Sometimes you realize the forces that nature might generate.
Today is one of those days. It's not entirely surprising. But again and again a reminder of how quickly something harmless can evolve into something threatening.
But everything starts quite as expected. The look out of the window reveals wet roads, dripping trees, no wonder after yesterday's thunderstorm, but all in all a pleasant hike awaits me.
The travel guide looks on the bright side as well:
Wild and romantic hiking route through the valley of the young Emme. The rock faces of Hohgant and Schrattenflue are impressive, the former bathhouse in Kemmeriboden-Bad is interesting. The wetland biotopes near Sörenberg made the Entlebuch a Unesco biosphere reservation.
Length 19 km; rise | descent 860 m | 640m; Hiking time 5 hours
The Emme, quite peaceful
As always in recent days, I follow the Emme, it has become a dear companion. Cows on the dripping wet meadow do not greet me, why should they. There is nothing more boring than hikers.
Nevertheless, I greet them with a quiet moo and walk on, past wonderfully decorated houses. But today I'm leaving the canton of Bern, since Laupen (so long ago) I've covered quite a few kilometers on Bernese territory. It was nice, but now the Innerschweiz is waiting. Let's see ...
The Emme, less peaceful
It actually starts quite harmlessly. One notices wood, stones, bushes in places where they should not be. Above the bank of the river, on the meadow, on the path, until the shore, just next to the path, suddenly and unexpectedly becomes crumbly.
In some places the path is almost non-existent. Somehow scary. It makes you wonder what it would have been like if you had picked that day of all days to do the hike. Nasty ideas. Because it looks truly bad. You have to be careful not to slip.
Tree trunks, wedged into each other, shattered like matchsticks by the force of the raging water. Stones, boulders, nothing withstands the violence, swept along as if it were nothing. I am surprised, can't even remember that there must have been a deluge here.
People are already working busily. A bulldozer is trying to secure the shore zone. I do not envy the driver.
But then the trail branches off into the forest, following the thematic trail Beat Feuz, the ski-racer.
The famous ski racer originates from this region and is honored with a thematic trail retracing his career. The little Feuz, called Kugelblitz because of his chubby figure, has delighted us many times, the last time on the occasion of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, where he won the downhill gold medal.
Keep it up, Kugelblitz!
Well, as long as a country cheers athletes instead of war heroes or politicians or other superfluous people, it may be envied.
The Kemmeriboden, destroyed
Kemmeriboden Bad is at the top of my daily list of possible places to have a leisurely coffee stop. So I'm in good spirits as I cheerfully approach the restaurant, and it's only when I get closer that I realize that I won't be able to enjoy coffee that day.
The Kemmeriboden is destroyed.
I refer to the media report, dealing in detail with the flooding and destruction of the popular tourist destination.
I quote:
Heavy thunderstorms already raged in the area in 2014. "In terms of total magnitude, the force of the 2014 flood was greater. Nevertheless, the event is now much worse in the Kemmeriboden region," Georg Heim, expert for natural dangers, said at the media conference.
The day after the storm, Reto Invernizzi, landlord of the Hotel-Restaurant Kemmeriboden-Bad, is glad that no people were harmed. "When the flood came, we had four minutes to get 30 guests and employees upstairs to safety," he tells Swiss TV.
The floods completely devastated the building and the surrounding area, the damage is immense. Invernizzi and his team lost everything within minutes: "Our home, our domicile became a victim of the indescribable forces of nature," says the restaurateur.
In the face of the destructive power of nature, one as a small human being ought to become humble, at least for a while, but then one forgets and believes again in Man as the crown of creation.
A group of happy Dutch people
I leave the scene of devastation. However, work is already being done diligently, the worst damage has been cleared away, and things should soon start to improve again. Then I wish the host family all the best for the next few weeks and the resurrection of the Kemmeriboden.
The trail now leads upwards, bye bye beloved Emme, that's definitely the end. However, my affection has suffered a little, no wonder after the images of destruction just seen.
It has become chilly, a strange fog is rolling in, I don't like it at all.
The sound of voices and laughter can be heard from afar. The corresponding language is easy to identify. If they are not Dutch, I will be called Van Gogh.
And indeed, seven elderly gentlemen in their prime approach me with nimble steps, laughter on their faces even before we meet. We stop, greet each other, from where and where to, in English of course, the lingua franca of the 21st century.
They are obviously important personalities, they have jobs in Geneva and similar places. And today they are trying to do something for the old bones. Have fun then.
The UNESCO Biosphere Entlebuch
The subsequent path makes it apparent that I have now entered a particular world. At first glance everything seems as usual, green meadows, lush grass, you have to look closer to perceive the extraordinary.
These are protected moors, part of the UNESCO Entlebuch Biosphere. Billboards along the way explain in detail the particular, extremely diverse flora and fauna thriving in this smallest of spaces.
I quote again from Wikipedia:
Since 2001, the Entlebuch has been Switzerland's second UNESCO biosphere reservation, along with the Swiss National Park, but the only one in accordance with UNESCO's Seville Criteria of 1995.
It is the first biosphere reservation in the world to have been established by popular vote and with the participatory and cooperative involvement of the local population. Since 2008, the UBE has also been a Regional Nature Park of national importance according to Switzerland's Parks Ordinance.
Extensive moors and the Schrattenflueh karst landscape are outstanding natural features of the Entlebuch.
More than 20 % of all intact high moors in Switzerland are located in the perimeter of the UBE, and they are often within a short distance of dry habitats, which results in an extremely diverse flora and fauna in a very small area.
A total of 135 lowland and highland moors and four moor landscapes of national importance are recorded in the biosphere reserve. In addition, there are four floodplain landscapes, some amphibian spawning areas and dry meadows, and three landscapes of national importance.
In total, more than 50% of the entire area of the UBE is protected. In addition to some mountain pine and spruce high moor forests, beech-fir, fir-spruce and spruce forests dominate in the Entlebuch.
The Rossweid ... and an epicurean 3-course menu
The rest is quickly told. Since Sörenberg, the original stage destination, had no rooms available, I will spend the night in the Rossweid, a popular mountain hotel and excursion destination.
When I arrive, the last guests just say goodbye, I seem to be, so to speak, the last Mohican on this cool evening. However, I have been expected, it seems that overnight guests are rather rare.
The room is small and cozy, hunger drives me to the huge restaurant, where, however, I am told that my dinner will be on the lower floor near the billiard room.
Well, I am always for surprises, because the young lady, turning out to be Hungarian from Budapest, explains to me what awaits me. And so I come unexpectedly to an opulent 3-course menu, which not only tastes delicious, but brings this day in a unique way to perfection.
Matching song: UB40 - Food for Thought
And here the trail continues... to Giswil
