Eggiwil in the Emmental Journal
September 6. Monday
Cathy
Leaving Zermatt for Eggiwil today. Our freind's train leaves just before 10 AM and ours just after 10 AM. We got to the breakfast room first, only to find the breakfast area teeming with Americans! It was interesting how their presence influenced the menu. There was very little of the whole grain bread we four like so much, but a large basket full of croissants and another of white rolls. For the first time during our stay, there were small individual boxes of Kellogg's cornflakes! Instead of melon slices we had cubes of watermelon. We managed to find plenty to eat.
Today's travel went smoothly. We had two train transfers, then one last one to the bus which took us to Eggiwil; there are seven stops for Eggiwil. Our B&B host Hans met us at the bus stop and showed us the restaurants and shops we might need, before driving us to his house, our B&B. We'll need to walk down the hill into town for food tonight.
This establishment Berghaus Eggiwil is a house over 450 years old. The owners have remodeled it to accommodate several guests. There are three guest rooms each with a double bed. The main floor is home to Hans and Ruth. Below them at ground level is an apartment. Above Hans and Ruth is the floor with the three guest rooms plus a small shared kitchen, a bathroom, a shower room, and several areas for various activities.
Outside there are areas with tables and chairs. They built a little house with one whole side that can open to a view of the mountains. It has a large table with chairs in it plus a small espresso machine. Breakfast is served here in case of rain or cold weather.
The garden is fun to explore. She has several nice butternut squashes and a large squash with white skin, orange flesh, hanging from its vine, several feet in the air! There is a variety of other vegetables. One very welcome sight was the row of dahlias.
We walked to town to the Hirschen restaurant for dinner. We ordered our meal, which the waitress said could be shared, and ordered tap water also. It was on the menu, with a price, and we know and agree to the whole rationale for charging for something the restaurant gets for free. Gary has shared on the Facebook Swiss Group all about tap water and its price. There has been some interesting discussion on this.
There was a beautiful sunset tonight - Gary got pics - and while he was out there he looked at the one end of the Hohgant where one can see the Jungfrau, unless covered by clouds. It was clear. Only a small bit can be seen from here, and it isn't all that impressive, but it is still cool because the Jungfrau is cool, though far away from here.
Gary
For the next 8 days we have completely changed focus - from the magnificent tourist attractions of places like Lucerne, Mürren, Interlaken, Grindelwald, and Zermatt - to the quiet Emmental where we’ll spend 4 days each in the villages of Eggiwil and Heimiswil, never mentioned in travel guides. As we arrived today at B&B Berghaus Eggiwil, we were struck by a different beauty that is more tangible and inviting than many earlier places we have visited.
September 7. Tuesday
Cathy
Breakfast wasn't until 8:30 AM, so we took a short quick walk up the road, greeting the neighbor's cows who eyed us suspiciously, or so it seemed with some of them. We also met a schoolgirl on her bike, wearing a lime green colored vest over her Schulranzen. She stopped to greet us and visit a little; she was on her way to school which wasn't visible, but "the large white house is next to the school" she said. We watched her pedal down the road.
Gary
We took a short walk before breakfast a bit higher up the road and met a 2nd grade young lady riding her bike to school. She stopped to chat with us for a moment, which we found delightful. We understood more than half of what she told us about her school - she spoke, naturally, in Swiss-German :) Then she zipped down the curvy road as fast as her peddling could assist the pull of gravity.
After breakfast we walked down to the village to get a few items for lunch - sandwich and sweet rolls from the bakery; grapes, yogurts, cookies, chocolate bar, and a trail map from the grocery store next door. We had our lunch back at the Berghaus on a table outside and in the shade. We pre-ordered soup at the bakery for this evening, where we will also share a pizza for dinner. Then hike the mile back up the hill.
Now we’re taking an afternoon rest. I found a lawn chair and a shady spot under an apple tree with a view toward the Hohgant. Just to the right of the Hohgant a distant mountain is visible. That’s the Jungfrau :)
September 8. Wedesday
Cathy
Since we were all scheduled to participate in the 9:00 AM tour of the Bachmann Alphornmacherei, breakfast was at 8:00 AM.
[See the page "Bachmann's Alphornmacherei" for pics and journal for today.]
September 9. Thursday
Cathy
Normal breakfast hour, 8:30 AM. Off to a good start … until we learn that the neighbor will be spreading manure on the fields today. He began as we finished breakfast, and we saw him spraying that brown sludge on the field. The smell was immediate. Well, it is life on the farm, which comes with the package of wanting to experience authentic rural Swiss traditions!
So we decided to explore the area uphill from where we are staying, and chose the left hand road where we had a choice. The sign read Bläuetschwendi. There were two farmhouses at or near that junction and my bet is that one of these is home for the second-grader we met earlier. We hiked up the road, but Gary was reluctant to go beyond the farmhouses because it looked like the road ended there. But we pressed on and around the first bend it became clear that the road continued up the hill. It was beautiful and serene. We saw no traffic, but also no people nor animals until we had come out of a small wooded area and saw a third farmhouse. We turned back, retracing our steps and were overtaken by an older schoolboy on his bicycle. He greeted us as he flew past and began pedaling for the little rise right before the two farmhouses.