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

[chezp]

Originally Posted by SuperDave

Wow! The Schweiz Alps just continue to amaze me and I just don't know what to say of these photos and views. You are such a pro with the camera and you just know how to get the photo with distant shots and closeups.

Thank you!

I think it would be nearly impossible to take a bad photo of the alps and valleys here.

I think you've hit the nail on the head. I think even the worst photographer in the world would still be able to get a good shot with scenery like this...

Just, unbelievable work on your part!

One of my faves of yours from this day. Love the shape of the snow on the mountain and (even though distant) there may not be a flake of snow out of place!

It looks as if it's never been disturbed, doesn't it?

[chezp]

Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily

I posted some of them on my FB page, but the ones of the actual cows turned out pretty blurry. Caden got a pair of cows that add to his stuffed animal collection. He named the biggest one Elizabeth VanLou and the little one Betsy. He said the can't be boy cows or they would go to the "slaughter factory".

I'll have to check out your Facebook page...

On the subject of your new update, you are right. An American rugby player is rare. More gorgeous scenery. Views like that will help you through the rainy days, that's for sure.

.... or the snowy days in the depths of winter!

[chezp]

Tuesday 3 September – part nine: this is a very weird way to get to our room…

We made our way back along the road we’d come in on…



By the time we got to the roadworks, this is what they were up to.



Soon we were coming into Wilderswil, our home for the night…



.. and we found our hotel for the night, the Baren, easily enough.



We headed inside, although I did have to double check that we were going the right way, as you had to walk through the restaurant to get to the hotel, which was a bit surreal. It wouldn’t be the first time we’d feel like that in this place…



We checked in, and had the odd key system explained to us. Actually, when it was explained, it did make perfect sense. You had a room key, which you left by reception, and then you picked up the front room key, which would be waiting for you in the slot by your room number. You’d take that out and put your room key there. Simple enough? Well, when you came to return your front door key, you had to put it in and turn it, so that it was locked in, before it would release your room key. Fortunately this is something we wouldn’t need to worry about later…

We headed up to our room, following the directions given, which took us up these stairs…



… through what turned out to be the first floor lobby…



… and through the conference room.



Again, I had to do a recee to check we’d heard correctly, and we were going the right way, but we were. I must admit when I opened the door to our room, I was initially a little disappointed, but that was only because there’s a corridor into it, with the toilet to one side (talk about psychedelic walls and floor in there )…

… then you turn into the room proper, which was huge:



We even had a balcony with a lovely view outside:



All in all, I was very impressed with our room. There was some very comprehensive information left in our room, which told us we’d have to pay 5 CHF for Wi-Fi, which could only be used in the first floor lobby. Thankfully, it just about reached our room, although the service was a little hit or miss. We also asked about dinner, as they did a four course meal on a half board basis for 39 CHF each (c. $42), which was a bit of a bargain, as most entrees I’d seen so far this vacation had cost that much alone.

We booked for 6:30pm, and headed back to the room for a break. We also took this opportunity to eat the cold meat (Mark) and the Swiss Camembert (me) that we’d bought earlier in the Coop, as we needed something to keep us going. Bear in mind this was the first food we’d had since breakfast, although we had had some crisps (chips to you guys) and a small cake bar on the way down from the Jungfrau. It just goes to show how a good breakfast can keep you going all day…

At 6:30pm, we headed down to the restaurant, having a look outside the front door of the hotel:



Next: what’s that noise outside?

[Colexis Mom]

What a quaint little town! The hotel looks great!

[dutchdisneyfamily]

That is a weird way to get to your room for sure. Nice balcony!

[lauriep]

An odd layout for a hotel, but a charming town and view from the balcony.

[disney_duke]

Maybe it's their way of getting you to eat in the restaurant - like Vegas hotels have you walk through their casinos. Still odd though! And at least there's a nice view from your room!

[shazza]

A charming village and quaint hotel. I recall the first time in Germany at a small hotel, I thought the beds hadn't been made when I saw the duvets folded on the bed - and no top sheet. But, turned out to be very comfortable.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by disney_duke

Maybe it's their way of getting you to eat in the restaurant - like Vegas hotels have you walk through their casinos.

I hadn't thought of that...

[chezp]

Originally Posted by shazza

A charming village and quaint hotel. I recall the first time in Germany at a small hotel, I thought the beds hadn't been made when I saw the duvets folded on the bed - and no top sheet. But, turned out to be very comfortable.

It is a bit weird at first.

[KMB733]

What a cute little hotel. The room looks very nice!

[cubfancolleen]

Wonder what they do when that conference room is actually in use?

[chezp]

Originally Posted by cubfancolleen

Wonder what they do when that conference room is actually in use?

Ah now, we did find that out...

[chezp]

Tuesday 3 September – part ten: what’s that noise outside?

Just like the rest of the hotel, the restaurant was again was a bit all over the place. There was this section…



… and then we were in this section:



This is certainly one sprawling building, and you could easily get lost around it. Mark described it as a TARDIS, in that you wouldn’t know from outside how big it was inside, and I think it’s a good description, but then again, being a Doctor Who fan, I would!

Our server was quite severe, but I actually quite liked her, although I think Mark was scared of her! It turned out we had a five course, not a four course, meal for dinner, starting with rolled zucchini with cottage cheese, which I thought was very pleasant, and not too filling, and a good appetiser.



Next up was cream of potato soup, and usually whenever you get a soup that has the words “cream of” in it, it’s rich with cream, but this wasn’t. It was more like a potato soup without the cream, which worked fine for both of us.



The third course was a selection of whatever you wanted from the salad buffet. I didn’t get as much as Mark…



… mainly because at least one item had bacon in it, and some just didn’t appeal. I don’t think either of us were that impressed by this course. As Mark said, everything was covered with vinegar, and I can’t stand vinegar, so it didn’t do much for me.

By now, we’d been joined by a woman from near where we live and her 90 year old mother, who looked more like she was in her early 70s. We were happily chatting away to them within minutes, although the American guys seated next to us didn’t want to chat at all, and I think our chatting may have annoyed them, although I don’t know for sure. It was just the impression I got. The mother and daughter had been here almost a week and were flying home in the morning. They told us that some of the meals here had been good, whereas others hadn’t been so great. I got the impression that it was a bit of a lottery as to what was on the set menu.

The funny thing was we’d both had to change our main course around for reasons which will become apparent in a moment, but when the Americans asked if they could do that, they were told very strictly by our server that they couldn’t.

A group of two couples came in at about this time, and the mother and daughter explained that they’ve been coming to this hotel for the last five years, which explains why they were offered different options off the menu, and also explains why they ruled the roost. There was music playing in here from a local radio station, but they didn’t like that so asked for it to be turned off, and immediately it was.

By now, all three of our tables were up to the same point in the meal, and were waiting on our entrée and we did have quite a wait. Eventually, it turned up. I’d asked for the veggie version, and got what they called vegetable noodles with gorgonzola sauce. I think everyone else would call it penne pasta. Mine was very pleasant, and just what I needed.



Mark got the roasted breast of chicken, but without the gorgonzola sauce, but with the vegetable noodles, and told me that the chicken was cooked beautifully.



For dessert, we got the crème brulee with caramel ice cream, although this was definitely not traditional crème brulee…



Despite the look of it, it tasted very pleasant, and I thought the flavour of this went very well with the ice cream.

All in all, it had been a pretty good meal at a reasonable price, well for Swiss standards anyway. We paid 87 CHF (c. $93) for the whole thing, including drinks.

Hotel Baeren Restaurant:

Appetiser 1 8½ 8½
Appetiser 2 8 8½
Appetiser 3 7 8
Entrée 7½ 9
Dessert 9 9
Service 8 8½
Atmosphere 9 8½
Value for money 9 9½

Average score:

By the time we got to our desserts, I went outside to the car to pick up some water for the room, and I swore I could hear a band playing. When I got back to the table, I told Mark and the mother and the daughter, and Mark told me to go and investigate. Sure enough, there was a band set up out at the front of the hotel, with people watching it. It was pretty neat to see.



When we got back to our room, they were still playing, so we got some shots from the balcony.



It was nice to hear them, and despite our fears that it would be a late night concert (our server had told us they’d be done by 10:00pm, which to us is late! , they were done by about 9:15pm. It was fun to hear them, and they were pretty good. Apparently they put on these free concerts every Tuesday night during the summer, so we really lucked out in getting to enjoy this.

The weather today was hot and sunny at “ground level” with temperatures in the mid 70s, while it was dry and sunny with temperatures in the high 30s at the top of the Jungfrau.
The best thing today was visiting the top of the Jungfrau.
The worst thing today was the Far Eastern tour groups we encountered on the way up.
The funniest thing today was the story the Australian policeman told us.
Today we tried taking the train to the Jungfrau
And the result was the journey back down was much more pleasant than the one up there.
The most magical moment today was seeing my cows with their bells close up.

Next: a shed full of you know what!

[Colexis Mom]

Great dinner, and how fun to have a band playing out front!