It began as one of those Sunday mornings where the promise of soft autumn sunshine and fresh mountain air made waking up a breeze. Over a breakfast of soft slices of Zopf and lashings of spiced plum jam, Rolf and I discussed where we should hike and who would come with us. Deciding where to go was simple, we hadn’t been to Hochstuckli in a while, and it’s close enough to home to be back just after lunch. The tricky part was convincing the kids to come along. While the girls preferred to laze around at home, The Boy was up for joining us, motivated by the opportunity to collect colourful autumn leaves required for his school holiday homework. Leaving the cleaning up of the kitchen to the Teen, forty-five minutes later, we were parked and sitting on the gondola rising into the Alps.
We took a right after exiting the gondola, in the direction of the Engelstock Loop Trail. Not only does this route have a mixture of shady and sunny paths and a couple of kid activities, but it also has the views! To get to those views, we first had to walk past cows grazing and into the forest. Walking up and down the track, we searched for leaves that had only just started to change from emerald to golden and spotted the last egg-shaped rosehip hanging on bare branches. The seasonal mushrooms on the forest floor were a little harder to spot. In poisonous colours of red, and tiny specimens growing out of tree stumps, it was best to photograph them and leave them be.
No matter how many times I walk this route, coming out of the forest makes me grasp for my camera every single time. The views stretching across the valley and lakes to the alpine landscape are breathtaking. Even on days where the blue sky plays peek a boo with the clouds, the view is worth it.
From here, the path slowly starts to incline, nothing dramatic, but little kids may require gummi bear motivation. While The Boy is long past needing motivation of the sweet kind, we still stop at the hamster wheel. Running as fast as you can to the sounds of a clanging cowbell, at the age of 11, is still pretty fun.
Despite not needing another break, the overflowing flower-filled boxes and “heimilig” (homey) terrace on the Blümlisberg goat farm tempted us to stop. This is what the Swiss call a “Bäsäbeiz” (in high german – Besenbeiz) which is a simple cafe attached to a farm. We ordered coffee, apple juice and creamy vanilla flavoured goats-milk ice cream and asked to pack up the homemade Linzertorte for later.
As we continued on our way, we met up with the producers of that tasty ice cream. The snow-white goats were lazing in fields of green grass under an alpine backdrop, what a place to call home! The key to what the Boy declared as “some of the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted” is obviously very happy and well looked after goats. The herd were hanging out close to the fence, which resulted in me getting down in the dirt to take a photo that will, for sure, make the cover one of my greeting cards.
As we turned the next corner, the Mythen mountains suddenly came into view. No gentle slopes here – the two peaks, one big and one small, spring out of the rolling hills. The scale of these giants is best photographed with tiny hikers and houses placed in the frame for comparison. Photos like this are some of my very favourite to take, reminding me how small and insignificant life’s little problems can be.
The big and small Mythen became our constant companions as we slowly made our way up the inclining path. We stopped at the next farm for some Alpkäse (alpine cheese) which sat in a lone refrigerator next to an honesty box. I still get a thrill stumbling upon a farm shop on a hike, buying food directly from the source is a satisfying experience. When the world seems to get crazier and crazier, it is a comfort to know that Swiss farmers can still trust hikers to pay for what they take honestly.
We make it to the top and take a left, saying goodbye to the Grosse und Kleine Mythen. As we wander down the path that will lead us to the main area back at Hochstuckli we start to pass more and more people enjoying the sunshine. The trees at this part of the hike are much more colourful. Reds and yellows dot the evergreen tree line making for a slow walk down as we stop to photograph and collect more of the autumn beauty.
With our stomachs starting to grumble, we were glad that the path leads directly to the Herrenboden restaurant. We chose to order a simple vegetable soup from the self-service kiosk instead of eating up at the restaurant. It came with a generous serving of bread to which we added a smokey red deer sausage. The Boy was more than happy to gobble up a Hot Dog so he could enjoy the playground before we continued.
At this point in our walk, we had three paths to choose from to get us back to the gondola — one through the forest, one down through the ski area or the way we took, over the suspension bridge. Crossing a wobbly piece of metal across a drop of 58 meters, I tried not to think about how high we were but rather how trust is an essential part of society. From old to young there were not many people who weren’t grasping onto the handrail, some a little more nervously than others, with everyone feeling relief once were again on solid ground.
To celebrate the end of our walk, we rewarded The Boy with a ride on the toboggan. As he zoomed down the tracks, I tried to shut out the noise around me from the kids jumping on the bouncy castles and enjoy the view over the valley one last time before taking the gondola back down and heading home for our local Chilbi.
Tips for your next visit to Hochstuckli
- If you plan to visit Hoch Stuckli on a warm and sunny weekend, arrive early to beat the crowds. We arrived at 9.30 to an almost empty carpark, but by the time we had come down at 1 pm, the car parks were full.
- Parking costs CHF 5 for half a day or CHF 10 for a full day.
- Looking for an alternative route with fewer people? Take my local friend’s suggestion: Take the gondola up, walk over the suspension bridge and head left in the direction of Rothenturm. The path leads to the Beaver Creek restaurant with a great playground.
