[Culturechat] Tenneseans and Noodles in the Alps

[Vance Roy]

Yesterday was a postcard day in Sachseln. A few weeks ago, an Idyller
sent me a message about a group of hikers he was bringing to Kandersteg.
I was later to find out that this man, Bob Miller, is 81 years old, but
he is some sort of mountain goat. Messages went back and forth, and the
upshot was that he and his folks were invited to spend a day hiking
above Sachseln on the Stuecklikreuz mountain. Berit Greutert volunteered
to fix Alpen Maggaronen for us all at a mid height alpine hut.

The crowd of about 20 arrived in late morning from Kandersteg, in the
Oberland, and were greeted by the Greuterts, Albert Roher, who is known
as the Wanderweg Pope, and us. Albert Roher is a nationally known expert
on the ways and byways of Swiss Wanderwegs. At age 82, he can still out
hike people half that age. I was amazed to find that all but two of the
hiking group were from Eastern Tennessee. I spent my life up to age 18
in Western Tennessee and spent 3 years at Knoxville in Eastern
Tennessee. After a few football war stories about the Volunteers, we
drove up above Sachseln to Fluli Ranft. There, Albert Greutert gave them
all a tour of the patron saint of CH, Niklaus von Flue's birthplace.
Then we parked the vehicles a bit further up the road and hit the path
toward Oberschwanden. Berit and a few others went by car ahead to
Oberschwanden to get the lunch fired up.

Oberschwanden is a mid-level alp above Sachseln where for a few weeks in
the spring and fall, the cows are kept by the farmer before taking them
up or down. For the rest of the summer, the Men's Choir in Sachseln gets
the use of the place in exchange for doing some twice yearly upkeep. It
is about halfway between Sachseln and the cross at the summit of the
Stuecklikreuz. It took us about 90 minutes to reach the hut. On the way
of course, there were stops for gawking. At the hut, we found the cooks
at work on Alpen Maggaronen. This dish is a typical alp farmer's food,
and I'm here to say that it will make a bulldog break his chain! It
consists of macaroni cooked together with cubes of potato, then drained
and mixed with alp cheese, then served in bowls with caramelized onions
on top, and applesauce on the side. A man could leave home for this!
This was all fixed over the open hearth. It has been a mainstay of the
alps for many years, because the farmer had and could keep for weeks,
all the ingredients. We had wine, beer, and soft drinks to go with it.
Then came Orientation Brownies. These are what Berit used to fix for
folks when orientation was not in a hotel, and a desert was needed.
Lastly, came the Chelli. Bowls of weak coffee with sugar and schnapps added.

After this "lunch", we received gifts of Swiss red tee shirts with the
Old Timers Hiking Club logo on them. Berit and Albert also got a
beautiful book of Tennessee nature pictures with the whole group's
signatures and the author's inscription. After more fun and
conversation, we cleaned up and moved out downward to Sachseln by a more
direct route. There was time for some sight seeing and a visit to the
magnificent church in the village center before going to the Bahnhof to
say goodbye.

These folks were super nice to visit our town, and we hope to see them
again. I know they were well fed. We all have invitations to see them in
the Appalachians some time.

For some photos with the new digital camera that I won from Credit
Suisse's web site, go to:

http://photos.yahoo.com/gigli_saw


Vance Roy
gigli.saw@dplanet.ch.