Schlaf im Stroh

About 5 years ago, pre-Lukas and pre-before we ever knew we would be living in Switzerland, we went biking through Switzerland with my sister & brother-in-law. Along the bike route, we saw lots of signs for "schlaf im stroh". We learned that, basically, a farmer will let you sleep in his barn and provide breakfast - for an obviously much lower price than staying in a hotel. Sleeping in straw didn't seem that appealing after biking all day, but ever since then I thought that it would be a fun thing to try. I've been trying to plan a "schlaf im stroh" wkd from pretty much the first days that we arrived in CH. Many of my expat friends think that I'm crazy both A) that I even want to do it in the first place and B) I've been talking about it forever. But we finally did it last weekend!

We picked a farm that was only an hour drive away in case the whole sleeping in a barn thing didn't turn out that great. The farm also had lots of animals & looked to be in a beautiful spot.



We nervously followed the "farmer lady" as she showed us where we would be sleeping. But it turned out great! The sleeping places were in the barn that housed farm equipment. The cows and other animals were kept in another barn - so no smells or flies. This farm had 20 sleeping places, but we lucked out & got our own "stall". The other group of about 12 guys (who stumbled in around 1 am.) were sleeping in another part of the barn. We brought our own sleeping bags but the farm also provided tons of wool blankets. Good thing too - it was cold! About 5 degrees celsius! But surprising, sleeping in straw is quite comfortable.


The Wiggers family settling in for the night.

Lukas had a riot. He was so excited to sleep in his sleeping bag in the straw that he wanted to go to bed around 6 p.m.. Of course, when we finally went to bed (around 8:30) he was so wound up that he didn't fall asleep til well after 10.

In the morning we were treated to a big farmers breakfast complete with fresh milk from the cows and the best muesli I've ever had in my life. You might be wondering about how some people with allergies (i.e. Rob) might fair on this adventure. Everything I read about schlaf im stroh said that people with hayfever wouldn't be affected since you are sleeping in straw - not hay. But Rob can definitely refute that claim!:


Rob & Lukas enjoying our hearty breakfast.

Lukas was afraid of the cows, but fell in love with the farm's 2 little kittens. Every chance he had he'd be out in the barn petting & playing with them. When it was time to leave he cried - so obviously schlaf im stroh was a success with him!

We also planned to hike while we were out in the mountains. Unfortunately, it was REALLY cold and foggy so we had to cut our hike to a short one. Here's the view we had from the gondola on the way up to our hike:




The fog cleared, but it was still freezing! So just a short hike to a little capella this time.

Since our hike was short, though, we had lots of time for fun on the rodelbahn back at the bottom.

Achtung, fertig, los!


Rob & Lukas burning down the rails!

So our schlaf im stroh weekend lived up to my expectations and talking up! (But it probably is not a wkd that allergy-Rob would be willing to do again!)