Reichenbach Falls, Aare Gorge, Meiringen, and Ballenberg (5/22/1982)

Saturday, May 22, 1982

Train day pass

Took the 8:52 train to Bern, changed to the 9:40 train to Interlaken Ost/East, arriving at 10:40 to get the 10:50 train to Meiringen, arriving at 11:15 and began Wandern/hiking. I could see and hear the Reichenbachfall/Reichenbach Falls. Found the Reichenbachfallbahn funicular station on some hospital grounds, but it was closed.

Reichenbachfallbahn funicular station

Started the climb, first up a road past the nurses’ residence, then a gravel path to a farm, then a path through the woods. Reached a fork, and chose the gravel road closer to the funicular. This path started off to the west, so I found a path next to a tumbling stream. A bridge took me over some impressive waterfalls, but the double track of the funicular told me I was only halfway. Followed a zig zag path upward, and had to stop at every zig to rest. Certain prints on the ground looked like a horse came down this way?

Slowly but surely I made my way to a building that was a power station. The last stretch of the path to that station was overgrown. I tried going around the building to the left, but my way was blocked. Tried following the path to the right hoping it would take me around the hillock, but it continued to the west. As I turned to go back to the power station, I heard a rustling and stopped. Saw a deer just below me, less than 20’ away! When it noticed me, it bounded away followed by a spotted fawn.

This time I crossed the funicular tracks and tried going up that way, but it wasn’t possible. So although a sign told me in three languages, including English, not to follow the tracks, I did anyway. There was a staircase alongside them. Partway up a waterfall came out of the rock below me and plummeted straight down. I was rather wobbly-kneed. from the climb and the height. Forged upward to the top funicular station and finally arrived for a clear view of the famous Reichenbach Falls.

Top half of Reichenbach Falls

Bottom half of Reichenbach Falls

This is where the fictional Sherlock Holmes and his nemesis, Professor Moriarity, plunged to their deaths. One could continue climbing to the top of the falls themselves to see from where they “fell,”, but I was satisfied with how far I had come. It took me an hour to make this climb.
Found a restroom with toilet paper and took advantage of it. Headed back down pretty much the way I came up, but it took only 20 minutes. I guess there are no official hiking trails to the falls?

Sherlock Homes Memorial

Followed the Aare River to the east. I wanted a photo of the falls with cows in the foreground, and stepped into a pasture, finding a 5-leaf clover.

5-leaf clover

Reichenbach Falls and cows

I hiked another 10-15 minutes to the Aareschlucht/Aare Gorge. Paid 3.50 CHF/$1.75 to enter the park and headed to the limestone escarpment through which the Aare River has carved a narrow chasm.

Aareschlucht/Aare Gorge ticket

You first had to walk through a tunnel where you saw only an occasional light bulb until you popped out in the gorge onto catwalks with loose floorboards.

Aareschlucht/Aare Gorge

The catwalks followed the length of the gorge, which at one point was only the width of the catwalk (less than 1 m/3’). The cliffs rose above us up to 50 m/165’ and there was evidence of potholing (eddying currents of water containing stones carve out a hole in the rock). Where the gorge widened, a waterfall cascaded from above.

Aareschlucht/Aare Gorge

Aareschlucht/Aare Gorge

As you approached the other end of the gorge at Innertkirchen, there was a locked gate, so you had to turn around and exit the way you came in.

As I headed back to Meiringen, the Innertkirchenbahn tram passed by.

Meiringen-Innertkirchenbahn tram

I heard gunshots echoing in the valley and figured the cows were unperturbed because they were used to it. I finally found the source of the noise when I saw targets halfway up the mountain over Meiringen. Saw several men with rifles slung over their shoulders heading in that direction. In the main part of town there is the St Michael Kirche/Church (1684) which is plain, but had interesting wood columns.

St Michael's Church

Underneath you can see the remains of earlier churches The clock tower is built separate and there is a row of old wooden houses that were left after a fire destroyed most of Meiringen in the 1800s.

Caught the 14:20 train to Brienz, arriving at 14:45. I saw it would take an hour to walk to Ballenberg, but there was a bus at 15:15. Checked out the wood-carving souvenir shops before the bus took 5 minutes to reach the Ballenberg Open-Air Museum. The ticket office was situated in the oven-house from Oberwangen (BE).

Ballenberg ticket

Across from it was the Alter Bären Restaurant from Rapperswil (BE). The museum is a collection of old homes and buildings brought from throughout Switzerland, and many of the buildings held “working” exhibits.

Ballenberg general view

I followed the Rundgang/tour signs, first approaching an old farmhouse from Madiswil (BE). An old man was pulling weeds in the vegetable garden next to a field of cows. I didn’t want to peek in his windows, but on the other side of the house I saw a crowd of people come out. Okay, I get it! The rooms downstairs were set up for the period and the central fire stove was really smoking. It must be smoking the many hams and sausages hung above it. There was a Kornhaus/granary from Kiesen (BE) that also had beehives, and a white painted house from Villnachern (Aargau/AG). At last, a building not from the canton of Bern (BE)! Here and there were hay barns. I climbed a hill to the storehouse from Wasen im Emmental (BE) where I could get a view down on most of the museum area. The day laborer’s house from Detligen (BE) had a rabbit hutch and a man in front was weaving baskets of straw. Inside the restored rooms I could smell fresh bread. The couple in front of me were carrying a couple loaves of bread. Another storehouse from Ostermundigen (BE) next to a large house from the same area.

Ostermunidigen house

This contained the gift shop and upstairs in the restored rooms one woman was tatting and another making lace with about 50 bobbins of thread. She was flipping the bobbins here and there without seeming to pay any attention! There was a retired farmer’s house from Detligen (BE) with a woman weaving on a loom, and a man preparing bread. Fresh bread was promised at 16:50. headed past a barn from Faulensee (BE) into the woods to a tiny sawmill from Rafz (Zürich/ZH) and a linseed press from Medel (Graubünden/GR). One path led off through a Hansel & Gretel evergreen forest to another section, but I followed the path through the Wilhelm Tell woods. Found a house from Matten (BE) with a spinning wheel. Behind it were outbuildings from the Berner Oberland, a barn from Brienzwiler, a well from Wimmis, and a storehouse from Niederried, all from BE.

Berner Oberland group of buildings

Farther along was a building they were still restoring and people went to look at the hammers and boards inside. Downstairs was a pottery shop. I passed a barn with pigs and a large house from Adelboden (BE) next to a chicken coop and an open fireplace, to roast a pig?

A cheese-storage hut from Lütschental (BE) and a house from Brienz (BE) showing wood-carving and a wood-carver. Next to a “food-drying" hut was a house from Sachseln (Obwalden/OW) with a field of sheep. Through the woods again to the eastern Mittelland of Switzerland with a wine-press house from Schaffhausen (ZH) with a press from Fläsch (GR), a house from Richterswil (ZH), a washhouse from Rüschlikon (ZH), and a shed from Männedorf (ZH) for drying grape husks that looked like peat clumps. A huge house from Uesslingen (Thurgau/TG) with an apple press and upstairs was a museum of bread and pastries of Switzerland. Storehouse from Wellhausen (TG) and house from Wila (ZH). The staff were beginning to sweep and mop their abodes. Saw the smoky area of the charcoal works.

Charcoal works

I returned to the “bakery” house at 16:50 to get in line for my 3 CHF/$1.50 loaf of fresh baked bread. As I waited for the 17:40 bus, I nearly burned my fingers pulling pieces of bread from my loaf! So good!

We got to Brienz at 17:50, and I caught the 18:00 train to Interlaken where I saw big billows of dark gray smoke. I was concerned about what was on fire, but it turned out to be a steam locomotive pulling a train towards Jungfrau. I changed to the 18:44 train to Spiez, and there caught the 19:15 train to Biel. Even though this train was going all the way to Biel, I changed in Bern to the 20:05 express to Biel.

Sunday, May 23, 1982

Rainy day. Found a 4-leaf clover on my way to Jan & Kirby’s at 13:30.

Movie ticket

We went to Bern to see the movie “Reds,” which took nearly four hours with commercials and intermissions. It inspired a conversation as we went to a Mövenpick closest to the Bahnhof/train station so Jan could have the salad bar; Kirby had tortellini and a salad, and I had just the tortellini. It came with a half egg shell in which sat the yolk on a pile of salt and you mixed this with the cream sauce. It was super delicious! Ice cream for dessert before heading home. Saw the poster describing the witnesses in the “Reds” movie, all real people!

Monday, May 24, 1982

Found a 4-leaf clover and Kirby found one for me!

More 4-leaf clovers