Culinary winter hike in Sörenberg

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The perfect winter day is actually the one when, after a snowy night, the sky opens up in the morning and everything glitters with white sugar. A real goosebump moment! But what do you do if this perfect day falls on a Monday and snowfall is forecast for Sunday? Feeling sorry for yourself on the sofa and finding life totally unfair? Or do you want to gather your warm and weatherproof clothes and dare to go outside despite adverse circumstances?

I plead for the latter and today I have you an excursion tip that is compatible with intense snowfall. The magic word is “Gastronomic circular hike”; the perfect combination of enjoyment and exercise. This excursion offers a dry stopover every few kilometers and leads through the moorland of the UNESCO Biosphere Entlebuch, which unfolds all its magic in deep snow.

Gastronomic circular hike Sörenberg

The view through the window of a grey-shrouded Zurich on Sunday morning doesn’t exactly lead to a boost of motivation. But the decision is made and after passing through the Zimmerberg tunnel, the anticipation of the upcoming day in the snow slowly arises. Here, as expected, the landscape presents itself in a beautiful wintry way.

After almost two hours of train and post bus travel, we reach the starting point of our wintry Sunday excursion. The Sörenberg ski area scores with beautifully landscaped slopes, a family-friendly infrastructure and a wide range of activities for non-skiers. This also includes the offer of the “Gastronomic Circular Hike“. The package costs CHF 50 and includes the ticket for the Sörenberg-Rossweid ascent as well as four culinary stops along the winter hiking trails.

We overcome the first meters of altitude with the help of the gondola and head directly for the first stage stop at the top of the Rossweid. To kick things off, we are presented with a glass of champagne in the snow bar.

Winter hike to the appetizer

First the aperitif, then the work; the Cüpli fun is followed by the first three kilometres of the winter hiking trail. This leads us from the Rossweid through fairytale-like snow-covered fir forests in the direction of Salwideli. The winter hiking trails in Sörenberg are well signposted and groomed. But today, due to the fresh snow, a good eye is required. Soon the landscape opens up and reveals gnarled trees. Fascinated, we cross the protected moorland between Rossweid and Salwideli. Except for our footsteps and the snowfall, there is no sound to be heard – the snow absorbs all the sounds. When the weather is nice, you would be able to enjoy a wonderful panorama including the impressive cart fields of the Schrattenfluh. But even so, the landscape unfolds its charm!

After almost an hour of walking, we sighted the longed-for dry stopover in the snow flurry. In the Salwideli mountain restaurant, we are served homemade ravioli with a fine herb sauce as an appetizer.

Don’t lose sight of the goal

Freshly strengthened and warmed up, we then venture outside again into the snow flurry. From the Salwideli mountain restaurant, it is about 2.5 kilometres down the valley. The path first leads over open pastures and then follows the road for a short distance until it branches off to the right towards Rischli at the level of the “Lueg” farm.

We reach the hotel, which is located directly on the edge of the slopes, around 1:00 pm. Inside, there is a lot of activity at this time of year – obviously numerous skiers were not deterred by the snowfall. We are pleasantly surprised to find that a table has been reserved for us. As soon as you get the cable car ticket for the gastronomic circular hike at the valley station of the Rossweid gondola, the participating companies will be informed by the mountain railways. A nice touch! For the main course, we can choose between meat or vegetarian. The friend orders the pork steak and I try the mushroom toast. The food is decent, but the ambience is a bit lacking in the hustle and bustle. This is probably due to the fact that everyone wants to warm up in the restaurant on this day. Otherwise, there would be a nice sun terrace here.

And another two kilometers to dessert

From the Hotel Rischli, the winter hiking trail leads along the Waldemme to the centre of Sörenberg, two kilometres away, where the last stop of the gastronomic circular hike is located. With red cheeks and a completely ventilated head, we reach the Bäckerstube restaurant not far from the post bus stop. The half day in the fresh air was really good! And our timing is also perfect: until the next post bus goes downhill, there is enough time to enjoy the dessert.

Biscuit paradise in the Emmental

Despite difficult conditions (the thighs send their regards) we are on the road so quickly that on the way home there is a detour to the Kambly Experience in Trubschachen. What used to be a simple factory shop (and my highlight on the trips through the Emmental and Entlebuch from Bern to my grandmother in Lucerne) is now a shop, café and world of experience at the same time. And obviously a veritable magnet of attraction. We are amazed at how much is going on here late on Sunday afternoon. With all the new attractions on site, I turn into a little girl again at the sight of the tasting boxes. Of course, I always wanted to try all the types of biscuits! Again, I can’t resist walking past the shelves without trying.

Practical tips for winter hiking in Sörenberg

• The pure hiking time of the Gastronomic Circular Hike is around 2.5 hours (distance 8.5 kilometres, 135 metres ascent, 450 metres descent). You can find the route on the map below.
• The cost of the Sörenberg-Rossweid gondola lift, the aperitif and the three courses is 50 CHF. The ticket can be purchased either directly from the Rossweid valley station or via the BLS leisure shop.
• In total, there are around 40 kilometres of marked winter hiking trails in and around Sörenberg.
• You can reach Sörenberg from Bern or Lucerne with the BLS-RegioExpress via Schüpfheim (depending on the time, you can catch the specially designed RegioExpress Kambly train). In Schüpfheim there is an hourly post bus connection in the direction of Sörenberg in winter.
• The Kambly Experience is open on weekends from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and is a 5-minute walk from Trubschachen train station.
• If you start the excursion in Bern, you can combine the gastronomic circular hike with a Kambly breakfast. This takes place on Sunday between 8:30 – 11:30 a.m.

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The offer of the Gastronomic Circular Hike can be conveniently obtained from the BLS leisure shop. The online booking confirmation can be exchanged for a normal cable car ticket at the Rossweid valley station. All further information can be found here: Gastronomic circular hike BLS.

Kambly Experience savings tip: If you are planning a separate excursion to the Kambly Experience and at the same time buy the ticket for the outward and return journey by public transport, you will benefit from a 10% discount on a shopping voucher and a 20% discount on the outward and return journey. This offer is also available in the BLS leisure shop.

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