Kandersteg, Switzerland: Emerald Heaven

July 20th 2024

Today we head out to Kandersteg for a week of hiking and nature excursions. We have nothing planned from the complete exhaustion of it all, but alas we are on our way. Boarded the M1 rail metro to Lausanne from EPFL and took a quick transfer using M2 towards Lausanne-Gare (the train station). From here we used our SBB train tickets (Swiss Federal Railways) to reach Bern, then a connecting train to our final destination of Kandersteg. 2.5 hours total train ride. The SBB generally doesn’t require reserve seats; simply purchase the ticket and get on. As we approached, my mind needed several minutes to acclimate to the scale of things. Enormous mountain ranges appeared through the windows reaching for the heavens through the clouds. Upon arrival we were completely awestruck.

Every detail matters in this small town of roughly 1,200 residents; nature and human are in full cooperation here. Nearly all homes and hotels are built of wood and resemble rearrangements of trees, and thus the landscape holds firm in its naturalness even through human modification and orderliness.

A woman cut her grass as we walked by, horses grazed, and the Kander river flowed through the center of the town. Anis swore in Arabic disbelief, but in truth neither he nor I had seen anything like this before.

We came across a home with a fairytale yard where one could image a young child in a dress running through it, skipping and giggling along in full delight and wonder as sunlight flutters between the cracks in the tall flowers.

Our hotel the Blumlisalp was found to be as hospitable as the land itself. The woman at the front desk was calm and quiet, I felt the calm nature of her mind relative to mine. The room lacked nothing and in addition provided a view from each room, the balcony; even the washroom.

Anis and I settled our things and had lunch at the Schwizerhof Kandersteg. The terrace provides for an undeserved experience as magnificent waters flow by and mountains reveal their facade from above, much like looking up at an ominous but loving father, basking in utter supremacy and anxious trust.

At the tourist center we received a recommendation and slight mockery for not knowing the existence of the Oeschinensee Lake. We did head up there by an expensive and speedy gondola.

The hike towards the lake is about an hour. We basked in the presence of mountain cattle. Their cowbells bring an uncouth tune that reverberates near and far. Hear a cowbell and one eventually finds the cow.

Eventually we did reach the lake and it was a magnificent blue. Some were sitting in wonder, others swam. One particular man jokingly mocked his friend since she did not desire to swim in the water. He proceeded to take his life-changing swim and returned to proclaim, “I feel sorry for everyone who is too scared to go in!” as if this swim answered all the pains of his insufferable life. Somehow his technique for convincing his equally unfortunate friend involved making them feel ashamed for not having the same desire. It astounds me the power of desire. It isn’t enough for one to enjoy their own desire. These types generate an offshoot desire, which is to have others desire their desire; they wish it for and force it upon others, all the while scolding them for not partaking. This reminds me of those who spend countless hours sizzling in-front of the fifth playthrough of The Office, running around telling others “Oh, you have to watch it.” No, in fact, nobody does. What distaste.

We walked around further and spotted some slugs and snails, but as the sun took its descent it was time for us to do the same. The gondolas closed at 6 PM so we walked down the mountainside which is much easier than it looks from a distance.

We headed to the hotel and finished with a few phone calls back home before sleep.

July 21st, 2024

On this day, the good Charles whom Anis and I met in both the Bonn, and Zaragoza iterations of DFRWS was coming to give us a tour of the place. We met him at Mulenen station where we embraced as I stepped on his foot, and proceeded to enter his family vehicle. He drove us to St Beatus Caves. I had a tendency of asking intellectual questions before crucial highway exits, causing him to miss a few. The entrance to the cave is among one of the sights to behold.

The stalagmites and stalactites from the textbooks of my youth were finally in my sights. What was never described is their similarity to the male penis, or cock. Anis seemed to enjoy these formations to a suspicious degree.

The generated cave patterns are completely novel in comparison to those outside of caves – all manifestations of the Ultimate Reality. Towards the end of the cave we had the chance to see a 40,000 year old penis.

Charles took us to a restaurant on the side of a mountain, and subsequently we headed to the Beatenburg Suspension Bridge. A sturdy piece of Swiss engineering that required only two weight transfer locations and a set of beams transferring vertical loads to these two. I shed some beads of sweat as the bridge swayed with our footsteps. It can support up to 135 persons at any given moment. Of course it did cost to traverse the bridge, as all things do in Switzerland.

From here Charles took us to the city of Thun where we walked past the Schloss Schadau in Schadau Park. The park opens up with a beautiful tree providing swaths of shade, framing a castle turned hotel; bask in its beauty.

We continued along Lake Thun through the Aare river. A greater realization dawned on me. The Rhine river that passes through Bonn, Germany, where Charles and I first met, is the same river that reaches the Aare, where now Charles is guiding us. Verily a dream.

Here we walked through footbridges that acted dually as dams; mobility facilitators across the Aare to the different sections of Thun, as well for the regulation of waterflow by descending vertical walls into the river to a desired height, controlling the river’s flow. We eventually reached Schloss Thun and Charles explained to us the incremental expansion from the castle’s defense as the centre of the city, outwards radially as the city grew through the years. From the photo below, one can see the transition from the antique to the modern style in architecture.

With this we were fatigued and rain began to fall. Charles drove us to Volg back in Kandersteg to purchase some authentic Swiss dried sausage, cheese, and bread. As Anis is Muslim and Charles is vegan, they opted for pasta. Charles took us to his nearby cottage where we dined together, discussing various concepts such as consciousness, quantum physics, and focus. It seems that having a cottage and being isolated from distractions reveals one sure thing in humans, that our minds are our own worst enemy. When we cannot blame anyone else for distractions by removing them from our workplace, all that we are left with are the distractions we produce for ourselves; we cannot sit and focus, concentrate or work properly because of some inability on our part, and this is what silencing the external conditions reveal. This was a point mentioned by Charles just as I was about to utter it myself. When dinner was over, Charles drove us home and sleep called once again.

July 22nd, 2024

I awoke early and headed to the hotel terrace. It was customary for me to order a coffee and a sweet to accompany my writing sessions as the fresh air filled my heart.

At 10:30 AM, Charles picked us up. We drove to Giessbach Falls in the city of Brienz. There are many instances of the same water source interacting with various cliffs to produce waterfalls throughout the hike.

A certain mood came over me and, being ahead of the others in the hike, I turned on music from Ali Akbar Khan, in particular, Garden of Dreams. I later came to discover the late Ali Akhbar had created a music school in 1985 in Basel Switzerland; about two hours north of the hike we were on. Coincidence? As the music played, unbeknownst to me and seemingly out of nowhere, we ascended to a location called “The Center of Unity Schweibenalp”, which is a center built by the request of Sri Haidakhan Babaji, a spiritual guru who is known for his support of Karma Yoga (work as worship) as a means to spiritual enlightenment. The most beautiful gardens – verily a Garden of Dreams – symbolic lotus flowers and flowerbeds peppered the area. One could but only feel a tremendous bliss in passing through it.

The center’s mission is to unite the various religions and realize that they are all aiming to one Truth – which is consciousness. This very idea was spouted by Swami Vivekananda and others before him. A small outdoor temple was built with a Dhuni (fire-pit) and the figure of Ganesha in the corner. I sat for a while, basking in the atmosphere of the temple. I think it quite startling to have stumbled upon such a place, given all the causes that were necessary to lead to it, and given my heavy interest in Hinduism. I am less so interested in its ritualistic portions which are somewhat discounted in Advaita Vedanta, which heavily focuses on the unreality of the universe.

I find it strange that some students of consciousness and spirituality walk around as if sedated with an air of put-on enlightenment. I had seen a few shuffle through the area. The brutish butcher and the monk alike may be enlightened beings working, for example, through Karma Yoga, devoting all their work to God (consciousness). They need not walk around with an air of it. The “everything is beautiful and I must always make it known” attitude is not a requirement for enlightenment.

After the hike we headed to a café which was supposedly open and upon entering found a group of folk sitting as a woman breast-fed her child. She said “We are closed.” We left and headed for Strandbad Brienz, a restaurant that sits on the shore of Lake Brienz. This lake and Lake Thun form what looks to me like the wings of a bat.

The view is laden with joyous tranquility. After a small meal we decided to take a one-hour paddleboard where each of us struggled with balancing ourselves and fighting trivial fears of spontaneity, falling, failing, and water. In 31 years of life, I had a small stint learning to swim when I was a young boy, probably from 10 – 12 years old. My mother would take me to swimming lessons, watching my every move. Nobody in my life could replicate the directed, focused, and unconditional love that my mother had for us; I wish I could have understood her efforts when I was younger. Swimming never panned out and in my modern embarrassment have begun to teach myself to swim. I am deeply afraid of water and some days the level of distaste I have for entering the water is overwhelming.

Charles left us with the sweet memory of his encounter with a swan who hissed at him as he approached. Calmly, he sat beside it and eventually the fear subdued and both parted ways.

Upon returning to the hotel, we said our final goodbyes and Charles drove away. And just like that, he was gone. A year ago I first met him in Bonn, then later in Zaragoza, and finally here, in his mother country. I am indebted to him for exposing me to the various beauties of his nation, and would surely return the favor in the future to his entire family. Thank you for everything, Charles, you are truly a man of heart proven by your generous devotion to us in these two fulfilling days.

July 23rd, 2024

This morning I searched for a trail that would encompass beauty. I found one in the nearby town of Frutigen, just north of Kandersteg. I’ve linked it below for reference.

Anis and I snatched a rental bike at Grossen-Sport just in-front of our hotel. The route is a roughly 400 meter descent over 30 minutes from Kandersteg to Frutigen, what turned out to be the most beautiful bike ride I’ve ever been on. The entire ride was downhill and this is one of the miracles of biking from an elevated starting point. Nearly no energy need be exerted to yield maximum speed and experience the joys of a continuous fresh wind across the face on a warm day. The momentary nature of enjoyment also brings its own sorrows.

During the ride, Anis began to complain about his apparently dysfunctional bike and cursed the woman who rented it to us, and that they both ruined the whole experience. Thus I decided to ride his bike to see what he meant. After about 2 minutes I realized his suspension was extremely loose and, going downhill, would basically force his suspension to act under a greater weight vector, making the front of the bike tilt lower to the ground. This would make you feel you’re about to fly over the handles during the decline. Realizing this, I stopped our ride and searched how to adjust the suspension. Together we figured it out and Anis was able to enjoy the remainder of the ride. The lesson here is to observe the issue with clarity before cursing the world, and then in mere minutes, fixing the problem. Why all the mental agitation? But it was not long until Anis faced a painful bum from a rigid bike seat.

The picturesque views along the way were made even more exciting at our speeds, and was a foreshadowing of the absolute beauty to come during our hike.

The SBB train stations at each city provide bike racks, and thus it was easy for us leave our bikes in safety (though nearly nobody steals in that part of Switzerland). When locking our bikes, Anis’ giant bag knocked over a bike behind us. Part of the magic of travelling with Anis is the folly he puts us through.

We started the hike from the Frutigen train station and the first point of interest was a fridge full of local cheese which you could purchase from – completely unattended and yet no stealing takes place. The start of the hike proceeded along the local river and brought us through a quiet gravel path. As we crossed the river, we decided to sit and eat our first snack, dipping our feet in the water and watching what seemed to be a grandmother and two grandchildren build a rock fort to adjust river flow. She threw a large boulder as part of her task and upon its heavy impact with the water, flung a giant splash onto Anis. She laughed and apologized. I giggled.

We got up to continue our journey, waving goodbye to the woman we’d never see again. Continuing our walk, it eventually opened up to about an hour of the serene pastoral landscapes from heaven. Not even in a dream could such a place be conceived. At this opening we found a small enclosure where floral-infused syrups lay available for purchase (5 – 7.5 CHF). I purchased one with Elderberry and Rose pedals. Anis himself purchased a Raspberry syrup. He drank a sip straight without diluting it. We left cash in a small metal tin and noticed upwards of 30 CHF in there, completely unstolen. Miraculous land.

Such a thing couldn’t be done in just any country as they provide a corrupted view of existence, one where personal gain is above that of others, and thus such a thing would be impossible even in a civilized city such as Montreal. Part of me regrets ever coming to Switzerland as it has created a deep mental impression from its complete and utter beauty in comparison to my situation at home. Perhaps I am overly dramatic but at the moment my mind was racing with thoughts of a better life at the sights of novelty. Feeling stuck at 31 in a PhD that could take several more years to complete. Negativity in the face of beauty is the definition of human absurdity.

The remainder of the hike took us through a sequence of emerald heaven. I will let the closest thing to experiencing it – the photos I have returned with – to speak of its majesty.

We returned, grabbing our bikes and taking the train back for lack of the energy required to ascend 400 meters of altitude by bike. Aboard the train, we found the appropriate carriage for bikes and waited for the short ride back to Kandersteg. Here we were confronted with the ticket agent who checked my ticket and proceeded to ask for my bike’s ticket. I did not know that a bike required its own ticket. AIas we should have expected this as nearly everything costs in Switzerland. He said “next time… you know now”, implying our mistake was forgiven and we would pay next time we boarded with a bike. There would be no next time this trip.

Later we grabbed a pizza below the Hotel-Restaurant Spycher. The room was quite dark and a homely woman brought us to a table outside. We desired a seat further out, in the floral area, however she indicated her refusal by slamming her meaty fist into the table which she initially assigned to us. Good, we sit here then.

We smoked and pontificated, as we usually do, of nothing that will ever manifest. Not much else happened that night other than sleep.

July 24th 2024

Day of rest

July 25th 2024

The night prior I researched one final hike. I wanted something difficult. Granted this isn’t Everest, but for a bunch of seated academics we need to be pushed physically. I found one; Jegertosse-Fisialp. I could not find it on AllTrails – the app I always use for hiking – thus I used its import feature to load the GPX file provided by the prior link. It is known as a hard hike, with an elevation gain of 1000 meters (and thus a descent of the same on the way down). It would take 5.5 hours on average.

Before this we had breakfast at Bäckerei-Tea Room Marmotte where we met a phenomenal Italian woman selling pastries. She was bubbly and full of life; I wanted to kiss her. She had come from Italy, trying to live in Austria, Germany, and eventually found this blessed country which she stated as the optimal choice for her. The quality of life was her main point, where even selling desserts she is able to save 1000 CHF per month. One day she plans on returning home to Italy to purchase land there. Of course much of what a person deems perfect for living is subjective, and some would much rather indulge the city life. We cannot make rules as “nature is better than city.” It all depends on what brings you the greatest joy and allows you to manifest your deepest innate latent capabilities. People are vastly different and the manifold options are a consequence; the real shame comes to us when we are in a place counter to this. I had to push down my envy for such trivial but financially rewarded work. In contrast, in my work overly complicated things are done for very little – but has also granted me access to this wondrous experience.

After over-indulging in morning sweets, we headed for the hike. It started with beautiful and relatively flat landscape that later morphed into, as we walked up the mountain, a real strain on the back, neck, and will. The uphill section took about 2 hours to complete and we took several breaks to drink and eat.

When we reached the opening at the top, we sat and I dried my shirt on a rock as Anis and I gobbled up some basic food. We hadn’t completely reached the peak, however.

After some time we ascended the remainder of the trail and reached the viewpoint. A wood cross lay at its edge, perhaps to indicate a death that had occurred there (for reasons unbeknownst to me). Nearing the edge is difficult as the limbs become weak and the mind begins to fear accidental death of some sort – perhaps by a strong wind or wet grass – none of which would actually happen.

Only a single other person appeared during our time here. We spent a moment echoing yells amongst the peaks. The daisies and wildflowers peppered our view and this was enough to steal our hearts. Staying up there for several minutes we basked in the glory of the nearby peaks, one of which is completely snowed. From here we could see the entire city of Kandersteg. The terrain reaching this peak is pretty dicey, sometimes feeling as one step could cause your ultimate demise.

In these areas, bees, flies and others fly about endlessly and in this instance, none of them bothered us. They come and kiss your skin, and with a quick whisk of the hand, fly away. It seems with such prosperous plant life sustaining their daily works, it is futile to bother humans. Yellow daisies and even purple ones were present. Many wildflowers I did not photograph but left for the beauty of that mountain and its insect inhabitants.

Relaxing in the middle of a hike is somewhat dangerous. Your body begins to relax, heart rate slows, and seemingly it enters into another state. The problem with this is starting the engine up again. I knew this would come about and hence I was in a bit of a rush to continue the hike. Soon we began our trek back, along a different path that would eventually re-merge with the original on the way down.

We were taken through extremely rocky terrain which brutalized my feet. We walked around much cow dung and Anis stepped with confidence into a fresh pile. He had a shitty foot for hours. Nearby cattle stared at us and perhaps desired to unite their horns into our chest if we approached too near; a nearby sign warned of this. Anis, generally avoidant of the unbridled reactivity of animals (especially dogs, due to rabid ones in Algeria), traced a path a football field length distance from the cattle as to avoid even their gaze. I was a little scared too.

The way down was steep and rocky – loose and coarse rocks are hell to walk on. The path was narrow and often my bare legs rubbed up against all sorts of foliage, and with each contact dozens of flying insects would pop out and kiss me. At one point I stepped on a large but unstable boulder that gave under my step. I warned Anis, who was behind me, of this boulder. He exclaimed “Let me do humanity a favor!” grabbing the rock and throwing it downhill, as if to rid this mountain of its danger to hikers. As he listened to the boulder bounce and collide with rocks below, the realization that perhaps someone could be hit began to dawn on him, and he shouted “Watch out!” Sometimes when one tries to do something good, the opposite happens.

With still about an hour left to reach the bottom, I began to feel sick. My stomach no longer felt like housing its contents and I fought the urge to vomit. My entire body ached and I wanted to sleep. I could tell my mind would soon become dizzy, and had a horrible pounding headache. These are all signs of heatstroke. Luckily we finished before it worsened, and I put on a hat to make the rest of the way.

For the remainder of the night I felt sick, constantly fighting the urge to vomit and having a short bout of diarrhea. I quickly headed to bed and let my body recover in its miraculous way.

July 26th, 2024

I leave this blessed land with a final coffee on the terrace of the hotel. As we head to the train station, it being a Friday, many began to arrive and enjoy the first joys of unravelling this magical place, just as we did, roughly 5 days earlier.

A special thanks goes out to Charles who was warmly hospitable and cared for us like his own. We leave Kandersteg and Switzerland with the fondest memories. I don’t know if I’ll ever be back, but I cannot forget of the quality of life in the places of Switzerland I have visited. If only every country could invest in its citizens as this one does, living under an umbrella of languages without fighting each other for “the best language”, or fearing the “loss of our culture.” We could certainly learn many a deep cultural lesson from this emerald heaven.  Taking the train to Bern, Anis and I hugged and took our leave to our respective destinations. I will next be heading to Halle (Saale) to visit my friend there, whom I also met at DFRWS last year. Bless Switzerland.