Like grandma’s – Walser romance in Monstein

“Skiing all the time is boring,” we thought to ourselves on the second morning at the Waldhotel Davos. Anyway, Davos offers many alternatives to skiing and these should be used. A special feature of Davos are the many gently rising side valleys, which attract winter hikers and snowshoe hikers to winter wonderlands. Here the world is still in order.

After breakfast, we set off warmly dressed. The weather doesn’t look very promising and the existing snow (away from the snow-covered slopes) also leaves a lot to be desired. Well, we decided to go for the cake mission and that is also possible without imperial weather.

Our destination is Monstein, which is located at around 1,600 m above sea level and still has typical characteristics of a Walser village (Walser were immigrants from Valais). When researching the correct bus departure times, I unfortunately overlooked the fact that there is both a Monstein train station and a Monstein village and there is an altitude difference of 250 m in between. The bus driver at Davos Platz station rudely points out this detail to me and says that we should run to Postplatz to catch the right bus.

With a short sprint we catch bus no. 7 in the direction of Davos Glaris. At the Glaris train station we get off together with all the skiers who want to climb the Rinerhorn. We have to change to bus no. 10. Unfortunately, the grumpy bus driver forgot to tell us that we could save ourselves the run, because at this hour the connecting bus to Monstein does not run at all… So it happens that we “force” the same bus driver to stop at the Glaris train station and he takes us to Monstein station and mumbles something about “unsuitable” and “smartphones” to himself.

We walk comfortably up from Monstein train station to the village. Despite the lack of snow, it’s a pretty trail that can easily be done in half an hour. On the way we already pass some Spiicher. After the altitude difference has been mastered, we treat ourselves to a break on a beautifully situated bench and enjoy the view of the village with its striking church spire (by the way, the small village has two churches). We are quite happy that the “real” bus did not run and we were therefore forced to our hiking luck.

Once in the village, we let the charm of the small town work its magic on us on a tour.

Monstein’s liquid gold is the beer that is brewed in the middle of the village centre. The ten village fountains also seem to be used to cool beer. At the back of the village hides another culinary gem. In the rustic Veltlinerstübli, you will be served the well-known blueberry cake. Of course, we can’t resist. We sit down in the living room (including a pleasantly warm tiled stove), where guests have been serving for 300 years and enjoy a piece of the really excellent cake (which probably put me into a blueberry coma, because I can’t remember the price – it’s somewhere around 6 CHF).

Info and tips:

• For the direct route to Monstein Dorf: Bus No. 7 from Davos Postplatz / change in Davos Glaris to Bus No. 10
• Opening hours Veltlinerstübli Tue – Sun 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. (kitchen open from 11.30 a.m.)
• In winter, it is an ideal starting point for snowshoe tours in an unspoilt landscape

Note: My stay in Davos was supported by the Waldhotel Davos. As always, my readers can be sure that I always represent my views and enthusiasm here.