Stutz Falchern

Stutz Falchern

In the United States of today we build our homes with two-by-fours. In the Switzerland of 500 years ago they built their homes with eight-by-fourteens stacked up like Lincoln Logs to form the exterior walls. This makes for a structure of extreme durability and unyielding stoutness as the top of my head can attest having fetched up against every sodding door lintel at Stutz Falchern a time or two in recent days.

To reach this quaint chalet you take the train to the end of the line at Meiringen situated on the flood plain of the Aare River as it courses its way through a textbook hanging valley bulldozed through the Alps by a glacier a few years back some few kilometers east of modern-day Interlaken. At Meiringen you hop on the Post Bus and paste your nose to the window for the scenic twisting climb 1,000 feet up the village of Zwirgi.

You have never heard of Zwirgi but if you are an Arthur Conan Doyle aficionado you may remember Reichenbach Falls where Professor Moriarity and Sherlock Holmes grappled and then plunged into the cataract to conclude The Final Problem and Sherlock’s fictitious life. Reichenbach Falls happen to be precisely in Zwirgi and you can peer down into the fearsome drop from the railings of the narrow bridge leading from Zwirgi to the sub-village of Falchern, four kilometers distant.

Our dear friend Kristina Jetton grew up in Zurich before she married an American and moved to Napa, so when she heard of our travel plans she offered to set us up for a few nights at the weekend/summer home in the Alps that her grandparents bought sixty years ago . . . Stutz Falchern.

Kristina’s mother, Irene von Wyss, drove up there from Zurich to greet us and cook us supper and show us around. Stutz has been modified a time or two over the half-millennium but the original hearth remains, and the concussive doorways.

Every photo below is of or from Stutz, including the one of the best beer cooler on the continent.

Stutz Falchern

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A new friend

12 thoughts on “Stutz Falchern”

  1. I enjoyed reading about Stutz Falchern and seeing your photos. It is so green there. I hear you get even get by in German! You are indeed a global man.

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  2. Hey, BEAUTIFUL!!
    But a little freaky. My paternal grandmother was born in Meiringen. And most of her sibblings and her lived part or all of their lives in Zwirgi. They were all farmers, wood carvers or hospitality people. One of her brothers (10 of them) was a very well known carver of childrens’ toys. It’s a small world, to use a cliche. Also, my dad is buried in Interlaken. Looks like you are having one hell of a good time. Great stuff.
    Jean

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  6. Bill, I feel your pain. I can attest that roof joists hanging down from carport roofs can be pretty concussive too as I found out yesterday.

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  8. I am home sick !!!! it’s look very nice and we are happy that you enjoy in our country
    next time you make a long stop in LAAX. For the beer I will organise , there is a fountain few steps of our house. Bises Colandi

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  11. HI you two!!!! I am so enjoying your travels!! I hang on your every word and smile so much when reading your words and seeing your beautiful photography!!!! Stutz Falchern really brought tears to my eyes! I am so happy you are there!!
    Kristina and her parents were so good to Ted and I back on 1990. We stayed there, I think, 3 weeks in Sep/Oct. It was heaven as you can imagine. Your story and pictures brought back fabulous memories. Kristina’s mom and dad came and stayed for a few days then and she made us fondue and showed us all around. They were so enjoyable to be with so I can imagine the treat you received with Irene’s welcome dinner!
    Big hugs to you both – keep traveling as we are all having a marvelous time with you!!
    Thank you so very much for sharing your experiences with us arm-chair travelers!! With you in Spirit!! Much Love, MK

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  12. I enjoyed the Moriarty book you got me for Christmas while we were in Hawaii. Would love to see Reichenbach Falls some day. We up in truckee now sans Katie so missing her already but will be reunited in a few days at Solage for unofficial start to my career at Redmile group. See you both soon. Owen

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