Travelog for: The WotWots

Hi mom,

Today we met Runa. One of Jasper's cats.



The fur of this lady is very silky and cuddly.



Kisses to all at home
The WotWots

Hi,
today we helped Jasper bake a cake.
The cake is not for us, she wants take it to work.
We helped anyway.

These are the ingredients - oops, we forgot the sugar.





While Rachel and Nili put the paper in the form, we separated 4 eggs.









Oh, we had a lot to do.

















Snacking dough was allowed.





Then the cake had to bake an hour.





Now snacking was no more allowed - but the cake smelled so good.



This notices nobody, right?







Sorry 



See you
The WotWots

Hi mom,
to enjoy some cooler air, we visited the Säntis today.
After a 30 minute drive we arrived at the Schwägalp.







Schwägalp peak (el. 1,360 m or 4,462 ft) on the north face of Säntis, is the starting point of the aerial tramway to the top of Säntis.







We boarded.

At 2,502.9 metres above sea level, Säntis is the highest mountain in the Alpstein massif of northeastern Switzerland. It is also the culminating point of the whole Appenzell Alps, between Lake Walenstadt and Lake Constance. Shared by three cantons, the mountain is a highly visible landmark thanks to its exposed northerly position within the Alpstein massif.





What a friendly welcome.



"Grüezi" means Hello in Swiss dialect.



The panorama from the summit is spectacular. Six countries can be seen if the weather allows: Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, France, and Italy.















The exposed position of Säntis results in weather conditions normally observed in the high Alps. For example in April 1999, just beneath the summit on the northern snowfield of the mountain, a snow height of 816 cm (321 in) was recorded. The daily mean temperature is −1.9 °C (28.6 °F)

Today it was 19 degrees warm and there were definitely no 8 meters of snow.



The International Meteorological Congress of Rome in 1879 declared it as a necessity to build weather stations on adequate and accessible summits. Therefore, the Swiss built a weather station on Säntis. The position of the northern ridge proved to be ideal for such an endeavour. The weather station was commissioned in autumn of 1882.



During a refreshment break



Jasper told us about a crime that has happened up here.



The so-called Säntismurder happened in the winter of 1922. It refers to a crime in which the weather station keeper and his wife were murdered. The murder was only discovered because of missing weather reports on 21 February. As a result of the missing reports, a search party was sent to Säntis, where they discovered the bodies. The prime suspect was shoemaker Gregor Anton Kreuzpointer, who committed suicide three weeks after the murder. The truth about this double murder hence remains unclear to this day.
Horrifying 

We moved on.











Time for lunch. We had fried sausage and hash browns.
A typical Swiss specialty.





Located at the peak of the Säntis is a 123.55 meter high transmission tower, which was commissioned in November 1997. The original tower stemming from the year 1955 had to be renovated several times due to the rough weather conditions before finally being replaced.







We walked from observation deck to observation deck and enjoyed everything to the fullest.











Then Jasper discovered something funny. A smiley.



She explained the reason:
On the Schwägalp on Sunday a "Schwingfest" (Swiss wrestling festival) take place.
Schwingen (from German schwingen "to swing"), also known as Swiss wrestling, is a style of folk wrestling native to Switzerland, more specifically the pre-alpine parts of German-speaking Switzerland. Wrestlers wear Schwingerhosen ("wrestling breeches") with belts that are used for taking holds. Throws and trips are common because the first person to pin his/her opponent's shoulders to the ground wins the bout.
The match takes place in a ring, a circular area with a diameter of 12 meters that is covered with sawdust.
And this piles of sawdust look from up here like a smiley face.



While we waited for the next cable car to the valley, we discovered a showcase with fossilized marine animals.



These fossils were found here on Säntis and at Schwägalp.
Millions of years ago here was a sea - incredible.



Back at Schwägalp we also found evidence of a primordial ocean here.



These are fish bones.



Unicellular organisms.



Aha, here they build the wrestling arena.



A piece of cake made the day perfect.





That's it for today - see you soon.

The WotWots

Hello there,
our Sunday walk took us to the river Thur, just five minutes from Jasper's home away.
On our way we saw old apple and pear trees.



We saw a big bee house - and kept respectful distance.



Here you can see where we live at the moment.



This is the great bridge of the ring road.



And that's the Thur.



Thur is a 131-kilometer-long (81 mi) River in north-eastern Switzerland. Its source is near the mountain Säntis in the south-east of the canton of St. Gallen.
It flows into the river Rhine on the border with Germany, south of Schaffhausen.

Because of the persistent heat, it has very little water.

On one of the gravel bars we discovered a little piece of art - a heart of stone.



Then we came to a small forest and had a blast.











































Red rocks in Lichtensteig.







End of the path on this shore.



Won't know what has happened here.



We found beautiful flowers





and suddenly we stuck in strange stalks.



Wild Blackberries.







No place so beautiful that you could still make it "more beautiful."







So little water,







normally we would stand here in the middle of the river.



Despite all -  beautiful here.







Elder



Hmm?





Rosehips



We like this silvery tree.



Along the Thur towards the waterfall.



















Oh fruits, looked delicious. Jasper told us: just look, do not touch.



(It was a private garden)

Then we took an adventurous path through the woods.





Narrow, steep, through rocks.











Suddenly we saw it - the small waterfall.



Today it was even smaller than usual.





But that also had something good. We were able to climb behind the fall.



An interesting prospect.





We walked along the shore,





discovered more "rock art",



sat in trees





and won us new ground by man-sized plants.



That was our way home.



What a beautiful day

Kisses

The WotWots

Hi mom
flowery greetings from our balcony garden.





The WotWots

This morning we saw a hot air balloon landing on a nearby meadow.





The WotWots

Hi family,
Jasper's car has broken down. Now she has to take the train to work.
Pff, wait even longer until she gets home.
For safety's sake, we are looking for a new car.



These are our favorites.







All the best
Spotty & Dotty

Hello mom,
good news! The car is repaired and Jasper has bought new hiking boots.





Now we can get started again.
Keep your fingers crossed that the weather cooperates.

Kisses
Spotty & Dotty Wot

Hi Family
today Jasper had to buy food. She hates shopping.
But the weather was so nice, so we joined the shopping with a walk.
We parked the car in front of the shopping center and walked off.



Here was a large factory a few years ago. After the demolition new apartments and shops are built.



That's one of the many bridges over the river Thur.



We walked along the shore



and saw the Post bridge. In the background you can see the tower of the Catholic Church.



That's the high school.



Many old villas are on the shore.



Next Bridge - a pedestrian bridge.



This is the train station.



The building is quite old, but the station square was redesigned two years ago.





The WotWots have fun.



Next Bridge.



That's the cinema,



and this is the profession - and training center.



Back at the shopping center, we had a dispute over the purchase.
Sweets or healthy stuff.
As punishment, we had to wait in the car.

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With Jasper's shopping we were in agreement.





At home we threw ourselves on the candys.





Despite some difficulties, they tasted very good.







Bye for now
The WotWots

Hi mom
this morning we had to get up very early. A special trip was on the agenda.
We visited the Jungfraujoch.



The Jungfraujoch is a col between the Jungfrau and the Mönch. It lies at a height of 3,466 meters (11,371 ft) above sea level in the Bernese Alps, on the boundary between the cantons of Bern and Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. It is a glacier pass, on the upper snows of the Aletsch Glacier, and part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch area.

At 7.35 we boarded the train in Interlaken to Grindelwald. We felt displaced in earlier times - so uncomfortable were the seats.



In Grindelwald we changed the train to Kleine Scheidegg.



The weather didn't look very good - high fog. Jasper calmed us: it will be beautiful.
And really, after a short time, we broke through the fog and had a breathtaking view.







Then an announcement came: Eiger North Face to the left. Not all of us were fast enough to see the infamous rock face.





Jasper told us we all could admire them.
Next Stop: Kleine Scheidegg.



Jasper, her son and some edgy TV's climb out of the train, run to the next platform, posing for a picture with the Eiger north face



and get on the next train.



The Jungfrau railway is a metre gauge rack railway which runs 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from Kleine Scheidegg to the highest railway station in Europe at Jungfraujoch (3,454 m), between the Bernese Oberland and Valais in Switzerland.

For a few minutes we were silent and enjoyed the views of Lauterbrunnen valley



and the Eiger Glacier.



How big must have been this glacier, when one considers the abraded rock.

Then the train disappeared into a tunnel.
The railway runs almost entirely within the Jungfrau Tunnel, built into the Eiger and Mönch mountains and containing two stations in the middle of the tunnel, where passengers can disembark to observe the neighbouring mountains through windows built into the mountainside.
After a few minutes into the dark, the announcement came: 5 min. stay into the Eigerwand Station.
Only separated by a window, the rock of the Eiger North Wall was close enough to touch.



And the view !!



Next stop was Eismeer. Here we marveled at the glacial ice





and the deep crevices.



And then we reached our destination: The Jungfraujoch railway station, at an elevation of 3,454 meters (11,332 ft) is the highest in Europe. It lies east of the saddle, below the Sphinx summit, and is connected to the Top of Europe building, which includes several panoramic restaurants and a post office. Several tunnels lead outside, where secured hiking trails on the crevassed glacier can be followed, in particular to the Mönchsjoch Hut.



After more than 2 hours on the train we just wanted to get out. So we took the elevator to the observation platform, which lies 117 meters above the station. With 6.3 m per second, we raced against the fresh air.

On the platform we enjoyed a spectacular panorama.







The Aletsch Glacier





The Aletsch Glacier is the largest glacier in the Alps. It has a length of about 23 km (14 mi) and covers more than 120 square kilometres (46 sq mi) in the eastern Bernese Alps in the Swiss canton of Valais. The Aletsch Glacier is composed of three smaller glaciers converging at Concordia, where its thickness was measured by the ETH to be near 1 km (3,300 ft). It then continues towards the Rhone valley before giving birth to the Massa River.
The whole area, including other glaciers is part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch Protected Area, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001.



Der Mönch (4107m - 13474ft)



The Mönch ("monk") forms together with the Eiger and the Jungfrau a highly recognisable group of mountains visible from far away.



The Sphinx observatory



The Jungfrau (Virgin)



Then we took the elevator down and walked on the glacier.















We wanted to play in the snow, but Jasper only allowed to walk on the marked area.









All around there are deep crevasses where we disappear forever.



Then we looked at the plaque for the miners. 30 men lost their lives during construction.



In ice palace it was mostly too dark to take pictures.





But an interesting discovery we have made anyway.



After a last panoramic view of the imposing mountains we had to head home.







It was such a great day.

Kisses
The WotWots

Hi mom,
Rocky has made his way to Miami, Florida.
The lucky one. While we are freezing here, he flies in the sun.



Bon Voyage dear friend and let hear from you soon.

Hugs for all at home
The WotWots

Hi mom,
A few days ago told us Nili from her fun with the little red cheese.
We also wanted to have fun.
So procured Nili cheese - enough for all.









Everyone took what he wanted and had fun with it.















Later we ate the cheese - yummy.



See you soon
The WotWots

Hi mom,
since weeks we are trapped under a gray blanket of high fog.
From morning to evening - always gray.
Sun's from 1000 m. So we go to the mountains.
Taking the chair lift we head to Wolzenalp at 1130 m above sea level.



On the high plateau Rietbach a beautiful upland moor with springy soft peat soil waiting for us.







Of course, no flowers and herbs grow more now, but the autumn-colored trees and the mild sunrays put us into euphoria.













Jasper has a lot to do to keep us on the prescribed routes.











In summer there is a barefoot trail through the marsh.



We imagined, what we would look like after such a barefoot fun.
Out of sheer laughter we were toppled by a hair in the brown broth.



Up here, the air was so clear





we could even see the Säntis.







Some friendly cows looked at us interested.



Then the sun slowly disappeared behind the mountains,









and we headed for home.







What a wonderful day.
The WotWots

Allegra (so welcomes you in the Engadine)

we started on Tuesday morning for a trip to Graubünden.



By train we went to Thusis. (Thusis and the Rhaetian Railway are UNESCO World Heritage Site)





There we were up in a yellow Postbus which brought us to the Rhine Gorge "Viamala".



Viamala or Via Mala (Which in Romansh literally means "bad path") is an ancient and notorious section of a path along the Hinterrhein River between Zillis-Reischen and Thusis in the Canton of Grisons. This narrow gorge was the most serious obstacle on the approach to two mountain passes: the Splügen and the San Bernardino.



Even the ancient Romans used this way.



28,000 years needed the Rhine to dig so deeply into the rocks.
The traces of water can be seen everywhere.



321 steps took us to the gorge and we marveled at the power of water.







This white foundling does not come from this region and nobody knows when and how he got here.



(from the bottom only a few pictures without TV's. It was too dark and the one-handed flash images are blurred.)



















High water level



Here the Viamala seen from the Wildener bridge.







Then we started to go on the "Via Spluga" a cultural and historical hiking trail back to Thusis.





After an hour of back and forth, we came to a real challenge for Jasper.
We - or better Jasper had to cross the Rhine Gorge.



The Traversina web is actually a hanging staircase. 57 m long it hangs about 50 meters above the abyss. 176 stages to overcome a height difference of 22m.



10 minutes to change your mind, then Jasper took heart and started walking.





With trembling knees but proud to have managed it we made a short break.



As the legs obeyed again, we hiked on.





















Shortly before Thusis we saw the castle Raetien.



This trail is really adventurous.



Then we saw Thusis.



At the station we were waiting along with a "nice lady" for our train home.





That was an adventure!

Dotty & Spotty Wot

Hi mom,
we were on Lake Thun and visited Jasper's daughter.
On Friday, we enjoyed the sun during a walk to Oberhofen.
In the distance we saw the fresh snow Bernese Alps with the famous Three - Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.





Then the first look at Schloss Oberhofen.



Along the way, we were looking forward to autumnal trees.



Oberhofen Castle - unfortunately they had annual holidays.



Too bad, but quickly our attention was drawn to a film crew.
The Swiss Television filmed a documentary on the Swiss dialect singer Polo Hofer, who lives in Oberhofen.



We walked on



and enjoyed the afternoon and the beautiful view.













Then we discovered a monument to Sir Winston Churchill.
Winston Churchill stayed from 23 August to 20 September 1946 in Switzerland. His vision of a new, united Europe attracted attention worldwide.



Unfortunately it was too cold to swim - the water of Lake Thun is so clear and clean.



We marveled at the vineyard in its autumnal splendor



and as the sun slowly sank behind the mountains, we headed for home.



Tomorrow we will make a trip to ...
Jasper says anything, it should be a surprise.

Dotty & Spotty