to take a photo of him. Note: I did rectify this the next morning…

We saw hot air balloons…



… and even a couple of bi-planes.



And there were also plenty of planes in the sky, not a huge surprise, given that Zurich airport is probably only about 40 or 50 miles away from here.



Having said that, it was a really peaceful evening, with literally just the two of us sitting outside, enjoying a lovely meal. It was a bit awkward at the end, as we didn’t see Doris again, and guessed there was no dessert. I would’ve happily sat there and waited for her to come back, except we were being attacked by wasps, and the final straw was when I thought I felt something try and bite my leg. That was it – I was heading back to the room.

I did head back outside to photograph the sunset, which was pretty neat.



The weather today was hot and sunny and in the high 80s.
The best thing today was sitting outside enjoying a lovely peaceful dinner together.
The worst thing today was the thermal baths at Baden being closed.
Today we tried visiting the Swiss National Museum
And the result was it was interesting, and we learnt a lot, but I think there is probably more they can do with the place, and hopefully it will be done when they finish the refurbishment.
The most magical moment today was seeing someone doing the cow trekking!

Next: meeting Erma and Padrone!

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures from the farm, although not sure I could stay in those accommodations, due to the smell!

[lauriep]

The farm looks wonderful, but a bit more "roughing it" than I'd like. It would be ok, though, if you knew what to expect and could pack big towels, a robe, and air freshener!

[cubfancolleen]

Sounds like pretty Spartan conditions. Dinner looked good, though.

[disney_duke]

Now that's rustic. I didn't even think of the smell either! We live about 1/2 mile from a dairy farm (so I see the cows almost every day!) and when the wind blows in the right direction..... yeah.
I guess I would have been expecting dessert too. Something obvious, like.... ice cream?!!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Great pictures from the farm, although not sure I could stay in those accommodations, due to the smell!

As you know, I adore my bovine buddies and I grew up in the countryside, so I am used to the smell, but even for me, this was a little on the pungent side...

[chezp]

Originally Posted by lauriep

The farm looks wonderful, but a bit more "roughing it" than I'd like. It would be ok, though, if you knew what to expect and could pack big towels, a robe, and air freshener!

You've hit the nail on the head. With it being a road trip, I could easily have packed all of those things.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by cubfancolleen

Sounds like pretty Spartan conditions. Dinner looked good, though.

It was very good.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by disney_duke

Now that's rustic. I didn't even think of the smell either! We live about 1/2 mile from a dairy farm (so I see the cows almost every day!) and when the wind blows in the right direction..... yeah.
I guess I would have been expecting dessert too. Something obvious, like.... ice cream?!!

Well of course!

[KMB733]

Great pictures from the farm! The accommodations are a bit more than I'm use to, it is all part of the experience!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by KMB733

Great pictures from the farm! The accommodations are a bit more than I'm use to, it is all part of the experience!

Indeed it is.

[Cam22]

I'm still excited about this, but I'm not sure these accommodations would have been to my liking with bitty towels, ranch house bunking, and pungent cow aromas. No way would I sleep on straw. Mice who are not Mickey sleep in straw. Dinner looked lovely and the sunset was beautiful. For some reason I really liked your cat photo.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Cam22

I'm still excited about this, but I'm not sure these accommodations would have been to my liking with bitty towels, ranch house bunking, and pungent cow aromas. No way would I sleep on straw. Mice who are not Mickey sleep in straw.

I hadn't thought of that... I'm glad we didn't go for the straw...

[chezp]

Saturday 7 September – part one: meeting Erma and Padrone!

Despite my fears last night, I had a surprisingly good night’s sleep, although the same couldn’t be said for Mark. Everything seemed to have gone wrong for him. He hadn’t been well in the night, he hadn’t found the bed comfortable, and apparently I’d screamed in the middle of the night. I really don’t remember having a nightmare, so I have no idea what that was all about.

I checked on my friends and they were already in for milking.



We headed downstairs just before 8:00am, when we were due to have breakfast, and at first, just like last night, there was no sign of life, so we wandered around. I was fascinated to see the cows being milked, and how they knew exactly what to do. Mind you, I guess if you do the same thing day in, day out, you will get to know the routine…



We were summoned inside just after 8:00am, and there was a lovely spread for us…



… although we had to fight the flies constantly for it. I have a new found respect for cows, having to deal with these little blighters every day of their lives. Half an hour of them drove me up the wall!

When we were done, we headed back to the room, although I happened to poke my head out of the door, and saw this sight.



We headed downstairs at the appointed time for our cow trekking, putting everything in the car on the way down. This is the only other issue with this room, it had no locks on it. I knew it would be fine, but 1 being paranoid, I did put a chair in front of the door that enters the apartment just to be on the safe side. I certainly didn’t want to leave anything in somewhere that was unlocked while we went out for an hour and a half.

We sat there for a while, watching the hot air balloon…



… which made the dog mad.



I got more and more worried about the whole thing as we waited, but eventually Doris came out, and told us that we could go and meet our cows for the day, who were just around the corner and were ready to go. They were beautiful.


Padrone

Erma


We met our guide for the morning, Nicole, who came out speaking German. I was just trying to remember how to say “we don’t speak German” (I was thinking first of “I don’t speak German”, then I realised I should talk for both of us – you see how long the thought process takes when it isn’t your natural mother tongue. ), when Nicole said “ah of course English”. She warned us that her English wasn’t that good, but as so often happens when someone says that, of course it’s absolutely fine, and a hundred times better than my German!



She introduced us to our cows, who were Erma (who ended up being mine) and I think she said the other one’s name was Padrone, although neither of us could remember. I do know that they were aged between 12 and 15 years old, which really surprised me. I didn’t realise cows lived that long, but as I said to Nicole, that’s mainly because they’re sent off for meat at a relatively young age. She told us that they can live up to 20-25 years old, so you really do learn something every day.

Next we had to get our whips, which neither of us used, although Nicole did occasionally, usually when Erma was being a slow coach. To be honest, her being a slow coach didn’t bother me, as when she got a lick going, I could barely keep up with her, but Nicole told us it wasn’t good for her to be going so slowly.

We were also given fingerless gloves with ridges on the palm side to make it easier for us to hold the ropes to guide the cows. Nicole explained that the cows have a tendency to suddenly flick their heads violently to get rid of the flies (after breakfast, I could understand that ) and I experienced that with Erma not long after we set off. I was suddenly being glad of those gloves, as otherwise, I think I’d have had severe rope burns on my hands.

She explained that Erma and Padrone understood two commands, but understandably, with them being Swiss cows, they only understood German. They were “halt” for stop, with the emphasis on a long drawn out “a” and “komm” to get them to move, and actually they did do very well with both those commands when we needed them.

We learnt how to lead them. Essentially, you have to let the cow know that you’re in charge, and lead from the front. I found this is a bit disturbing, as I didn’t like the idea of having my cow right behind me. For starters, I wanted to see my cow so I tended to adopt more of a “in the front, but a little to one side” approach, which was probably wrong, but at least I could keep an eye on Erma, and see how she was doing. Of course, her welfare was paramount.

Next: riding a cow….

[lauriep]

I know I wouldn't have liked flicking flies away over breakfast and would have been just like you with no locks on the door, but Erma and Padrone are beautiful!