Switzerland with Ruthie: mind-bending and memory-laden

A hiking and biking trip with our granddaughter reminded me of hiking with my mother 33 years ago.

This is the new home for my regular newsletter. I offer behind-the-scenes commentary on the latest episodes of the [B]OLDER podcast. I also write in more depth about the land of the old: the positives, the negatives, and the surprises. - Debbie

Traveling with 11-year-old Ruthie

We've promised each grandchild a special trip with their grandparents. It was Ruthie's turn this summer so off we went to Switzerland for one week — to the Bernese Alps (Grindelwald, Interlaken, Kandersteg, etc.) to hike and bike.

We joined a group of 18 (organized by Backroads) which included two other sets of grandparents with grandchildren ranging in age from 11 to 16.

We hiked below fairy tale mountain peaks, bicycled on meandering bike paths, crossed the bright blue lakes on either side of Interlaken via steam ferry, and ate a lot of chocolate and cheese.

The snow-topped Swiss alps, especially the Eiger looming over Grindelwald, are mind-bending. More technicolor and splendid in real life than they are in a guidebook or a documentary.

Ruthie loved the trip and even “hanging out with Granny and Ba,” as she put it.

It was perfect.
 

Looking back...

The last time my husband and I were in Grindelwald in the summer was 33 years ago. It was an extended family trip organized by my mother.  Sam and I were 39 and 38 (younger than our children are now!). Our children were then 13, 10 and 7.

I realize you can't tell who's who in this 1990 photo of our group. I'm kneeling in front with a horrible short haircut. What was I thinking?! Or maybe it was the style.

My energetic mother

In addition to being a memorable experience with Ruthie, our recent trip evoked memories of my energetic mother. She was 59 in 1990 and, as always, a master at corralling a large group.

I remember walking down the hill from our chalet with her early one morning to purchase fresh bread, cheese, and chocolate to stuff into our knapsacks. Then off we went to hike one of the many well-marked paths in Grindelwald. Then, and now, the hiking routes are marked with signs that indicate time (1.5 hours, for example) as well as distance to a destination. That suited my organized mother perfectly and kept our large group, with slower and faster walkers, together.

Grindelwald has been "discovered" since then and is now jammed with tourists. But once we rode the gondola up to the high slopes to start hiking it was just as stunning as I remembered and the crowds were relatively sparse.

All by way of saying that this is a mind-bending and memory-laden summer

As you know if you've been reading this newsletter, my mother died suddenly in February at almost 92. She and I had a complicated relationship so I've been assiduously collecting happy memories with her. Hiking in Grindelwald is one of them.