In the Swiss Alps, take time to walk from village to village

Every tree branch and blade of grass was encrusted in ice. Pam LeBlanc photo

With this week’s cheese, butter and chocolate consumption off the charts, I needed to hike.

Fortunately, that’s easy to do in Switzerland, where you can explore the countryside via a network of well-marked gravel pathways.

Ice crystals formed on every surface. Pam LeBlanc photo

I squeezed in two hikes my last full day in Gstaad, starting with a chilly walk along a twisting river in Lauenen, where cows outnumber humans and an overnight storm had put a delicate crust of diamonds on every twig and blade of grass. When the sun broke over the mountains, the entire forest shimmered.

I passed frozen stacks of hay, shaped just like the ones Van Gogh famously painted, and crossed a narrow wooden bridge over a half-frozen stream. My walk felt like a tour inside a glass-blowers factory.

The Swiss make the best hot chocolate! Pam LeBlanc photo

After an hour, my fingers turned to popsicles, so I stopped in the coffeeshop at the Hotel Alpenland, where I ordered hot chocolate. You can get two kinds here – the classic type, made with dark chocolate, or a maltier version called Ovomaltine. I opted for the darker stuff, which came in a ceramic mug with a small cinnamon cookie and a sifting of grated chocolate.

In the afternoon, after the other journalists in my group had departed, I hitched a ride to Schonried, a 20-minute drive from Gstaad. From there, I followed the “wanderweg” signs (I love the Swiss term for hiking). Even though it had snowed a day earlier, the trails had been cleared, another indication of that perpetual Swiss tidiness.

I struck out for Gstaad.

I soaked up this view while hiking around Gstaad. Pam LeBlanc photo

My route began with a dip alongside a ski lift that was busily whisking skiers up a nearby slope. I shivered a little, as snowflakes stacked up on my knit cap. I stopped to snap pictures, then followed the gravel path as it swung around a corner and headed into the farmland. I clomped past farmhouses and the occasional bed and breakfast, inspected some pumpkin-sized cowbells hanging from a barn, admired fields frosted in white, and followed the trail as it led me across a ridge with views of old chalets and hillside villages.

At one spot, I discovered a wooden cabinet holding an array of milk and cheeses for sale. What a concept – just pop your money in the cash box, using the honor system instead of a credit card, and help yourself to a snack.

Many farmers sell cheese from self-service boxes in the countryside. Pam LeBlanc photo

At one point, the trail forked, with signs pointing in opposite directions, both labeled Gstaad. I stood perplexed for a few minutes, until a farmer pushing a cart magically appeared and asked if I needed help. (The people here seem to pop up just when you need them, eager to offer assistance.) I told him I didn’t know which trail to take, and he directed me toward a snow-covered route marked by poles. That, he pronounced, would take me to Gstaad Palace, where stars including Richard Burton, Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor have all stayed.

Perfect. I stuck my tongue out to catch a few snowflakes, descended into the village, passing the palace’s striking turrets, and found my way back to Park Gstaad, my temporary home away from home, in an hour and a half.