Travel with Tades

Tue, July 16 - Last Day in St. Niklaus

Written by JHawki | Aug 30, 2024 8:47:56 PM

Got a slow start this morning. Clay was the first one to bed last night and the first one up this morning. I woke up at 6:30 and crawled out of bed at 7 am. It had rained some overnight and it was incredibly foggy and misty when we got up- a virtual whiteout. I did a short time lapse to capture the incredible drama of the weather happening above and below us. 


I ate breakfast and by 10 am we were ready to go for a hike. Dave had gotten a recommendation on a hike a few miles away from us. We started driving. We were not far from the house when an extraordinary thing happened. There was a four foot retaining wall that came right up to the edge of the road. Just as we were passing, a deer leaped off the wall and crashed to the road in front of us. It scrambled to its feet and bolted. Its buddy, also contemplating the same thing, thought better of it and stayed put. Just more driving excitement!

We got off the main road and began following a narrow unimproved road through a series of hairpin turns up and up. I encountered two “standoff” situations where the road was so narrow that the facing car had to back up to give me room. We kept going til the road ran out. It seems like we find ourselves in this situation at least once a day, where we get into a tight situation and have to precariously navigate out of it. I mean, really perilous. So of course I had to back up and retrace my steps, but parking was not too far back. It was an interesting area. There were many hiking options at this trailhead as well as an odd water aerobics exercise area.

We started hiking. It was a smooth, easy trail and the loop we were on was an exercise loop with many stations dispersed along the trail. While we didn’t partake in the more rigorous ones, we did find the back stretchers particularly satisfying. Don liked them so much, he has vowed to build one. We hiked for about an hour without a specific plan. There were several options for trails including one that was much steeper than the others that eventually took you to the top of this mountain. We opted for the less strenuous trail. The weather was still kind of foggy and cloudy but the sky was showing patches of blue. Must have been about 65°. Perfect.

Just what an old guy needs.

Don really loves nature.

When we came down it was lunch time so we decided to eat at Zum See, a beautiful, historic restaurant and hotel. The restaurant sits right on a beautiful little pond filled with fresh mountain water. The pond is stocked with rainbow trout which they cook up on the spot. On Tuesdays people can come and fish. If they catch three fish, they have to give the restaurant two.

Of course I had to have one. I also had a lovely salad with roast potatoes, corn, tomatoes, cukes and greens. The first thing we saw when we entered the restaurant was a glass case with pieces of vanilla cream 4-layer tart on display. Don got one and we got two more for later.

We stopped at home, dropped off the desserts and changed clothes. The mid afternoon sun was heating things up. Dave wanted us to see the town of Saas Fee. It is in another valley about an hour away. Saas Fee, like Zermatt, lies in a narrow valley sandwiched between big mountains. The highway is narrow and snakes along the canyon walls. There are tunnels, steep drop offs and large construction vehicles that populate the road. Makes for some close calls. I actually love driving the roads. Someday I want to come back and drive the roads again in a hot two-seater- preferably a Ferrari. We got to Saas Fee but, as usual, there were no clear signs about where to exit to reach the giant parking ramp for tourists. We took what we thought was an exit and almost immediately realized our mistake. There was heavy road construction going on and no cars in sight. It didn’t even look like the road went through. We pushed to determine exactly where we were. It turned out to be parking for campers and RV’s. Confused and frustrated, we backtracked to find our way. We quickly found our destination. From that point on, no cars are allowed in the town. It is all foot traffic. Except for a little army of mini electric trucks which delivered goods, provided services and transported people. The town was almost empty. It sits at the base of two monster ski areas. There are too many hotels, condos and rentals to count. There is a small downtown. We decided to walk through to see what was going on. As it turned out, not much. We stopped in a tourist shop and bought some postcards and trinkets.

The original Iowa City "bumman" finds his favorite store.

Not much else was going on so we decided to head back. When we got home, it was getting late.

Don and I had our Face Plant G & T’s and we all cleaned up and chilled out. Later we had kebabs and fresh steamed vegetables. Of course we pulled out the pastries from Zum See. Later Dave, Don and I played Quiddler for the championship of the Greater St. Niklaus area. Dave came back to claim the win and end the trip undefeated. Tomorrow we leave.