The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Stunning beauty of Switzerland is crystal clear
A break in the beautiful Swiss canton of Valais gives Caroline Lindsay a workout for both body and taste buds
Early on my first morning at Chaserstatt hotel I’m woken by the gentle sound of cow bells.
Set 5,000ft up in the Binntal, an Alpine valley in the Swiss canton of Valais, the hotel enjoys sweeping views down to the town of Ernen far below, while the owners of the bells – beautiful brown cattle – graze close by on their summer pastures.
I make my way from my room, which is in the former cable car station from the days when Chaserstatt was a skiing resort, to the main hotel and tuck into a traditional Swiss breakfast of rye bread and jams, cheese, cold meats, muesli (of course) and granola topped with yoghurt.
This sets our group up nicely for the day’s outing – treasure hunting.
The Binntal is renowned for its rich mineral deposits and we head off to meet our guides Rene In Albon and his daughter Daniela.
A youthful 65, Rene leaps up the hillside like a mountain goat while the 6,000ft climb starts to take its toll on the rest of us.
However, a pit stop for an early lunch – which includes some of the beautiful apricots the area is renowned for – gives us the energy to keep going and soon our goal is in sight: a shallow gully set on a slightly precipitous scree-covered rock. Good walking shoes are a must.
Lured by the promise of unearthing some mountain crystals, we throw caution to the winds and scramble over to watch Rene at work.
Poking and digging with two simple metal poles, it’s not long before he holds a beautiful piece of clear quartz up to the sun.
Fired by his success, we take turns to excavate and, with his help, we soon have a crystal each to take home. It’s easy to see how this can become an addictive hobby but eventually we manage to drag ourselves away for the descent.
Back on terra firma, a trip to the mineral museum in the hamlet of Fald, owned by collector Andre Gorsatt, showcases the stunning variety of them to be found in the area, many valuable.
More than ready for dinner that evening, we are treated to a top-class meal at Restaurant ErnerGarten in the town of Ernen.
Newly opened in May, the restaurant and its chef Klaus Leuenberger are making a name for themselves for fine dining in the Binntal area.
Beautifully presented dishes, including an assortment of goats’ cheese and a delicious apricot dessert, are accompanied by refreshing local wines.
It’s an early start the next morning for our second hike – this time to Lake Massersee, the smallest of four mountain lakes in the upper Binntal and part of the Landschaftspark.
The only problem is that it’s almost 7,000ft above sea level.
Luckily for us, the earlier part of the ascent is largely in shade and we follow our guide for the day, Andreas Weissen, along a narrow path past numerous pretty alpine plants.
Eventually we spy an old cattle barn, which looks as if it’s straight out of Heidi and stop for another tasty picnic of Swiss goodies.
It’s getting pretty warm by now although conversely, as we approach the snow line, an underlying chill is making our hands feel cold. But the thought of two bottles of local wine in our guide’s rucksack spurs us on and before long, we’ve made it.
The lake, although small and shallow, is a welcome and picturesque sight and a few of us paddle at the edge to refresh tired feet. The wine naturally goes down a treat and helps us make the descent in
double quick time.
At the bottom we’re rewarded by a mineral trail which begins with a quarry of dazzling white Dolomite marble.
This soft porous stone sparkles in the sunshine and here and there strands of pyrite (fool’s gold) glitter.
As we follow the road down, clever interactive and informative displays of minerals provide entertainment, including a large rock with two headsized holes carved into it (one for adults and the other for children) so you can put your head inside and “listen to the earth”.
Tired out but happy, the day is rounded off perfectly by dinner cooked by Chaserstatt’s resident chef Janos Schweizer, while the hotel manager, a charismatic young German called Jan Wyczisk and his assistant Georg Zacher, are attentive and charismatic hosts – not forgetting Jan’s little dog, Leni. The dessert is a particular high spot – white and dark chocolate Toblerone mousse to die for.
Our last morning dawns all too soon but we still have an action-packed schedule before we head to Zurich airport later in the afternoon.
A short bus journey deposits us at the start of the Twingi Gorge to meet our guide Peter Mangold and his retriever Bo.
As we begin our walk Peter explains that until a tunnel was built between the villages of Ausserbinn and Binn in 1965, the remote valley was often cut off from the outside world for weeks at a time in winter.
Today, the old footpath is popular with cyclists and walkers and with its tunnels and ancient walls supporting the sides and marking the edge, it’s an impressive monument to earlier times.
The steep slopes beside it can teem with wildlife, including chamois (a goatlike animal) and Bo is on the lookout for snakes in the undergrowth. Luckily, he doesn’t find any.
Dotted along the walk are various art installations, which vary from a host of bats hanging from the roof of a tunnel, a giant wooden sculpture of an alpenhorn and cows’ spines buried in a rock. There are also some ingenious wooden “telescopes” which give an exciting new perspective on the scenery.
A stunning turquoise lagoon, complete with a little beach, lies at the end of the path and it’s in this idyllic spot that Peter not only lives but also has his own restaurant, Twingi Stubji.
Here we are treated to raclette – a traditional Swiss dish. Cheese is slowly melted under heat before being served with new potatoes, pickled onions and gherkins. Its utterly delicious and we all queue up for seconds and thirds.
More local wine slips down a treat and the meal is rounded off by a zingy honey, apricot and yoghurt dessert that Peter made himself.
Sadly, it is time to start making tracks and it was with heavy hearts that we drag ourselves away to catch the train to Zurich. However, this in itself is a treat: the journey takes around two and a half hours, on a super quiet, double decker electric train, passing through some spectacular scenery en route: a last taste of a memorable break, a million times prettier than its chocolate box reputation.