Alpine Panorama Weg #12

I was back in Emmenmatt on a grey morning to make the next stage of the journey. The skies were cloudy, and any hope of the Alpine Panorama Weg living up to its name were quickly dispelled. There would be no views of the Alps today.

Interestingly, I was the only passenger to alight from the train in Emmenmatt. I didn’t hang around, but made my way out of the station, and around the corner to start on the route proper.

The route rises quickly, sometimes on a paved road, and sometimes on a gravel track, but either way, it just seems to keep going up and up. This was a Saturday, so I was not surprised to be passed by the post van coming to Blasen. The trail threads its way between the farm buildings there, and soon resumes its upward route. It goes through a small area of pasture before plunging into the forest.

The trail follows the crest of the ridge, continuing upwards to the initial summit at Erdburg, 912m. After that it was almost flat for a while. It came out of the forest just before the junction to Moosegg. Moosegg is a recommended stage point on the official guide to the trail, but because I had ended a stage in Emmenmatt, I didn’t go there. That meant I avoided the short spur off the trail to Moosegg and came directly to Waldhäusern.

In Waldhäusern, it was too early for a beer, even for me, so I just kept on going. After following the road out to the west from Waldhäusern, the trail goes back into the forest and resumes its upward trajectory. It eventually reaches the summit at Blaseflue. There are supposed to be great views to the south from Blaseflue, but not today. There is a panorama table to tell me what I should have been able to see, but wasn’t.

After that, the trail begins a long descent. I emerged from the forest, but continued along the edge, under the canopy of the trees. I went through a second hamlet called Blasen. Along this stretch, the route only ascends or descends by small amount. The heights shown on the map tell the story: 974m, 982m, 995m, and so on. I passed Oberer Krautberg at 975m and Bühl at 956m No great loss or gain of height to speak of.

Just after Bühl, I did come across something interesting. It is not uncommon in Switzerland for people to build garden railways on their property. I have seen them from time to time in suburban gardens. But on a hillside jut past Bühl was one of the largest and most complex garden model railways that I have seen. The owner was just tending to it when I came along, and we had a pleasant chat about building and operating such a system.

Then I descended to Möschberg. This tiny little village had no amenities, so I continued on, and soon came to Grosshöchstetten. This little town was simply called Höchstetten until 1896, when it changed its name to what it is now. There is another place called Höchstetten further along the route, on the next stage, so perhaps the people of Grosshöchstetten felt that they needed something to distinguish themselves from the other places of similar name. Or maybe they felt that their little town was the biggest and best Höchstetten in Switzerland.

By now, it was time to stop for a beer, and I found a little Gasthof just off the main street. I just had a beer and a snack, and then I was on my way again. The trail goes upwards again from Grosshöchstetten, but not excessively. The ascent was less than 150m. And then began the final descent towards Münsingen. There were good views over the Aaretal, with the northern end of the Belpberg clear to see. The route twists and turns on the descent. It is never very steep, but it is long.

I reached the floor of the valley at Tägertschi and crossed the railway line to head on into Münsingen. The trail takes a semicircle in the last bit, as if to extract those last few metres of distance. I passed fields of wheat and barley. Perhaps that barley will be in some beer that I will drink in the future. Who knows? At last, I came into Münsingen and made my way to the station for the train journey back to Basel.