Lenk and Gstaad, June 2025

[Pauline]

After that first glitch with all the construction near the apartment this was an excellent holiday. We liked the places we stayed in. We did a lot of walking or hiking. The weather was sunny and hot almost the whole time (3 1/2 weeks). A little too hot on a few days. It was a good idea to split the time between Lenk and Gstaad. Even though they are close they are very different places. Lenk is still my preferred destination but being in Gstaad and Saanen was fun.

A Night in Obernai​

We drove our usual route home - from Gstaad to Bern to Basel, then north in France along the German border. Usually we stay in Colmar but this time we stayed in a smaller town 30 minutes further north - Obernai. This was on the recommendation of someone I follow on Instagram.

We loved Obernai and will stay there again. It is much smaller than Colmar so easier to get in and out. Colmar has a fabulous Thai restaurant but Obernai has a really good Lebanese restaurant so we had a good vegetarian dinner. We stayed in a nice hotel right on the main square, Hotel La Diligence.

The next day we did the long, boring drive on autoroute across northern France and spent the night in Arras, our usual stop.

The next day into the Chunnel and home. It felt like we had been away a long time and I was happy to be home.

Heatwave in France​

We did the drive home during a heatwave, and it was hot. Over 90F both days in France. The AC in the car saved us but when we stopped at rest areas the wall of heat hit. Both our hotels had AC but I still really felt the heat.

There is no AC in the Chunnel and you have to have your car turned off. They handed out paper fans and spray cans of Evian.

We came home to a 3 day heatwave in the UK but in Dorset it was only 77F. We don’t have AC here but I have fans going in the house.

It was much hotter than usual our whole time in Switzerland, hotter than last year. There has been more very hot temperatures in France, Spain and Italy. It is hard to know how to plan.

Main square in Obernai.

Walking the ramparts in Obernai.

 

[wco81]

Beautiful!

I went to Lugano for two summers in a row, including last July. They don't have the small mountain villages like the ones in your photo, though you can reach some lovely places on the train.

One thing stood out in the photos of the walking paths were all the tall grasses. Do they ever get mowed? I understand they are often full of ticks, especially at lower elevations -- even the Alps may not be able to escape this particular threat owing to climate change.

Did you get a Half Fare Card to save some money on the cable cars? Though you don't get as much out of the Card if you don't take trains.