Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Selden (Gasternal Valley) 6/26/24

 

Good morning, afternoon, or evening, as the case may be. If you look closely at this garbage can, it says, "for taxed garbage bags only." Hmmmmm. I hope no one in our government reads this.


It was another glorious day. I didn't get off to the best start because I couldn't find the beginning of the trail, but that turned out to be a wonderful thing. Otherwise, I would not have learned about the Scout Center.


Did you know that the World Scout Center was located in this part of Switzerland?





Yay- our beautiful American flag.


So many flags that I couldn't put them in one photo. There are scouts in sooooo many countries.


I finally found the trailhead, thanks to some scouts and scout guides. At least no Scout offered to walk me across the street.  Many years ago, maybe twenty-five years ago?  I had just gotten back from my first hike in Switzerland, and I was feeling fierce.  Maybe even a little prideful that I had completed this very hard hike. I was on Bardstown Road and not thinking of crossing over to Edenside Gallery (a gift store if you are not from Louisville), and along came a group of Cub Scouts, AND they offered to walk me across the street.  Reduced to size by some half-pint scouts. So what did I do?  I let them, and I thanked them profusely.  Then I walked enough that they couldn't see me and crossed back over to where I was going. Hey, we have to train those youngins and reward them for their good deeds.


The Gasernal Valley is one of Switzerland's hidden gems. The sheer power of the water coming down from the mountains was awesome. I have never seen such force in my life. 


There were many waterfalls.



 

And a tunnel.  Looking closely, you can see a cyclist headed into the tunnel.


I walked through the tunnel even though I could have gone around it.


I crossed numerous bridges alternating from side to side of the swift-flowing water.



Look at the beautiful Hotel Waldhaus.


I stopped for lunch at the Waldhaus and ordered one of my favorite Swiss dishes - Rösti with cheese.  For Dennis and all of you who love Waffle House, Swiss Rösti is like hash browns on steroids.  According to Wikipedia, "Rösti or rööschti is a Swiss dish consisting mainly of potatoes, sautéed or shallow-fried in a pan. It was originally a breakfast dish commonly eaten by farmers in the canton of Bern but is now eaten all over Switzerland. The French name röstis bernois directly refers to the dish's origins."



There were plenty of towering rocks.


Some local art.



I love these little cabins in the woods.  So often they have writing and art on them.  I think that these must be the inspiration for so many samplers by cross-stitchers.


And an enchanted forest.  I didn't see any gnomes or fairies.



I clocked in about 12.5 miles when I reached the hut. It is actually much nicer than the picture shows. It is very quaint and so charming.


My cozy little room.  It was supposed to storm today, but it held off until about thirty minutes after I arrived safe and sound.

For some reason, I cannot get my dinner photos to upload, maybe because I am in the boonies, in a hut.  For dinner we started with vegetable soup, then a salad (so fresh, so delicious) with that white dressing, then two kinds of hut pasta, and for dessert, ice cream with fresh strawberries and blueberries and lots of whipped cream.  Add copious amounts of wine, and you have the perfect hut dinner.  It was the last night with my two friends.  Tomorrow they are off on the long journey back to California.

So, prayers for all of you, and good night!








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