1. Guided Town Walk, by Rick Steves

Saved from developers by its “avalanche zone” classification, Gimmelwald was (before modern tourism) one of the poorest places in Switzerland. Its traditional economy was stuck in the hay, and its farmers--unable to make it in their disadvantaged trade--survived only with a trickle of tourism and by Swiss government subsidies (and working the ski lifts in the winter). For some travelers, there’s little to see in the village. Others enjoy a fascinating day sitting on a bench and learning why they say, “If heaven isn’t what it’s cracked up to be, send me back to Gimmelwald.”

Take a walk through the town. The huge, sheer cliff face that dominates your mountain views is the Schwarzmönch (“Black Monk”). The three peaks above (or behind) it are, left to right, the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. While Gimmelwald’s population has dropped in the last century from 300 to about 120 residents, traditions survive. Most Gimmelwalders have one of two last names: von Allmen or Feuz. They are tough and proud. Raising hay in this rugged terrain is labor-intensive. One family harvests enough to feed only about 15 cows. But they’d have it no other way, and, unlike the absentee-landlord town of Mürren, Gimmelwald is locally owned. (When word got out that urban planners wished to develop Gimmelwald into a town of 1,000, locals pulled some strings to secure the town’s bogus avalanche-zone building code. Today, unlike nearby resort towns, Gimmelwald’s population is the same all year.) Those same folks are happy the masses go to touristy and commercialized Grindelwald, just over the Kleine Scheidegg ridge. Don’t confuse Gimmelwald and Grindelwald--they couldn’t be more different.

With the leadership of the village teachers (Olle and Maria) and their son (Sven), Gimmelwald has a helpful little website (www.gimmelwald.ch). On it you can review of the seasons with photos, consider eleven top hikes, and see all the latest on activities and rooms for rent.

SELF-GUIDED WALK (By Rick Steves and Olle Eggiman)

Welcome to Gimmelwald

Gimmelwald, though tiny, with one zigzag street, offers a fine look at a traditional Swiss mountain community.

• Start this quick walking tour at the...

Cable-Car Station: When the lift came in the 1960s, the village’s back end became its front door. Gimmelwald was, and still is, a farm village. Stepping off the cable car, you see a sweet little hut. Set on stilts to keep out mice, the hut was used for ­storing cheese (the rocks on the rooftop here and throughout the town are not decorative—they keep the shingles on through wild storms). Behind the cheese hut stands the village schoolhouse. In Catholic Swiss towns, the biggest building is the church. In Protestant towns, it’s the school. Gimmelwald’s biggest building is the school (two teachers share one teaching position, 17 students, and a room that doubles as a chapel when the Protestant pastor makes his monthly visit). Don’t let Gimmelwald’s low-tech look fool you: In this school, each kid has his or her own Web site. In the opposite direction, just beyond the little playground, is Gimmelwald’s Mountain Hostel (listed on page 146).

• Walk up the lane 50 yards, past Gimmelwald’s Dali-esque art gallery (the shower in the phone booth), to Gimmelwald’s...

“Times Square”: The yellow alpine “street sign” shows where you are, the altitude (1,370 meters—that’s 4,470 feet), how many hours (Std.) and minutes it takes to walk to nearby points, and which tracks are more demanding (marked with red and white, and further indicated as you explore with red and white patches of paint on stones). You’re surrounded by buildings that were built as duplexes. These buildings once housed two families and are divided vertically right down the middle. The writing on the post office building is a folksy blessing: “Summer brings green, winter brings snow. The sun greets the day, the stars greet the night. This house will keep you warm. May God give us his blessings.” The date indicates when it was built or rebuilt (1911). Gimmelwald has a strict building code. For instance, shutters can only be certain colors. Esther’s farmer shop (10 yards uphill, always open, buy things on the honor system) is worth a look.

• From this tiny intersection, we’ll follow the town’s main street (away from gondola station).

Main Street: Walk up the road. Notice the announcement board: one side for tourist news, the other for local news (e.g. deals on chainsaw sharpening, upcoming shooting competitions). Cross the street and peek into the big new barn, dated 1995. This is part of the Switzerland-wide Sleep in Straw association, which rents out barn spots to travelers when the cows are in the high country. To the left of the door is a cow-scratcher. Swiss cows have legal rights (for example, in the winter, they must be taken out for exercise at least three times a week). This big barn is built in a modern style. Traditionally, barns were small (like those on the hillside high above) and closer to the hay. But with trucks and paved roads, hay can be moved more easily, and farm businesses need more cows to be viable. Still, even a well-run big farm hopes just to break even. The industry survives only with government subsidies (see “Swiss Cow Culture” sidebar, page 142). Small as Gimmelwald is, the postman (who sells stamps) comes daily. Typically locals grew their vegetables—often enough to provide most of their family’s needs.

• Go just beyond the next barn. On your right is the...

Water Fountain/Trough: This is the site of the town’s historic water supply. Local kids love to bathe and wage water wars here when the cows aren’t drinking from it. Now detour left down a lane about 50 yards (along a wooden fence and then past pea-patch gardens) to the next trough and the oldest building in town, Husmättli, from 1658. (The town’s 17th-century buildings are mostly on the road zigzagging below town.) Study the log-cabin construction. Many are built without nails. The wood was logged up the valley and cut on the water-powered village mill (also below town). Gimmelwald heats with wood and, since the wood needs to age a couple of years to burn well, it’s stacked everywhere.

• Back on the paved road, continue uphill. Twenty meters along, on the left, the first house has a bunch of Grim Reaper-style hay cutters hanging above the sharpening stone. Farmers pound rather than grind the blade to get it razor sharp--for most efficient cutting. Feel a blade…carefully. A few steps further…

Notice the cute cheese hut on the right (with alpine cheese for sale). Its front is an alpine art gallery with nail shoes for flower pots. Nail shoes grip on wet steep fields with sharp sithe [?] this is critical. Even today, farmers buy metal tacks and fasten them to boots. The hut is full of strong cheese--up to three years old.

Look up. In the summer a few goats are kept here (not in the high alp) to provide families with fresh milk (2-3 liters per day per goat). The farmers fence off the fields, letting the goats eat only the grass that’s most difficult to harvest.

On the left (at the B&B sign) is the home of Olle and Maria, the village schoolteachers. Maria runs the Lilliput shop (the “smallest shop with the greatest gifts”--handmade delights from the town and region, just ring the bell and meet Maria). Her children, Sven and Sara, do a booming trade in sugar-coated almonds; little sister Carina competes with cookies.

• Fifty yards farther along is the...

Alpenrose: At the old schoolhouse, notice the big ceremonial cowbells hanging under the uphill eave. These swing from the necks of cows during the procession from the town to the high Alps (mid-June) and back down (about Sept 20). If the cows are gone, so are the bells--hanging from similar posts under the eaves of mountain huts in the high meadows.

• At the end of town, pause where a lane branches off left leading into the dramatic...

Sefinen Valley: All the old homes in town are made from local wood cut from the left-hand side of this valley (shady side, slow-growing, better timber).

• A few steps ahead, the road switches back at the...

Gimmelwald Fire Station: TheFöhnwacht Reglement sheet, posted on the fire station building, explains rules to keep the village from burning down during the fierce dry wind of the Föhn season. During this time, there’s a 24-hour fire watch, and even smoking cigarettes outdoors is forbidden. Mürren was devastated by a Föhn-caused fire in the 1920s. Because villagers in Gimmelwald--mindful of the quality of their volunteer fire department--are particularly careful with fire, this is a rare village to not have had a terrible fire in its history.

Check out the other posted notices. This year’s Swiss Army calendar tells (in all four official Swiss languages) reservists when and where to go. Every Swiss male does a 22-week stint in the military, then a few days a year in the reserves until about age 30. The Schiessübungen poster details the shooting exercises required this year. In keeping with the William Tell heritage, each Swiss man does shooting practice annually for the military (or spends three days in jail).

• Take the...

High Road to Hotel Mittaghorn: The resort town of Mürren hovers in the distance. And high on the left, notice the hay field with terraces. These are from WWII days, when Switzerland, wanting self-sufficiency, required all farmers to grow potatoes. Today, this is a festival of alpine flowers in season (best at this altitude in May and June).

• Our walk is over. From Hotel Mittaghorn, you can return to Gimmel­wald’s “Times Square” via the stepped path.

Swiss Cow Culture

Traditional Swiss cow farmers could make more money for much easier work in another profession. In a good year, farmers produce enough cheese to break even--they support their families on government subsidies. (Throughout the Alps, governments support traditional farming as much for the tourism as for the cheese.) But these farmers have made a lifestyle choice to keep tradition alive and to live high in the mountains. Rather than lose their children to the cities, Swiss farmers have the opposite problem: Kids argue over who gets to take over the family herd.

The cows’ grazing ground can range in elevation by as much as 5,000 feet throughout the year. In the summer (usually mid-June), the farmer straps elaborate ceremonial bells on his cows and takes them up to a hut at high elevations. The cows hate these big bells, which can cost upwards of 2,000 SF apiece--a proud investment for a humble farmer. When the cows arrive at their summer home, the bells are hung under the eaves.

These high-elevation summer stables are called “alps.” Try to find some on a Berner Oberland tourist map (e.g., Wengernalp, Grütschalp, Schiltalp). The cows stay at the alps for about 100 days. The farmers hire a team of cheesemakers to work at each alp--mostly hippies, students, and city slickers eager to spend three summer months in the mountains. Each morning, the hired hands get up at 5:00 to milk the cows, take them to pasture, and make the cheese--milking the cows again when they come home in the evening. In summer, all the milk makes alp cheese (it’s too difficult to get it down to the market). In the winter, with the cows at lower altitudes, the fresh milk is sold as milk.

Every alp also has a resident herd of pigs. Cheesemaking leftovers (Molke, or whey) can damage the ecosystem if thrown out--but pigs love the stuff. The pigs parade up with the cows...but no one notices. Cheesemakers claim that bathing in whey improves the complexion...but maybe that’s just the altitude talking.

Meanwhile, the farmers--glad to be free of their bovine responsibilities--turn their attention to making hay. The average farmer has a few huts at various altitudes, each surrounded by small hay fields. The farmer follows the seasons up into the mountains, making hay and storing it above the huts. In the fall, the cows come down from the alps and spend the winter moving from hut to hut, eating the hay the farmer spent the summer preparing for them.

Throughout the year, you’ll see farmers moving their herds to various elevations. If snow is in the way, farmers sometimes use tourist gondolas to move their cows. Every two months or so, Gimmelwald farmers bring together cows that aren’t doing so well and herd them into the gondola to meet the butcher in the valley below.

[Excerpted from the 2008 edition of Rick Steves’ Switzerland guidebook]

Occasionally cows are brought here for summer grazing The farmer will stay here with his herd until it's time to move to better pastures. It is beside this hut where the Sefinen river, on the left is joined by the Sefibach, on the right, which comes down from the Sefinen alp. Following the path, close to the river, soon brings you to a second bridge. Before crossing the bridge, venture up to the waterfall created by the Sefibach but be careful of falling stones and branches. Once across the bridge you come to the steepest part of the trip. Here you witness the power of the Sefinen river. In spring and during heavy rainstorms this river is so swollen that it violently tears at the hillside bringing tons of rock and debris down with it. Once at the top you can rest on the last bench before reaching the end of the valley and the Kilchbalm. Glancing back the way you came you see Gimmelwald gripping the hillside. Like a child it clutches the hem of its' mother, the Jungfrau, who is protecting it from the sinister Eiger who peers down over her shoulder. The trees are not as tall now and there seems to be more deciduous than coniferous trees. It becomes vary apparent in the fall when this forested area seems to be on fire with color. Amongst the trees and bushes now are grasses and mosses that cover the roots and rocks making them very slick. Take extra care here, it's easy to slip and twist an ankle. In less than 5 minutes the trees and bushes disappear to be replaced by gigantic boulders in a scene not unlike a moonscape. Straight ahead lies a huge bowl filled with snow, ice, sand. rock and too many waterfalls to count and rising behind them, almost vertical, like a sentinel, is the Gspaltenhorn at 3436 meters. The silence here can be almost deafening. You hear no cars, no motors, no machinery. no noise! How long has it been since you experienced this?! What you do hear is the bubbling laughter of the waterfalls and brooks as they slide down rock faces and hurl themselves over high precipices only to hide underneath the huge dome of ice itself until they pop out where you're standing now. You hear the wind rustling through the trees behind you, You hear the trill of a bird, the chirp of a cricket. You can hear the beating of your own heart. This is the valley of elves, pixies and Gnomes. if you listen hard enough you can hear them giggling as they play in the underbrush, The caves you see on the north side of the valley, once part of their underground dwellings, have since been exposed be multiple avalanches. No one has ever caught a Gnome but they have been spotted as far away as Gimmelwald, sneaking around some of the barns. It seems they like animals.

Note:
The snow and ice is covered by dirt and although it looks safe to walk on it could be very dangerous. It is basically a dome which is hollow underneath where the water rushes through. The covering might not be strong enough to support someone walking on top. I would advise you to keep a safe distance. Although there is plenty of water here some of it is hard to get at. The hike will make you both hungry and thirsty so bring something to drink and pack yourself a small lunch. You couldn't find a better place to enjoy it. (Remember to bring trash back with you and dispose of it properly).

Continue up this path until you come to the forest where a signpost prompts you to turn left to get to "Sprutz" ' (Going right would take you up to Gimmeln and eventually to the Schilthorn) Passing through a metal gate, you will enter the forest and continue on this trail as it gently winds it's way higher through the woods. After about 15 min. the path forks and you will hear the thundering roar of the invisible falls. As the sign says, take the path to the left. As the path curves down and to the right, just around the hill, "Sprutz" finally comes into view. Be very careful as you continue down to the falls on this hazardous, unstable, dirt path. As you walk underneath and behind this waterfall you'll probably wonder how such a huge, continuous volume of water could come from such a small, placid lake like the Grauseeli, between the Schilthorn and Birg. Well, Grauseeli is only one of it's sources, as the Schiltbach, the river itself, is a collection of the runoff from the Schilthorn and the Schiltalp.

(From Sprutz you can continue up the other side and after about 15 min. arrive at Spielbode-nalp where there is a restaurant and a superb view of the Schilthorn, Birg, and the Jungfrau massif).

The Sefinental, with Boganggen just down the hill, are on the right, and the Schiltalp is down on the left. If walking along this ridge is giving you vertigo, you'll soon come to a signpost and the path branches down to the left where you can follow the signs to Sprutz. Gimmelwald or Murren. Assuming you're fine, continue along the top of the ridge, until you come to the scariest part, (please, be extremely careful, where the path winds around the end of the ridge. This is the rock formation that looks like a miniature "Matterhorn" from Gimmelwald. For a fantastic view of Gimmelwald, Murren, and the Lauterbrunnen valley take the extra 5 min (and the extra caution) to climb to the top of " Bryndli ", you won't be disappointed. Once you return from the top continue on the main path and you soon begin descending down the east side of Bryndli. In about 25 min. you come upon the Spielbodenalp , You can stop here for a drink and a bite to eat if you're hungry before going on. To continue on to Sprutz and Gimmelwald, follow the sign directions at Spielbodenalp which point east in the direction of the Jungfrau. Just over the hill, as you start downwards, follow the path on the left side of the barn. In a couple of minutes you'11 see a signpost on the left. You Can get to Gimmelwald by turning left and crossing the river but don?! Stay on the right side and continue on for an-other 5 minutes to reach Sprutz. As you walk underneath and behind the waterfall you'11 probably wonder how such a huge volume of water could come from such a small placid lake like the Grauseeli. Well, Grauseeli is only one of its sources, as the Schiltbach is a collection of the runoff from the Schilthorn and the Schiltalp. A short steep climb brings you to a signpost where you will continue through the woods for around another 10 min or so. Just after you pass through a gate you will exit the forest. You'11 see a signpost fastened to a tree on your left and down the hill on your right rests the sleepy village of Gimmelwald. Once on the main road you can turn right and follow the various pathways down to the village but for a much more pleasant walk turn left. The paved road soon turns to gravel and loops around to the left where it stops at a footbridge. Immediately after crossing the bridge turn right and follow the path down through the forest until it joins the main road which connects Gimmelwald with Murren, turn left to go to Murren or turn right to finish this hike in Gimmelwald.

Follow the trail to the left, which loops through the trees near the stream and comes out at the meadow again- When you come to a barn, turn left into the woods, cross a couple of small wooden bridges, go underneath a larger bridge and go through a gate. The stream at this moment is on your right side.

Coming out of the woods now, you can see Allmendhubel up on the left and the Schilthorn cable lines on the right. Turn right at the next signpost, cross back over the stream and take the lower path, to the left, at the next fork. When you come to another barn and a signpost attached to it, follow the small path down to the left. With the Murrenbach to your left and a small brook to your right, you pass a number of barns and probably a number of cows lazily grazing on this meadow.

When you come to the forest and the 'Vita-Parcours" or fitness course, turn left, cross the stream and in a few minutes you are at the outskirts of Murren. As the path turns to asphalt you arrive at a huge cement water trough where the Murren train station is to the left and the Schilthorn cable-car station is to the right.

Continuing around the right of the lake you come to a fork and the signpost indicates that the Schilthorn is 1 hour 10 min more on the path to the left. The path has now become a ski course which loops left around a bowl containing the Grauseeli. After 20 minutes of walking through rocks and debris you come upon a memorial dedicated to an unfortunate young woman who was killed by lightning on the Schiltalp in 1865. The way continues up and around another bowl, this time filled with snow and ice. The path dissipates here so watch for colour markings painted on the rocks pointing the way. In about 45 minutes you'll reach the top where the highest revolving restaurant in Europe affords a sensational panorama, not only of the immediate area but on clear days as far away as Mont Blanc in France and the Black Forest in Germany.