Venice to Wiwanni Hut in the Swiss Alps 26 July - Maverick scribed by Toni

Molto bene – Squark Squark.  I have loved Venice.  The family have slept soundly in a beautiful old air-conditioned apartment right on the canal and I have been able to wander freely outside along the canal finding little pieces of left overs and talking to the nocturnal birds and conversing with the seagulls.  This water is confusing, it is salty – it seems strange to be in a medieval city with sea water flowing along the canals.

Today we say goodbye to Italy and goodbye to daily gelato icecream and board the train for Switzerland.  Today is a long journey.  A 20 minute walk to the Venice station.  It is a good thing we don’t get lost like yesterday.  From Venice station we head to Venice Mestre on the mainland and then on our big train to Milan.  As we booked late we were forced to get first class tickets that were another 10 Euro though this included free coffee and cookies and bigger seats so no one was complaining.  We change trains in Milan and travel on to Brigg.

The scenery slowly changes with the seaside slowly giving way firstly to the plains and then to the beauty of Lake Como and on upward to the mountains.  Looking out of the window the kids compare the scenery to home and play ‘hold your breath’ as you go through tunnels.  As we head out of Italy the train is boarded by the police to check and we are welcomed to Switzerland.

We eventually arrive in Brigg around 1:00 pm and buy tickets for Ausserberg and take out 300 Swiss Francs to pay for the taxi and the mountain hut.

The kids look out of the Swiss train with very few people, admiring the view.  The train has space for lots of bikes and the kids are curious about how the trains can be so organised.  John talks about his love of Switzerland, his time working in Wengen and the biggest controversy in Switzerland when a decision was made by referendum allowing the trains to run 30 seconds late at the discretion of the driver.  ‘Oh what it means to be Swiss’.  Apparently it divided the country!

As a none-too-worldly bird, one of the best parts of this holiday has been the discussions with the family.  Listening to the innocent observations of the children, their un-adulterated opinions and the great general knowledge and current affairs of John.  What an education!

At 1:50 pm on the dot we arrived at Ausserberg, walked our bags to the hotel and after a quick toilet stop, met the taxi at precisely 2 pm to take us part way up the mountain.

Our 15 minute $100 NZD taxi ride was worth every penny with stunning typical Swiss scenery as we switched back and forward to the end of the road.  From the end of the road it was a 2 and a half hour uphill hike at 45 degrees until we reached Wiwanni hut. 

Today the temperature is cool, the sky blue and we are treated to a stop in a lovely clearing overlooking the valley below. Time for the last of the pain chocolat and fruit before Wiwanni hut.  At each turn there are meadow flowers, wild strawberries and grassy meadows.  Eventually we fully break through the trees, the wind picks up and we head up the mountain in sight of the hut.  Fluffy mountain sheep with black faces that look more like poodles than sheep, rest under a rock.  Their bells notify the shepherds where they are.

On arriving at the hut we meet Guilika and are allocated to our bunk room in the more modern part of the hut, underneath.  The kids are thrilled to find a tight rope above the hut and a climbing wall up the side. 

Our lovely Swiss staff member Marianne cannot be at the hut as she has been rostered to the Jungfrau though she has given us welcome drinks.  Toni enjoys a herb beer and the children enjoy Rivella soft drinks.  We sit with Mike and Steve whom are on a climbing holiday.  Steve is one of the most qualified guides whom lives in Australia and guides in Europe though comes from the UK and Mike is an Englishman and Steves client whom lives in Andorra. 

The rain starts and the temperature turns cooler and wind rises.  The family are happy that they bought their jackets all the way from New Zealand. 

Dinner is really appreciated with a vegetarian meal for Sam, special pasta for Toni and lovely home-made soup, corn beef and an apple dessert that has something to do with a ‘knight’.  All the food comes from the village and the girls hike some of this up from the top of the road.  It is a new appreciation from John and Toni who admire the challenge of the logistics of supplying Wiwanni hut.  Whereas it would have been fantastic to see Marianne, it is great to understand where she works and what she does when she is not at Kinloch.

It is hard to sit and enjoy the meal without wanting to jump up and help.   The hut has its very own ‘Heidi’ and is almost a cliché – one cannot be more Swiss than Wiwanni hut in the mountains, our hosts and then light wood everywhere.  Benches with sheepskins and gingham tablecloths.

No-one wants to stay up late and soon we are snuggling down, shivering in our beds.  What a welcome change from the warmth of the last 6 weeks.  The wind rattles around the hut and we are glad for our shelter.  After a short time we are woken by what sounds like someone’s alarm.  “If you are doing a midnight ascent on the mountain, please get up and switch your alarm off so we can go back to sleep we think!!!! “ Arghh, but this is just the beginning…….. the night was not peaceful it would have been quieter if I had got up to Squarkkkkkkkkkk!