For such a short stage, it seems appropriate to start with something intellectual. Well then, I have found something from Caravaggio, my favorite painter (among many others):
We are made of cloth like dreams are. Only a shadow that walks is life, a fairy tale, full of sound and fury. Come with your dark bandage, night!
A strange start to the day. It seems that the more beautiful the surroundings, the darker my morning inspirations. So after yesterday's sad Bowie entry now a reference to shadows and darkness and night.
Very strange. Maybe it's because the tofu dinner (horrible) kept me awake.
But what the heck, according to the guide, natural- and man-made miracles might be expected today:
A stage for rail freaks: the path partly runs right next to the tracks, passing the towns of Göschenen and Andermatt, which played an important role in the history of Gotthard transport. In between the legendary Schöllenen Gorge.
Length 10 km; rise | descent 680 m | 150m; Hiking time 3 hours
Greetings from the past
The way towards Göschenen is pure history. The narrative of an extraordinary achievement for that time in the construction of the Gotthard railroad and the Gotthard railway tunnel. Much has been written about it, people still pat themselves on the shoulder, still very proud - with a certain justification - of the miracle of the Gotthard Railway.
We can indeed speak of brilliant planning and execution at a time when machines and tools as we know them today were unknown, and most had to be done by hard physical labor.
But there is another story too. That of terrible misfortunes and death, but also of exploitation, of inhumanity, of pathetic failure.
199 workers died during the construction work. Of the 171 dead mentioned in the accident list in the Federal Archives, 53 workers were crushed by wagons or locomotives, 49 were struck by rocks, and 46 were killed by dynamite. 23 perished in other ways, one of them drowned.
According to official statements, the blame in each case lay either with chance or with the victims themselves. However, numerous other workers died in the course of the following years as a result of malnutrition, illnesses and injuries sustained during the tunnel construction.
"Those workers who were fatally injured or became terminally ill at the portals, but who died only after returning home, were not recorded as deaths. This corrective gains weight from the fact that at Airolo in particular, the sick and wounded were 'sent home en masse'."
On the road in the direction of Andermatt, there are numerous reminiscences of the construction of the Gotthard Railway. Rusting equipment testifies to the way the work was carried out at that time.
A small, dimly lit hut (quite a ramshackle shack, officially a museum of stone working) displays tools and equipment of the time. They are naturally in poor condition, but the operation is somewhat evident.
However - if we want to remember the time, we should try to give it a certain dignity, otherwise it would be appropriate to do without it.
The path upwards
In fact (and quite surprisingly) the path up towards Andermatt is steep, but quite easy to manage.
The light on this sunny morning is milky, the shadows are deeper than usual, how can that be? It pulls me upwards as if by itself, as if an inner automatism had developed during the last weeks driving me, setting the pace. I have become a slave to routine. That's good, because it also means that I might continue walking forever.
Til the end of the world.
I think that even today I will not meet anyone, it would be a surprise. Yet the trail is simply fantastic. The path follows steep rock faces, crosses bridges made of rickety wood, then again below a concrete bridge , nobody knows what is up there.
But there they are again, the concrete monsters, mighty pillars rammed into the ground, curved arches, almost beautiful, architect's dreams, nothing more. On top of them a single vehicle, quite tiny, the human being becoming a miniature.
Man dominates nature, doesn't he?
Goodbye old train
I'm approaching Göschenen, the first point on today's map.
Eerie things might happen if you were from the Middle Ages and had never seen a train or a tunnel. Because here the Gotthard railroad, the old one, finally disappears into the darkness, which many kilometers to the south, in the Ticino, makes room for the daylight again.
In the past, you wouldn't have had to wait long for a train, but today it takes an eternity. I desperately want to watch a train passing me, feeling the breeze, experiencing the Doppler effect. But there is nothing, even strenuous listening for possible acoustic approach remains unsuccessful.
And not far from here, construction is underway to build a second tube for the Gotthard road tunnel. An extremely controversial issue. Officially, it is claimed that both tubes will only be accessible in emergency situations, but there are doubts about that, and rightly so.
Thus, the trust in politics will suffer. But in the meantime, we are already familiar with this.
Old bridges and falling rocks
But then – a feast for the eyes. An old stone bridge over the Reuss.
This is how you imagine the old mule track, many steep, strenuous paths for both man and beast, interspersed with stone bridges built by first-rate builders. It is the Häderlis Bridge, a jewel of a bridge.
The corresponding description is included.
And a little further up – danger!
If you look up the rock face, you understand the warning. Caution is advised here, even if the probability of a rock fall is small. But we know it - wrong time in the wrong place and you'll enter nirvana. It doesn't have to be, so you hurry despite the probability calculation.
The Devil's Bridge - Satan and Billy Goat
Shortly before Andermatt, one of the mythical highlights - the the Devil's Bridge..
I quote the associated legend, which every child in Switzerland knows:
According to legend, the first Devil's Bridge was built by the devil. The people of Uri failed time and again to build a bridge. Finally, one of the land masters exclaimed in despair: "Do sell der Tyfel e Brigg bue! (Let the devil build a bridge!).
As soon as he said it, Satan stood in front of the people of Uri and proposed a pact. He would build the bridge and in return he should get the soul of the first one to cross the bridge. After the devil had built the bridge, the clever people of Uri sent a billy goat across the bridge.
The devil was very angry about this deception and fetched a stone as high as a house with which he intended to smash the bridge. But he met a pious woman carving a cross on the stone. The devil was so confused by the sign of God that he missed the bridge when he threw the stone. The stone fell down the entire Schöllenen Gorge as far as the village of Göschenen. (Wikipedia)
The Schöllenen Gorge - world-famous for its historical significance. And the memory of the arduous conquest with the help of the devil himself. And the train, this one runs to Andermatt, where you can then board the famous Glazier Express.
By the middle of the 20th century, the second Devil's Bridge and the narrow road were no longer sufficient to meet the demands of modern traffic. In 1958, therefore, the third Devil's Bridge was opened about 30 meters to the east of the second bridge and somewhat higher, leading directly into the Fadegg Tunnel, which was also newly built. With two lanes, this bridge was better able to cope with the increasing traffic.
Above the bridge, a striking image of a devil painted by the Uri artist Heinrich Danioth was created in 1950 in oil paint. In 2008, the red picture was smeared with blue oil paint in an act of vandalism and then lavishly restored in the summer of 2009. (Wikipedia)
That's how legends work. Always with a small share of truth and a lot of faith in God and Satan. Apparently, the story - probably due to skillful PR strategists - has also reached tourist ears. One thinks to hear many different languages, and the clicking of cameras, the Oh and Ah in the face of the wild nature and the even wilder imagination that the devil is able to evoke.
A monument to the Russians
Not far from the Devil's Bridge, the Suvorov monument.
In normal times, one would try to remember the period wars, the fight between the French and the Russians, perhaps even with a little more sympathy for the Russian army. This year it is difficult to show the Russians even the slightest goodwill.
But a few thoughts on the wartime events, which also affected Switzerland, can't hurt.
The era around 1800, just a few years after the French Revolution and Napoleon's seizure of power, was marked by countless wars between the powers of the time, France, Russia, England, Austria, Prussia and various fragmented kingdoms and daughter republics.
I quote the relevant section in Wikipedia:
In the so-called Second Coalition War (2/1798–99/1801), an alliance of Russia, Austria and Great Britain was waged against revolutionary France, which had been successful in the First Coalition War.
The most successful French general, Napoleon Bonaparte, was isolated after the lost naval battle at Abukir in Egypt. This is another reason why the alliance was initially very successful and was able to smash the French-dominated daughter republics in Italy and restore the old order. However, the allies were at odds and Russia left the alliance.
After Napoleon returned from Egypt and took control of France with the consulate, he was victorious in Italy in 1800 (see below). The remaining allies made peace with France.
The Peace of Lunéville (1801) essentially confirmed the provisions of Campo Formio. The defeat of the Allies was indirectly partly responsible for the complete reorganization of the Holy Roman Empire by the Imperial Deputation. The Peace of Amiens (1802) between Great Britain and France finally ended the war.
The part of the battle at the Schöllenen Gorge is especially interesting:
Suvorov's plan was to advance with his army of about 21.000 men by a surprise move across the Alps into the rear of General André Masséna's troops and, joined by Alexander Rimsky-Korsakov's troops and an Austrian army under General Hotze, to corner him near Zurich.
Although the Russians had never fought in the mountains before, on September 24 they seized the Gotthard Pass from the French, whereupon, under French fire, they passed the Schöllenen Gorge. Arriving in Altdorf, Suvorov realized that a route to Schwyz along Lake Lucerne, which he had counted on according to the military maps provided to him by the Austrians, did not exist at all.Back then, the road ended in Altdorf. (Wikipedia)
There is not much to add. It was a crazy time full of wars and violence and misery, just so that some narcissistic men could realize their dreams of power.
The new Andermatt - just money and little soul
Shortly after the Schöllenen Gorge, the valley opens up into a wide plain right in the middle Andermatt, today's destination.
There was the old Andermatt, a sleepy village surrounded by rocks and stones and mountains. Lovely, actually, in its quiet simplicity.
But then Samih Sawiris arrived, an Egyptian businessman and billionaire, and with him the promise of money and wealth. The ancient story of temptation. The hubris of man to which he succumbs again and again.
You cannot blame Sawiris of much. He does exactly what he knows best. Identifying possibilities, calculating costs against benefits, making decisions, removing obstacles, turning the possibility into a fact.
The old Andermatt is still there, but now surrounded by ostentatious hotel buildings, there is a luxury resort called Chedi in the middle of the village, there is a golf course on the wide plain where the river Reuss finds its way.
The old Hotel "Krone" is now called "The Crown", everything is signed in English and surprise, surprise - on the road most people speak English or Italian, and in the restaurants you are of course addressed in English.
One is wondering, since the Sawiris plans became public, whether his project might succeed. To successfully compete against world-famous resorts such as St. Moritz or Zermatt, it takes more than just a few expensive hotel buildings and a golf course.
Above all, it needs a beautiful environment that beguiles the eye, such as in the Upper Engadine, or a world-famous mountain peak such as the Matterhorn.
Nothing like that here in Andermatt. There are many rocky outcrops, ugly scree all around, a few mountain peaks, a lush green plain with the river, and of course the ski area at the Gemsstock (which is now to be extended to Sedrun).
And the icing on the cake - an American investment company, which successfully operates several luxury resorts in the USA, has acquired the license to operate the ski resort. A company that has so far operated luxury resorts exclusively in the American market. And now the prices for a day pass are to be adjusted to the corresponding US prices, i.e. over Fr. 200.- per day!
Can this work? I doubt it. Swiss skiers are day trippers. They travel to the place, ski for a day and leave. They don't need a full service (which I can't imagine) and they don't pay Fr. 200.-
But let's see. For the tourists on site, majority of foreign provenance, these prices may be perfectly fine. So maybe we will see a triage. Foreigners here, Swiss there.
Just the thought is unsettling.
At the same time, the old village center retains its charm, even if foreign influences increase. Nobody will succeed in destroying the natural charisma of old Andermatt.
Or do they?
Anyway, here of all places I spend my single day of rest. I wished for something better.
Matching song: The Eagles - Seven Bridges Road
And here the trail continues ... over the Gotthard
