June 25th - Moving on to Locarno

Our first week of the Untour was over and we had to move on to Locarno. We were sorry to have to leave Chalet Erika in Meiringen. It had been a very comfortable and convenient apartment. We enjoyed hiking in the Heartland very much.

Frau Erika brought her cart to carry our luggage to the bus station. Rather than take a faster train to Locarno, we had chosen to use the Postbus for part of the trip which would take us over two of the high passes. The bus we used was the Four Pass Round Trip bus that originates in Meiringen and advertises to "Discover majestic Swiss Alpine passes and enjoy spectacular views over imposing glaciers, deep gorges and charming villages."

We left the flat delta land of Meiringen which is surrounded by clifts and began quickly to climb towards the Grimsel Pass at 7,100 ft.


Passing a series of reservoirs and blooming Alpine meadows, you travel up to the Grimsel Pass, where you are rewarded with magnificent views. These reservoirs are the source of Switzerland's electrical power which runs all of their railroad systems.

We had a fifteen minute stop at the top of Grimsel Pass to rest and stretch our legs. The reservoir at the top had a lot of ice and it was quite windy.

Several of the passengers had brought their bikes on the back of the bus and were preparing to ride back down to Meiringen. The Grimsel Pass road is considered one of Europe's finest motorcycle routes. We were near the source of the Rhone glacier and the beginning of the Rhone River.

The route down the other side of Grimsel Pass was even more exciting with switchback after switchback.

From the village of Gletsch the journey continued up over the Nufenen Pass. At an altitude of 8,130 ft., this is the highest Alpine crossing entirely on Swiss territory and connects the cantons of Valais and Ticino. We left the bus in Airolo where we boarded a train that had just come out of the Gotthard tunnel. It carried us down through Ticino to Locarno which is at the lowest elevation in Switzerland.

Locarno has a very Mediterranean climate with palm trees and many of the flowers we grow in California. We enjoyed being on Lake Maggiore but found it very hot and humid.


Our apartment in Locarno was in the old city (Citta Vecchia) near the beautiful Piazza Grande. On our first walk through the square, we found it full of people. A large screen had been set up to show the Euro Cup matches. That night, everyone was watching the Germany vs. Turkey match. Most were cheering for Germany.

Our apartment was on the second floor of this building. This was the view out our window.