Lungern
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• With only a week’s stay reserved in Locarno, moving day on May 4 came quickly. The Swiss Railroad made the transition to Lungern easy though: 3 1/2 hours of travel with a single change in Lucerne. Our landlady, Marlis, was waiting for us at the station in Lungern and drove us to our new home after a short, get-acquainted tour through town. In no time at all, we were admiring the peaceful view from our upstairs apartment:
  

  

  The church on the left, which we visited later, is said to have been inspired by the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes.
  
  From the stairs of that church, a view in the opposite direction shows where the apartment is located near the edge of town:
  

  

  At times during our stay, cows pastured in the fields adjacent to the house. The sound of their bells was a pleasant “extra” to this apartment even if it meant a few more flies.
  
  Lungern is on the shore of a lake by the same name. However, the lake’s water level is drawn down over the winter to generate electricity, not returning to full-level until summer. Consequently, we did not see it at its best:

  

  
  The interior of the church, we discovered on Sunday, is open and well cared for:
  

  

  
  Behind the altar, wooden statues depicting the Crucifixion of Christ included the two thieves:
  

  

  
  Wood carving is still a local occupation. No doubt, that fact accounts for the statues inside the church as well as the beautiful “tombstones” in the church’s lovingly-tended cemetery:
  

  

  
  The following Sunday brought a touch of winter that whitened the peaks on both sides of the valley:

  

  

  
  Not surprisingly, sunshine and bright blue skies were not far behind. Before the snow melted, we were treated to dazzling scenes like this one:
  

  

  
  Soon after our arrival in Lungern, Marlis offered to drive us to a nearby town where a yodelling celebration was taking place. We accepted with thanks, happy for the chance to experience this Swiss tradition. About 30 minutes of travel brought us to the community hall in which the event was about to begin:
  

  

  Few community halls would have as stunning a view as this one had out the windows on the right:

  

  Of course, no one but us paid any attention to the mountain view. Others were busy greeting friends, after which they focused on the stage.
  
  The show was kicked off by these three talented musicians while the yodlers warmed up backstage:

  

  The words on the chalet stage-prop say, “Hasliberg Yodlerclub, 2001”.
  
  The two largest yodeling clubs, one local and one visiting, each performed twice:

  

  

  They obviously take their yodelling seriously. The “hands-in-pockets” singing style must be traditional.