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| Our
start point: the village center of tiny Stein, Switzerland. |
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| Migg
and Ron a few meters ahead on a narrow trail. The river lies
beyond |
| the
bushes on the right; and that's freshly mowed hay in the field to the
left. |
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| An
idyllic, unspoiled, pure fresh mountain river cascading through open
farm country. |
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| Cultivated
fields cover the rolling hills. See the bales of hay on the upper
field? |
|
The darker areas have been recently fertilized with liquefied cow dung. |
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| Irmi
and Elisabeth pausing for a pose on the trail. |
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| An
old stone farm bridge, primarily for tractors, but it also enables cows
to cross from one field to another. |
| (The
steel pole with superstructure behind the bridge is a chairlift tower
used during the winter ski season.) |
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| An
old covered wooden bridge. Note the hand built stone foundation. |
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| More
hay fields among the rolling hills. The small outbuildings provide
winter shelter for the farm animals. |
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| Sometimes,
you have to forge your own path through the thick, wild grass. |
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| Passing
by an old farm house, Irmi is quick to appreciate stacked firewood as an
art form. |
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| Family
farms, passed on from one generation to the next. |
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| Looking
back in the direction we have traveled. |
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| Migg,
Elisabeth, and Irmi downing a quick sandwich for lunch. |
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| The
trail back across ground we have already covered, as viewed from our
lunch bivouac. |
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| The
Churfirsten (Chur's Princes) mountain range in the distance. Lake
Walen lies beyond. |
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| Migg,
contemplating the scenery, patiently waiting for the ladies as they hunt
for rocks at river's edge. |
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| Passing
a set of rapids with foaming white water. |
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| We
encountered several steep stretches, mostly in deep forest, but |
| the
majority of the route looked like this: easy, relatively flat terrain. |
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| Migg
and Ron, waving at a passing electric commuter train. Whisper
quiet, they can sneak up on you! |
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 |
| Lucky
with the weather, we were given a picture-perfect day.
(Twenty-four hours later, it was raining again!) |
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| Elisabeth,
about to disappear around the bend in the trail ahead. |
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| Arriving
at the outskirts of Krummenau . . . and the end of the trail. |
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| Our
hike ended at the train station in Krummenau where we all climbed into
Irmi's car and |
| drove
up into the surrounding hills for dinner. Here, we (Migg, Irmi and
me) are sitting on |
|
the outdoor terrace of the Hotel Landgasthof Sonnenbräu, located in the
village of Hemberg. |
| (Our
route ran through the valley in the background, sweeping left around the
bend.) |
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| My
evening meal (the thumb in the upper right corner proves it), ordered in
a rustic |
| Alpine
restaurant and so elegantly presented! Rösti mit Spiegelei und
Speck (hashed |
| browns
with eggs over easy and bacon), a simple Swiss delicacy, but oh, so
delicious! |
| (And,
yes, I ate the green stuff, too.) |
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| The
end of another
great hike! |
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