Wednesday, Day 5 in Switzerland

It is convenient that my last post was about Colonial Williamsburg, because this post will be about the Swiss version of an "open air museum." On Wednesday in Switzerland, we drove two hours to Museum Ballenberg and spent the day admiring traditional Swiss architecture, culture, and farm animals. I was really, really hungry after the long drive, and we started our museum tour at one of the restaurants, where we ate outside at a long picnic table. The food was, surprisingly, REALLY delicious. And not too expensive. We shared a salad and had "mountain macaroni," a pasta dish with cream, cheese, potatoes, and dried onions on top, served with apple sauce. You can see that we've moved into the German-speaking part of Switzerland by the food alone.

Each area of the park represents a different canton of Switzerland. Houses and farms from different economic classes are present in each area, but they are all so beautiful. The buildings feel very true. They're wonderfully furnished with period items. Here's a gorgeous example of a sunny dining room--fresh, natural, and healthy looking, like the rest of Switzerland. This is what I strive for my home to feel like.

 Behind each gorgeous building was an incredible mountain backdrop with common Swiss flowers in the garden foreground. There were so many marvelous photo opportunities.

There were animals all over the museum, especially rabbits. There were also many goats and chickens, looking happy in green pastures. Of course there were cows wearing bells as well. Animals at Museum Ballenberg get to live the good life.

This was one of my favorite outings in Switzerland. The museum has a very authentic feel, not too touristy or forceful. It was well worth the drive, and I'm very glad we were able to visit German-speaking Switzerland, even if I felt uncomfortable not knowing the language. 

Two warnings about Museum Ballenberg. First, watch your head. People were short back in the day, I guess. I bonked my head real good on my way out of a farm house, and I was lightheaded somewhat for the rest of the day. Secondly, do not buy meat products in Ballenberg and plan to bring them back to the U.S. Is it common knowledge that they will throw away your perfectly good smoked Swiss meats in customs? I had no idea. $60 worth of high-quality sausage, destroyed by the U.S. government. I am still mad at the FDA.

Things closed down at 5, and I was sad that we didn't have more time to explore Ballenberg. But I was exhausted and I had a bump on my head. So it was really nice to get to our hotel room in Lauterbrunnen. We stayed in Hotel Staubbach, a beautiful little place in an extraordinary setting. We had an incredible valley view:

But we knew we had to rise early on Day 6 to get to the top of the Jungfraujoch, so we hardly were able to enjoy the comfort of the room or the splendor of our balcony view. We had dinner nearby (tasty cheesy rosti!), showered, and conked out. That hotel room was simple and tidy, with a very comfortable bed and a shower that could be used American-style. It was like heaven compared to the dated, dark apartment where we stayed in Champoussin. How we hated going back to the unsupportive murphy bed in our Champoussin chalet.