This weekend was time for hiking and my first time staying overnight in a cabin in the alps (after hiking there). The cabin was fairly unique for Switzerland and run by one of the few remaining nomadic shepherds in Switzerland.
The mountains were very impressive of course and the weather was fantastic. We didn't carry our stuff up the mountain because we had all our instruments.
Part way up the trail was the first hut which was a farmers hut and you could sleep on the straw. He had 103 goats and 6 cows and had been making his own cheese for over 70 years. More on him later.
We walked down to the small farm and you can see the cows in the background.
Pascal is the owner and he works the farm during the summer and during Oct-Jan he shepherds flocks of lambs in the Jura mountains. He sleeps out in the open (well, he said he looks for a forest to camp in) and him and his girlfriend travel with two donkeys.
When we got to the farm I went for a walk in the high alpine pasture (we were just below 2000m). The peaks all around me were very grand and the views were fantastic.
I learned about Swiss cows this weekend. The cows are all belled so they are easy to find in mountains, especially if they escape from the pasture. I was told that historically, the bells in a herd were all tuned together so that a farmer could hear in the distance which herd it was. The bigger the bell, the more important the cow and the Queen cow (huge honor) has a huge bell. These cows were very important and high ranking and also had large bells because they had calves. If you were a heifer then you only got a small bell. This is not a queen, but still an important cow with calf.
Another fun story about the cows is that apparently in that field there were two bulls. I saw at least one of them while I was walking. Apparently they were specially purchased and flown in with helicopters. One of the bulls tried to mount a cow but she gored him with her horn. So now apparently the bull is afraid of the cows!
Being so high up it got cold quite quickly. My ugly blue hat made an appearance to the amusement of the band.
Pascal and his gf were very artistic? exploratory? and the mountain farm that they ran also had yurts that you could stay in. Apparently after the season of the lambs they would spend months trekking in Mongolia and learning from the herders there.
After dinner (lamb stew) the band set up and starting playing. This wasn't an official gig and I heard that the music was advertised on the webpage, but it must have been odd for all these people to show up for the weekend of camping and there is this free concert happening inside a mongolian tent.
There was a fire going, although with all the dancing we were very warm.
The dancers were very crowded and were dancing in hiking boots on the gravel of the farm driveway. However, it was so much fun and so entertaining.
I stayed up until about 1am playing and then the evening was over for me! Late night person I am not. Especially since I was in the lab at 7:30am that morning finishing experiments so I would have time to attend a science conference at EPFL and then rush out for a fantastic lunch with some of the band members before heading to the alpine farm. Yes, it was a tremendously busy Saturday!
At this farm they had a bunch of very very laid back chickens running around. They were clearly well used to being handled because you could easily catch them and hold them. Plus when you set them down they didn't take off at a run like they usually do but instead kinda stood there and starting looking for stuff to eat. They also came and begged at the table when we were having appetizers. I've never had a chicken beg at the table before.
The next morning we headed down after a breakfast of jam and bread. Here if you look very carefully there are sheep grazing high on the pasture. Welcome to the alps, animal poop all the way up!
We also came across a bunch of cows on the road we were walking down. Some of them walked off the road and down a very steep section of pasture! If you ever think of outrunning a cow by climbing like a monkey I'd think twice! These things could go places I never thought they would be able to go! The picture really doesn't do a good job conveying just how steeps this section was.
Also on our way down we stopped at the farm to buy some cheese. Here is the farmer making some cheese. Forget those factory farms at castle Gruyere! This was cheesemaking on a very small scale! Artisanal sure, but check out all the flies! Not that I have much of a problem with it, I've experienced just how dirty food production really is. And then I picture how often we throw out the tomato when it hits the floor in the kitchen. Never mind how much animal crap and bugs it was covered with the entire lifetime at the farm!
Making back to Lausanne a bit early I caught a bit of the 7th annual international rock, paper, scissors competition in a park. Although in French it's rock, leaf, scissors. No I'm serious, it was a real competition. There was a sound system, officials with official t-shirts and DJ's. Of course, what really gave it the air of authority was the beer tent. Then you know it's being taken seriously.
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