Monday July 18: Sargans to Weisstannen
It was good to sleep, but it did seem that church bells rang every hour. We slept with the windows open, of course, as one does in un-airconditioned Switzerland.
This morning we got into our usual routine: breakfast at the hotel, pack up our suitcases, and head on out. We stopped at the local Coop grocery store for snacks before hitting the trail.
Today was a short and easy walk. Weisstannen is so close to Mels it’s hardly a stage, but Elm is much too far to do in one go. And the buses don’t really seem to operate much, so taking a bus to Weisstannnen to start the walk isn’t realistic. No matter, it’s nice to start with something easy.
The Sargans area is famous for being the region where Heidi is set. People come from all over to visit Heididorf, Heidiland and the town of Maienfeld, the village below Grandfather’s hut. This region is apparently popular with Japanese visitors.
We were in Weisstannen by noon. We ate lunch on the terrace of Hotel Gemse, where we were staying. It’s now possible to order a “Fitnessteller,” or diet plate, which comes with salad instead of the ubiquitous fries.
After lunch, we lay down to try to nap. This proved impossible due to the FLIES. Switzerland in summer is nothing but flies, and in a land without air conditioning, in which the windows are wide open to the breeze, there is no keeping the insects out. The good news is that flies go to bed at sunset. The bad news is that the rise with the sun, and love nothing better than to alight on a sleeper’s mouth and nose.
To say that Weisstannen is small is an understatement.
