Back again – more adventures, more photos. Went for another drive yesterday. Headed down the Simmental Valley – one of the valleys near Spiez. You can follow it all the way to Lake Geneva – not that we went that far. We turned off just after Boltigen and took the Jaunpass rather than stay on the main road. Beautiful views everywhere as we climbed. Really quiet. We could hear the clanging of “cow bells” as the cows grazed in the fields. A bit surreal! Such a lovely melodic sound as they lifted and lowered their heads – nibbling away on the grass. Found a parking bay for morning tea – we’d visited a little bakery on the way so had something very yummy tucked away. After sitting for a while and looking at the view, it was off again, down the other side of the mountain, and along the next valley. Certainly not as beautiful as the countryside we’d just left – back to civilization I guess. Factories and hardware depots, small quarries dotting the hillside. TomTom then decided to take us up and over another mountain – this time on a tiny track along the edge of a cliff and then through deep forest. She’ll always take you the shortest route – regardless of difficulty! We managed to get lost on an “unknown road” – but after a quick u-turn and some backtracking it was down the mountain to Broc, a town on the shores of Lac de la Gruyere. It was very busy – lots of cars and road works – so passed through as quickly as we could. We continued on – driving along the valley floor before climbing again. Not long and we arrived at our next destination – Rougemont. A really delightful village full of history and charm. Whew – much more our scene! Found a parking area with a picnic table and “loos” so stopped for lunch. Great spot.
After lunch we wandered over the road to check out a very impressive looking church – St Nicolas. It wasn’t particularly large – quite small really – but had heaps of character and looked very very old. Behind the church was a large stone walled courtyard and tucked inside was the Rougemont Chateau. There was a sign saying “Propriete Privee” so I could only snap a quick photo through an open stone archway – would have loved to have had a good look around but it wasn’t to be! Everything was well maintained – buildings, gardens. The whole complex had a great feel.
One big thing we noticed while visiting the area was the use of the french language. Because it’s so close to France everything you see – road signs, place names, and general information – is written in french and the local people speak Swiss-French. We couldn’t tell the difference – it just sounded very french to us. Completely different from the Swiss-German spoken in Spiez. Switzerland is such a country of diversity. There’s also a strong Italian influence near the Swiss/Italian border. We left Rougemont and completed a loop back to Boltigen and home again. More green valleys, alpine rivers, and mountains. We’d been invited for drinks and nibbles with one of our neighbours so needed to get home.
We had a lovely evening with Theresa, John-Peter and their gorgeous mother Klara – she’s always smiling. The food was wonderful – some great cured meats, stuffed olives, and a variety of cheeses. A very nice Spanish cuva and a local rosé to wash it all down. Both Teresa and John-Peter did their best to recall their “school day” english. They did a great job – we really appreciated their efforts. Many thanks.
Now just backtracking a little. Last Sunday was a special day in Spiez – heaps of different events held down by the marina and along the streets near the centre of town. Lots of bands playing, a very colourful parade, food stalls, and overflowing restaurants. People arriving from all over. It’s an annual festival called “Laset-Sunntic” – held to celebrate the beginning of the grape harvest. A real buzz in the place. Then on Monday we had the “Spiez-Marit” – a very busy all day street market – lots of stalls with a huge variety of produce. It was great to be here in Spiez and be a part of it all. Timing is everything with house sits – you can end up experiencing the unexpected just because you’ve arrived at the right time.
Love
Di and Reg
This entry was posted in Europe, House Sits, Spiez, Switzerland, Switzerland
How nice to have time to become friends with places rather than “just passing through” travelers. Judy
We are definitely not the “passing through” types – house sitting suits us very well!