Berner Oberland A week in the Berner Oberland
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We rented a cabin at a campground in Brientz. | | Kenny and I took a walk to the river leading to Lake Brientz |
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At the open-air folk musuem Ballenberg | | I think this was the kids favorite part - banging nails into these stumps. They could have done it for a long time. |
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We also got to shave these posts and make them pointed | | |
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| | I like these chairs made out of curved stumps |
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Actually the nail pounding was their second favorite - their favorite was finding a puddle full of tiny frogs | | So many things were made out of wood only, no metal |
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An old root cellar | | And a "working" outhouse. |
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Before they had closets, this had to do. They had few enough clothes that it worked | | The little bunnies loved dandelion |
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17 hours walk from Bern | | Riding an old fashioned carousel, about a hundred years old |
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| | The stream from the mill |
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Taking a hike from Beatenberg | | Thank goodness there were wild strawberries! They kept Peter going - he's not a big fan of hiking. |
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Making charcaol | | |
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| | Lunchtime |
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I made a little cup for Peter to hold his strawberries | | This whole trail was meant to be very kid friendly, thus the little playgrounds scattered about. |
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| | Kenny wanted me to take a picture of this stick before he had to leave it |
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At the St. Beatus Caves. | | |
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At the Grimselpass. Kenny and I took a path called the Cristalweg down. | | |
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| | Meanwhile, Eric and Peter drove to the top of the pass |
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The trail followed an old mule trail, and was quite well laid out in places | | |
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| | Mountains in Switzerland aren't nearly as "wild" as they are in other places. Here's a canal built into the mountains |
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The rocks have been chipped away to make a nice path here - I assume this is part of the old mule trail | | |
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There was a picnic site here where Kenny found lots of crystals | | |
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| | A rainbow right next to our cabin |
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This was the kids room | | Waterfront in the town of Brienz |
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There was a water play area the kids really enjoyed | | |
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| | A little island at our campground |
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More in Ballenberg. We actually went there two days, because it's just a lot to see in one day | | Cheese making |
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| | Another toilet, actually in use, with newspaper toilet paper. Not many people used it, but some definitely did. |
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Interesting combination of chest of drawers/steps in one of the houses | | At a restored barber shop, this is the stool for cutting children's hair. Even back then, they were giving them little steering wheels to hold! |
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An old schoolhouse | | A mill-powered saw |
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In an old rope factory | | |
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About to take the cable-car up from Stechelberg | | On the Schlithorn |
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Our car - a Toyoto Corolla Verso | | In Gimmelwald/Murren |
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A picnic lunch in Murren - we had a GREAT view! | | We saw this interesting sculpture on the way out. I just had to get a picture. |
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More cabin pictures | | |
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| | I liked the fact that the sliding glass door could be opened very wide - about 8 feet or so. |
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About to head to Festung F�rigen, an old fort, relic of the impressive Swiss civil defence system which appears to gradually be phasing out (this was shut down in 1986) | | Kenny got to wear an old Swiss army coat. Good thing, too, because it was cold in there! |
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Peter, figuring out where the machine guns should be aimed | | |
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We must have told Kenny and Peter to look serious in this picture | | The infirmiry |
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I think the tool with the big handle is for cutting bones in amputations | | The cafeteria |
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The bunk beds | | The guns were well camouflaged |
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| | We bought some genuine Swiss Army chocolate and biscuits at the old fort |
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At the wading pool in Parc La Grange | | A wooden, hand operated Ferris Wheel at Parc La Grange. The kids loved it and so did I! Kenny was only interested in turning it, not riding |
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| | This is what the ride looks like |
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Kenny turning the wheel | | |