Swiss Cycling Experience

Narrow well maintained roads, farm stands, and diverse scenery. That is how I would sum up my best bike riding experiences. The Swiss realize they have a special place; they create roads, vistas and nooks that exploit the landscape so all can enjoy. Towns, farmers and the road engineers all seem to agree on making rds for those who want to enjoy the journey.

Nuclear Powered Stand

This week's Selbstbedienung is a nice ice cream stand, and judging by its neighbor (see the cooling tower) they have a good power supply.

This week's Selbstbedienung: Fresh Farm Milch from the Swiss cows on the other side of this barn. The sign said that the coin-op function wasn't working, so the farmer trusted you would just put the correct amount in the slot before pouring the milk.

A self service stand with a sweet tooth in mind.

This week's Selbstbedienung blog entry was from the Alpen Hutte Cappe Cristalina. After a 3+ hour hike, you can choose from some of the best sweets in Switzerland all brought up via helicopter. Swiss prices are included.

Smart Farmer

This farmer has a refrigerator set up on a popular bicycle route with cold drinks inside and a nice shady tree. I wonder what makes more money the stand or his farm products?

Self Serve Wine Cellar

Yep, pick out a bottle, make change, and go. We tried a nice refreshing white.

Bags of apples vending machine!

The featured stand of the week . . . . Darn they were out of apple strudel.

Tashen von Apfeln Antomaten?! Diese Woche selbstbedienung befaehigt. . . . bedauerlich wurden sei aus Apfelstrudel.

Buy your wool socks here!

This self service stand get high marks for it presentation and variety of products. The antique cupboard is sehr schone. Leather climbing boot with Swiss flag laces (lower left) were a nice touch. But the best was stack of hand made wool socks. 20 Francs - not bad.

I am a Selbstbedienung-Supporter

Summer is kicking it and with it we are biking more, which lets us find one of the coolest things in Switzerland. Selbstbedienung or self-service stands. This is one was in a small room on the side of a barn I passed while training for a marathon. The apple cider was a perfect pick me up to finish the run. For the self-service stands I've talked about in the past, you can now see all the posts that include them, the label is Selbstbedienung.

Local Egg Shopping / Eier Selbstbedienungsladen

One of local runs Fiona and I do is the Egg Run. Yep, a 5 km trail run in the woods leads to an egg farm with a self-service stand. I load up a 6-pack, pay, and run 3 more km home.

The funniest thing is above the stand. There is a window with the chickens inside (see picture below w/ window above the barn door). They also have free-range chickens, in the backyard.

Apfel Press:

I love finding new treasures. This farmer presses apples for cider. You bring a vessel to fill up via the cool glass jug. Horben, ZH

Selbstbedienung 4: What I didn't realize was inside that barn was the mother lode. 10 types of apples, 6 pairs and that crate is full of 5 liter bags of cider (like the wine in the box bags)

Hiking Swiss Style:

We have learned that hiking isn't very hard when there are farm stands on the trail and cafes at the top. -Tossal, ZH

September Daily Pics

In September, I started posting pictures on Facebook to share. Eventually, I figured out how to make and post to a blog. Here are the posts I made to Facebook. En Guete!

Welcome: This photo is out of sequence. But it is so cool. Rain and clouds in the Southern Alps could not ruin this sunny day in der Val de Unterschachen, Uri and the light on the waterfall in the midground.

Friday 17.9.10: Brooken Haus. Ruth and I made quick friends with the local 'used store' (think Goodwill) we have an apartment to furnish and the rental car to move items. I used our camera and Ruth's hand signs to remember the sofa options and their price. Fondue Set .. .. Check!

Sunday 9.19.10: Farm Stand. Sunday I went for a road bike ride on one of the national bike routes. Well signed, the routes are popular with bikers and keep to bike paths and quiet backroads. Along the route, farmers have set up stands. This one sold eggs, jams, and fruit syrups. Note to self: bring a bag to carry home the fresh good I find while biking!

Monday 20.9.10: Ruth’s First Trip to work. Fiona and I walk Ruth to the Bahnhof (9 minutes). Fiona was willing to wait right there for Ruth to return. Zurich's commuter rail system is great. 20-25 minutes to Zurich, Ruti, Winterthur. Trains leave every half-hour from our town.

Tuesday 21.9.10: Tuesday Night Ride. I found out about a Tuesday night ride starting 5 minutes from home. Lead by Mac, we had a great ride in the hills west of home, Fehraltorf. Not much single track here.

Wednesday 22.9.10: Local Viewpoint, Scheidegg. With foul weather on the way, I took off for a bike ride. I fed my obsession for climbing hills with this doozy. Roads are steep here in Switzerland 450 meters in 3.8 kms . . ouch. I learned not many people cycle up to the nearby high points. However, you are likely to find a restaurant with plenty of people enjoying the view even on a Wednesday. There were a group of Para-gliders as well. Enjoy the view toward Zurichsee and the Alps.

Thursday 23.9.10: Local Farm. Our new friend Iris, told us about her friend who has a orchard and make great bread. It didn’t take long for us to find it. Yummy Williamsbiren (pears), Rubinolo Apfelds (new type of apple), and Italian plums.

Friday 24.9.10: Functional Sculpture. Plenty of creative people making a living.

Tuesday 28.9.10: Fountains. I just realized there are bunch of Fountains in Fehraltorf (more than most towns).

Saturday: 25.9.10: Southern Escape. With the advice of a new friend Tara, we took the train south to Ticano, Swiss’s Italian speaking Canton on the south side of the alps, to escape some pretty heavy rain on the north side of the Alps. Lots of firsts for Fiona; first train station, escalator, bus, tram, Swiss goats, and mountain hut. It was hard to pick just one picture from this day. But I had to pick this plate of Risotto and Wurst, Malaise style. The wine I hiked/ tramed up from the town Monte Carasso.

Sunday 26.9.10 Mountain Light: Strong winds last night due to the low pressure north of the Alps spilling in to the Southern Alps. I am glad we were in this mountain hut.

Monday 27.9.10 Family Vineyards: The tram provided a unique view of these family wine plots. Bellizona, the city, is in the distance. In this region, middle class families come to these vineyards to relax and enjoy the land. This weekend was harvest time and the whole family seemed to be involved.

Tuesday 28.9.10 Photo from the top of Griggo, 2100 m.

Wednesday 29.9.10 Well maintained yard for everyone to enjoy. Thanks. - Oberholz, Wald, ZH.

Thursday 30.9.10: Urnasher VechSchau. The three us got up early and took a wonderful 2-hour train to Apenzeller with the intent of seeing a cow show. Apenzeller is a region with a strong tie to tradition and we were not let down by the day's festivities. We were in Urnasch, a small town below the the Santis Massif. Everyone was getting ready for the event when we arrived. There was lots of activity in the town when we arrived, wetting the street (cow poop is easier to clean off wet streets), and setting up booths for food and crafts to sell. The town's center was set up with corrals and plenty of fresh hay. Within the hour, the parade began from different farms east and west, all headed to town.

Men and boys, wore traditional knickers,vests, and hats. Girls, handmade dresses. Each participating farm had only small variations to a customary procession that included: 1) a young boy leading the way followed by a herdlet of goats; 2) well dress young men singing and leading the 8-15 best cows; 3) The train ended with an older man (and often his dog) to keep the cows on course.