Switzerland Trip - 2011

At the end of July a group of 48 scouts and Explorers from Hornsea Scout Group went to Adelboden in Switzerland. It was the first foreign trip for the group and was partly to celebrate 100 years of Scouting in Hornsea.

It took over 2 years of fundraising but the countless hours packing peoples bags in supermarkets across the East Riding, was time well worth it. Along the way, we also managed to raise over £2000 for two charities because of the fundraising arrangement we entered into with one of the supermarkets – so it ticked all the boxes!

The itinerary was packed and sleep was a luxury (saved till we got home!). Possibly the highlight of the trip was the journey up the Jungfrau (its slightly smaller neighbour is the Eiger) by railway. At 11000 feet, in the snow, we invested 7 scouts with the Chief Scouts Gold Award and afterwards enjoyed our time either sledging, snowballing or just relaxing in a deckchair!

Its a huge commitment but I cant recommend it highly enough. The memories will last a lifetime!

Please find a report on each day of the trip below.

Sunday 31st July 2011

We enjoyed a cable car trip to the top of the Silleren and then walked on to Hahnenmoos, we enjoyed the walk, it really warmed up our legs. We also saw people flying paper plains on the hillside as well as some para-gliders.

The day was rather enjoyable if not a little tiring, and we were all very hot after the journey, all in all we found the day amusing and we even finished the mountain walk off with a little Tiramisu ice cream.

Some of the Scouts mentioned that it was the highest point they had ever reached in there life. Louis said that going up the mountain was his favourite part of the trip so far!

The scenery throughout the day has been pretty good I particularly enjoyed the cable car ride, the buildings where really nice in fact some were being built as we climbed the mountain and one had been destroyed by fire pretty recently!

We also a lot of people riding on mountain scooters which looked like a lot of fun and something we would like to do when we are older. Callum said the cable cars where the highlight of his trip so far. On the night time we watched Fawlty Towers at the hostel which is called Alpenflora. A good nights sleep was has by all after enjoying John Cleeses classic comedy.

All in all the day seemed to be a huge success, and everybody was extremely tired on the night time.

ANDY WiTH INPUT FROM VARIOUS SCOUTS/EXPLORERS

Monday 1st August - Swiss National Day

Trummelbach Falls… Weather – Scorchio

Despite extensive research and risk assessments, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the lake and waterfall I was expecting , was in fact a subterranean car ride up to the top of a massive indoor waterfall! We had lunch in the meadow approaching the falls and the first purchases of Victorinox penknives was made ( and shortly after labelled and handed to Christine until the end of the trip!)

The afternoon saw the group divided between trip to the shops ( majority!) rest and recuperation in Alpenflora and a handful of proper scout people who tolerated me in my wish to have a little walk; little being the operative word but the time spent in the glacial river was excellent for the circulation.

In the evening the JEKA travel people had said just turn up and join the parade. Obviously it wasn’t that simple but after being treated to alp horn, yodelling and a Glaswegian Boys Brigade Pipe band we joined the parade in fourth spot behind the Pipe Band, Folk Group and Local Children.

I’ve never seen so many scouts and explorers parading together ever and they were a credit to scouting and Hornsea. Neil, Dom and Jonny made a huge impression with a massive guide group who fought with each other to have their pictures taken with them! Other than my obvious pride in each and everyone of the scouts and explorers the highlight of the evening was when Jurg, the MC of parade who gave an excellent speech referred to the Pipe Band who had come all the way from England….Priceless!

Tuesday 2nd August - Jungfraujoch

Today was a very early start (5am for the misinformed) , everyone was half asleep at 7 when we set off for Jungfraujoch. At 8:55am we boarded the first train. The second train took us on a steep climb through a seemingly endless tunnel. It took a while for some to adjust to the altitude, so after lunch we headed to the ice palace where there were magnificent ice sculptures. We then went outside to the surprisingly warm snow, where in front of the Swiss flag Becky, Sarah, Peter, Miles, Josh .C, Christian and Will were awarded the Chief Scout Gold Award. This is the first time in Hornsea scouts that this badge has been awarded at 11388ft!

Then, Peter, Hannah and James (explorer) all braved the zip wire. James (scout), Peter, Ricky, Dom, Neil, Jonny, Connor, Josh .C and Josh .P did a variety of snow based sports.

When we arrived back at the Chalet the explorers dashed off to go sleep in the straw, in a barn, in the next valley, where they will be eating chocolate fondue. It was a very tiring but an exciting and unforgettable day..!

Ellie, Sarah and Becky

Tuesday 2nd August - Straw Barn

Following a busy day up the Jungfrau, the explorers rushed off to spend a night sleeping in straw. This consisted of a barn that was filled with straw, that we slept on. It was surprisingly comfortable and apart from the creaking door, we all slept (ish)… shortly after arriving, we were greeted by a delicious fondue. chocolate for the explorers, and a very strong cheese for the leaders, clemmy and jen. most who tried it agreed it tasted better than it smelt, as they were made to sit outside to eat it

After a massive pillow fight, we had a game of charades. Ellen won by miles as she seemed to develop a sixth sense for guessing what someone was acting out before seeing the actions! Not a lot of sleeping was actually done, however it was so comfortable that when we had settled down it was easy to fall to sleep, and a lot harder to wake up. in the morning we had cheese, ham, meat and hot chocolate. but unfortunately we weren’t allowed the rest of our fondue!

Mid way through breakfast the heavens opened for the first time since we had arrived in Switzerland, and didn’t stop until we were back in our Jeka accommodation. we all had a fantastic time and would do it all again. we would like to say a massive thank you to jenny and clem who accompanied us to the barn, a very brave thing indeed! The farmer and his wife received one of our Hornsea coat of arms to hang on their wall, which they did with great pride.

Katie K and Ellen

Wednesday 3rd August - Cheese Farm, Swimming and Ice Skating

We went on a cable car to go to a cheese farm. The lady showed us how we should make mountain cheese and fresh cheese. She let us try different sorts of cheese and we sampled the cheese as she was making it. She took us into the cellar so she could show us the different kinds of cheese she made. Bobby asked what was the oldest cheese she had. It was 2 months old. Lew asked what was the oldest cow she had and it was ten years old. Before we left we bought some cheese. While we there it rained and there were hailstones. The cows produce less milk when there are hailstones.

For this visit to the cheese farm we had to split into two groups. Robs group had a nice lady who spoke English and she had put up the Union Jack for us. Christines group had a lady who spoke little English and they got drenched in the rain but they had hot chocolate.

In the afternoon we all went to the swimming pool. It was awesome. Jenny’s group made tea and it was pork and cheese with bread crumbs on it. It was scrumptious.

After tea we went ice skating. Lew, Cal and Joe all fell over and bruised both of their lower cheeks!! It was the first time for quite a few of us to do ice skating. When we got back we watched some Fawlty Towers where some Germans were in it. Mr Fawlty was offensive but hilarious.

Thursday 4th August - Tobogganing, Kandersteg and Swiss Night

Tobogganing:

One of the highlights of our week, a speedy ride round a track on a toboggan at Rodelbahn. We arrived there by cable car and it was super fun. Some of us failed to read the signs telling us to break on corners! After all that excitement we visited a beautiful lake called Oeschinsee before lunch.

Kandersteg:

We made a visit to the International Scout Centre at Kandersteg after lunch where we bought souvenirs and all enjoyed an ice cream which our Cub section had paid for…Huge thanks!!

Swiss Night Out:

After a brief ride in a cable car we were presented with an ‘all you can eat buffet’ to everyone’s delight. The food was delicious and the cold ice cream for dessert came as a real treat for those who had (stupidly) braved the red hot chilli’s! The food included a hog roast, traditional cheeses, local meat and so much more when we had finished our fifth and sixth helpings of food, we joined five other scout and guide groups to watch some great Swiss entertainment which involved yodellers, accordionists and a very lively gentleman on an alpine horn. If you don’t know what one of those is, it was basically a very long pipe.

After this it was each groups individual turn to entertain. we gave a brilliant performance of ‘Belle of Belfast city’ and then Dom, Jonny and James jumped in to finish off with a fantastic round of ‘Froggy’. After all the performances were over we took a ride in pitch black cable cars back to the buses which was either very fun or very scary, depending on how you looked at it. We then saw some of the best driving our bus drivers had done all week, with many twists and turns, down very sharp, steep corners in pitch black. We would like to say a huge thank you to them for driving us safely everywhere we went!

Katie K and Ellen

Friday 5th August - Presentation in Adelboden

Friday was a relatively easy day for all. In the morning, a group of Scouts and Explorers (who could be bothered to get up!) took a trip to the Tourist Office in Adelboden, to present a plaque from the East Riding of Yorkshire Council to the Director of Tourism in Adelboden.

After giving the plaque to the Director of Tourism, we set out back to the chalet to get some money for the shopping trip in Adelboden. Most of the Scouts and Explorers bought Swiss Army Knives from one of the many knife shops around Adelboden. After the group had returned from the shopping trip, we set out (in the rain!) for the local swimming pool for a fantastic swimming session. We had a wonderful time jumping and falling into the outdoor pool.

And, finally to finish an already fabulous day was the Hornsea’s Got (Limited) Talent night. It was extremely entertaining. With Will, Chris and Harry winning overall with their rendition of a poem, called Harry. They were followed closely behind by Andrea and her blindingly wonderful talent of swallowing 7 Frankfurters whole. On behalf of the whole Scout group, I would like to thank Rob, Christine, Clemmy, Matt, Steven, Andrea, Jenny and Andy for a wonderful experience and one that we will never forget. Thank you.

Josh C