Swiss Holidays: Lake Oeschinensee

Breakfast at the hotel was available only from 8 to 9, so we woke up early. Which wasn't so hard to do, considering we'd gone to bed at 10 the night before. And despite my fears after reviewing the weather forecast, the sky was nearly cloudless.

After a modest breakfast of bread and cherry jam, the hotel owner packed us some sandwiches and we set out by 9:30. Just as we were walking away from the hotel, we could hear the clanging of bells. We turned around to see a cow scampering down the hill toward the lake, and behind her, a handful of others. Being the city dweller that I am, I couldn't resist following her with the camera.

I crouched down to take a photo or two, then she saw me and ambled over. I felt a little bit like a nature photographer as she walked closer and closer and I did my best not to make any sudden movements. Well apparently she wasn't impressed, because she came within a few feet of me, bucked her head angrily a few times, and walked off with a moo.

From the top of the hill David hollered,

"What did you do to her?"

I ran off with a giggle, and we finally set off on our hike. We followed the same path as the night before, this time equipped with better shoes. Soon the path became steeper and steeper and we were crossing small streams of water as they worked their way down to become waterfalls.

After an hour and a half or so we passed a small chalet restaurant, and continued onward and upward. By then the lake was far below us, and we could see clouds rolling into the valley. We weren't entirely sure how far we had to climb to the next shelter, and those clouds looked quite a bit like the clouds that had brought rain the night before, so we made a decision to turn back and see what was coming. We clambered back down to the level of the restaurant and perched on a big rock to eat sandwiches and watch the clouds. Fifteen minutes later our hunch was right and it started to rain. We trotted over to the shelter of the chalet and bought an elderflower soda (tastes a bit like ginger ale) and sat on a covered bench to wait it out.

While we sat looking at the waterfalls, lake, and mountains, we could see other hikers making their way along. We spotted a few far far above us, mere specks on the mountainside. Obviously those people were very serious hikers, and how the heck did they get way up there?

The rain was light, and after only twenty minutes or so we were ready to try again. The path became steeper, and we had to grab wire ropes to pull ourselves up at some sections.

We passed a couple I recognized from our hotel, who warned us that the chances for rain were close to 100% in the next two hours. Time to get a move on.

Perhaps I should mention here that neither one of us owns proper hiking shoes. Why would we? Sadly, this was the most topographically diverse place we'd visited in years. We had packed running shoes for the trek, which worked out fine, but compared to the serious hikers - which everyone up there seemed to be, with hiking boots, backpacks, and graphite walking sticks - we felt a little bit underprepared. And when you're scaling a mountain in nothing more than your ultimate frisbee gear, it can be a little intimidating.

Anyway, this steep part with the ropes was the scariest part of the journey. We couldn't see what was above us, the rocks were steep and slippery, and if it rained again we were going to be wet ducks. But it wan't long before the path flattened out a bit - we were hardly at the top but at least we weren't scaling anymore - and we saw the next chalet restaurant. We had reached the midpoint.

While the rain was holding off, it seemed that the low clouds were still sticking around. The chalet was completely shrouded in a thick fog, and we couldn't see anything of where we had climbed up from. Only a few restaurant employees busied themselves nearby but otherwise we were alone in the thick mist. It was like being in a scary movie.

David checked a map and our bearings, and we headed off again. Not more than a few steps from the chalet we heard the now familiar sound of cowbells. High altitude cattle? The trail markings led us right past a low cow barn, then along a path lined with boulders and finally, cows.

David walked ahead of me, and as he passed between a rock and a cow, the cow stepped quickly toward him. He instinctively stuck a hand out to ward her off, and she responded by licking it with her big cow tongue.

I almost fell into the mud with laughter.

That is, until I tried to get past the toll keeper myself. After David passed she took another step into the path and started eying me. I approached with the same outstretched fist, which she licked aggressively, then worked her way up my arm. Apparently I am delicious.

If you've never been licked by a cow, well, it's a very odd experience. They have amazingly strong tongues. I had the slightly terrifying sensation that she wanted to pull my arm into her mouth and chew it.

"Walk around her", David urged. She took another step forward, forcing me backward on the path.

"I can't" I replied in half amusement, half fright. "She's blocking the path."

"Just walk past her," he said impatiently. "She's not going to hurt you."

Normally I would laugh at silly girls who are scared of farm animals. But when a very large animal with horns is cornering you against a rock, it's hard to have confidence.

She appeared to lose interest and dropped her head to the side, so I took advantage of the opportunity to slip past her. The sudden movement surprised her, though, and when she lifted her head in alarm I caught a horn on the arm. It barely hurt, but that didn't stop me from whining at David for pressuring me.

The cow gauntlet finally passed, we continued along our trek at a clip. The path followed the edge of the mountain at pretty much the same altitude, and when the clouds below us parted we could see the brilliant turquoise lake far below.

At this point we looked down and saw the restaurant where we'd stopped for a drink.

"Do you realize where we are?" David asked. "We're the people way up on the mountainside. We're those little specks we saw from the restaurant!"

My brain toyed with the idea of vertigo, but I pushed it from my mind and pressed on.

The path rolled on, bending around corners to reveal more and more spectacular views. On either side of the path grew a vast variety of alpine wildflowers I couldn't resist stopping to admire every few meters. Around another bend we heard more bells, and came upon a flock of sheep. With all of this stopping and staring, we were making pretty bad time.

When the views weren't distracting us, the path was presenting new challenges. Every once in a while we'd come across another stream on its way down the mountainside. We'd perch on the edge, map out a strategy, and gingerly hop across. Usually David would go first, then reach a hand back to help me.

Finally the course began to descend, and we were amongst trees again. The path became rocky and steep, and suddenly my knees were screaming in pain. How did that sneak up on me so suddenly?

With a considerable amount of wincing I pressed on - had to beat the rain, and I couldn't exactly stop halfway down, could I? We were 15 minutes from the hotel when the rain began again. Fortunately we were within view of another small chalet restaurant, which was closed, but we found a concrete balcony to huddle under.

We sat out another twenty minute shower, then emerged from our shelter to finish off the trek. We clambered down a wet, slippery path, then stumbled onto a civilized paved path leading casually to our hotel.

Once safely in our room I took a very hot shower while David napped. I wrote a few postcards and we hung around the lodge as another thick fog rolled in. Soon we couldn't even see the lake from the windows.

We read and wrote and had dinner in the restaurant while a steady rain set in. We watched a new batch of hikers arrive with rain jackets and frowns skyward. Considering I hadn't packed a rain jacket and we weren't carrying waterproof bags, we were extremely lucky.

We passed the damp evening playing cards in the lounge. At one point the rain let up and we took a short walk to see a nearby river and another waterfall, but my legs were limited to very small percentage grades.

We returned to the hotel at nightfall, played a few more rounds of cards, then went to bed for a very heavy sleep.