Friday July 22, 2022: DAY 2 of our five-day Vacation in Rheinwald, Graubünden
A much better day than the day before, perfect for our first trip with the alpine tourist bus. This was going to be a day about lakes. It was a hot day so a lake landscape was welcome. We caught the alpine bus in Sufers, and got a 5-km ride along a narrow curvy road to a lovely lake called Lai da Vons (Lai being the Rumantsch word for "Lake"). The bus was full (about 15 people), including a family with kids heading up for a day of swimming.
The farmers on these high alpine pastures were feverishly cutting and harvesting the hay before the next day's forecast rains. After a long detour above the Schams Valley (Andeer), we returned South with anticipation of passing several small lakes, all of which were unfortunately dried out due to the heat. The one main lake, "Lai Lung" (Long Lake), was a refreshing welcome though. With the backdrop of pine forests, one might have thought this was a scene from a Canadian back-country... except for the cows, the so many cows bathing their hot feet in the lake.
The 500-m descent to the road was marked at 40 minutes, but we had over an hour as it was very steep and the larch needles made it slippery. It was a grueling descent, and hot. Arrived at the bottom, we followed the "Via Spluga" trail for an hour back to Sufers and had a chance to look at this village, one of five villages in this valley and one we had not seen before. The large number of fountains in the village were very welcome! Total ca. 4.5 hours of straight walking time. From there it was just a 15-minute bus ride back to the apartment in Nufenen, where I was able to relax in the shade and watch the goats come back from the pasture!
|
Village of Nufenen where we stayed for four nights. Heading to the bus stop for our first excursion with the alpine taxi |
|
Village of Nufenen where we stayed for four nights |
|
Hinterrhein River at Nufenen |
|
The 9:30 bus from San Bernardino heading to Thusis. From here it's a 15-minute bus ride to Sufers, where we can take the special alpine "taxi" up the mountain |
|
Heading through Splügen toward Sufers |
|
This is Lake Sufers |
|
Sufers, one of five villages in the Rheinwald Valley |
|
We got a ride for 5 km up the mountain from Sufers to a lake called "Lai da Vons" (10 SFr. for a trip), and walked back down to Sufers via another lake called Lai Lung |
|
Working like crazy to get the pastures mowed and the hay put away. |
|
This is the 300-year old house which the owners have converted into rentable apartments and B&B. It is nicknamed "Das Schloss" (The Castle). Our studio apartment is toward the back, on the left. |
|
This is where I would sit in the evenings for an hour or so, relaxing after a long hike while Urs took a nap. The free-roaming chickens would come to visit me. |
|
These chickens roam free all over the village. They spent a lot of time with me because I fed them grapes.... |
VIDEO:
Goats passing by the studio apartment at 6:30 p.m. on their way back from pasture to the barn for the night. (This is the "main" street through the village)
|
Where the Rheinwald region is located in Switzerland |
No comments:
Post a Comment