Saturday 23rd October, 2010
We are just back from a week of walking and thermal bathing in Leukerbad and were glad to see that the house is still standing and has not been painted blue in our absence.
More about Leukerbad: We went on a walk every day...one day following the trail of the 8 sources they use in their ten thermal baths. We went on a metal walkway high above a gorge with a torrent racing through it. It was quite exciting! The guide explained that rainwater trickles down through the different layers of rock, which is porous, and when it gets to about 500 metres deep, it bounces back up under pressure. The water is hot because it comes from deep in the earth. The sources are tapped and channeled to the different thermal baths. People have been coming here to bath in the waters since about 1850. At that time they only paddled, but later they put their whole bodies in. There is one pool at the Burgerbad that contains unfiltered, uncooled thermal water from one of the sources. It is muddy looking, very hot, and black slime covers the bottom of the pool. So that's what sick people used to come and bath in because they thought the minerals would make them better. These days every one baths in the waters. But the water is filtered and clear, thank goodness. Otherwise we would get slimy every time!
I liked the Burgerbad because there were lots of different pools with water jets and jacuzzis, and two fab slides. One was green and you went down it in a rubber ring. The other one was red and blue and you just went on your own and some bits were dark and scary. We went to the Burgerbad three times this week. Children up to the age of 8 go for free and I am only 6!
We arrived on Saturday and Daddy came back from the Philippines on Sunday. Mum picked him up in Visp. It was so great to see him again. He had been away for ten days and I missed him a lot.
Back to Leukerbad and the walks. Once we went to the top of the Torrentbahn and walked down to the middle station, where we caught the gondola to Flasch, then got a bus back to leukerbad. The countryside was lovely, with all the autumn colours. I saw some animal tracks but no actual animals.
We didn't realise when the bus stopped that we were in the middle of the town, so got yet another bus that drove all around the resort and finally stopped near our apartment in Parade. It would have only taken a few minutes to walk there from the bus station.
Another day we took the cable car to the top of the Gemmi mountain and went animal spotting with a guide. He had a few pairs of binoculars and we spotted quite a few chamois. When the guided walk finished - and there was not much walking but lots of talking so I played in the new snow - we walked down to a lake and started mini avalanches.
On Friday - our last day - we were supposed to go on a guided walk in the vineyards but no one else booked it. There needed to be 4 participants for it to take place so the tourist office cancelled. Instead we went on our own walk from Leukerbad to Inden - about 6 km along the Culture Path, the original path that wealthy travellers took to leukerbad when there were no trains. It was very lovely. We just missed the bus back so went for a hot chocolate in a tavern while we waited for the next bus.
Our apartment was very small and had sloping roofs so mum and dad kept bumping their heads. There was a bedroom with two single beds and a fold down bed in the lounge. We took it it turns to sleep in different beds!
On Monday night we went out to dinner with Morven, mum's friend and work colleague (her news editor) and her daughters Eve and Nadia, which was fun. I was silly, as usual, and made them laugh a lot. Mum and dad and Morven shared a fondu. The kids had pizzas. Morven and her daughters only stayed from Saturday to Tuesday morning, in a hotel not far from our Reka apartment (the Schlössli)
So we had a wonderful time in Leukerbad. It snowed one day - Wednesday - and we did a soap making workshops. Mum made a witch, a snail and a Christmas tree out of her soap. I made different shapes - one like a curly Catherine wheel, and daddy made plane white blocks of soap with no patterns and no colour. Mum and I put green in ours but the colours were a bit blotchy.
I have been watching French TV to improve my French.
I'm very glad to be home now. I am still on holiday for another week. Huray!!! No homework.
More about Leukerbad: We went on a walk every day...one day following the trail of the 8 sources they use in their ten thermal baths. We went on a metal walkway high above a gorge with a torrent racing through it. It was quite exciting! The guide explained that rainwater trickles down through the different layers of rock, which is porous, and when it gets to about 500 metres deep, it bounces back up under pressure. The water is hot because it comes from deep in the earth. The sources are tapped and channeled to the different thermal baths. People have been coming here to bath in the waters since about 1850. At that time they only paddled, but later they put their whole bodies in. There is one pool at the Burgerbad that contains unfiltered, uncooled thermal water from one of the sources. It is muddy looking, very hot, and black slime covers the bottom of the pool. So that's what sick people used to come and bath in because they thought the minerals would make them better. These days every one baths in the waters. But the water is filtered and clear, thank goodness. Otherwise we would get slimy every time!
I liked the Burgerbad because there were lots of different pools with water jets and jacuzzis, and two fab slides. One was green and you went down it in a rubber ring. The other one was red and blue and you just went on your own and some bits were dark and scary. We went to the Burgerbad three times this week. Children up to the age of 8 go for free and I am only 6!
We arrived on Saturday and Daddy came back from the Philippines on Sunday. Mum picked him up in Visp. It was so great to see him again. He had been away for ten days and I missed him a lot.
Back to Leukerbad and the walks. Once we went to the top of the Torrentbahn and walked down to the middle station, where we caught the gondola to Flasch, then got a bus back to leukerbad. The countryside was lovely, with all the autumn colours. I saw some animal tracks but no actual animals.
We didn't realise when the bus stopped that we were in the middle of the town, so got yet another bus that drove all around the resort and finally stopped near our apartment in Parade. It would have only taken a few minutes to walk there from the bus station.
Another day we took the cable car to the top of the Gemmi mountain and went animal spotting with a guide. He had a few pairs of binoculars and we spotted quite a few chamois. When the guided walk finished - and there was not much walking but lots of talking so I played in the new snow - we walked down to a lake and started mini avalanches.
On Friday - our last day - we were supposed to go on a guided walk in the vineyards but no one else booked it. There needed to be 4 participants for it to take place so the tourist office cancelled. Instead we went on our own walk from Leukerbad to Inden - about 6 km along the Culture Path, the original path that wealthy travellers took to leukerbad when there were no trains. It was very lovely. We just missed the bus back so went for a hot chocolate in a tavern while we waited for the next bus.
Our apartment was very small and had sloping roofs so mum and dad kept bumping their heads. There was a bedroom with two single beds and a fold down bed in the lounge. We took it it turns to sleep in different beds!
On Monday night we went out to dinner with Morven, mum's friend and work colleague (her news editor) and her daughters Eve and Nadia, which was fun. I was silly, as usual, and made them laugh a lot. Mum and dad and Morven shared a fondu. The kids had pizzas. Morven and her daughters only stayed from Saturday to Tuesday morning, in a hotel not far from our Reka apartment (the Schlössli)
So we had a wonderful time in Leukerbad. It snowed one day - Wednesday - and we did a soap making workshops. Mum made a witch, a snail and a Christmas tree out of her soap. I made different shapes - one like a curly Catherine wheel, and daddy made plane white blocks of soap with no patterns and no colour. Mum and I put green in ours but the colours were a bit blotchy.
I have been watching French TV to improve my French.
I'm very glad to be home now. I am still on holiday for another week. Huray!!! No homework.
darwin - 23. Oct, 14:54
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