We took the gondola down to Betten Station, then the train to Brig where Klaus lead us on a quick tour of what looked like a prosperous and charming town. Its older houses are very Italian in appearance, while its most prominent buildings (Stockalper Palace,
former Jesuits' college and Ursuline convent) all date from the 17th
century, and are due to the generosity of a single member of the local
Stockalper family, the baron Kaspar Jodok von Stockalper. Then we got back on the train to Ausserberg (3050 ft) on the sunny hillside of Loetschberg.
It was quite hot as we walked the Lizard Train westwards to St. German
(2480 ft) surrounded by vineyards, and then continued on to the
Burgkirche, a church since the 13th century with some interesting frescos. The highlight
was a stop at a "typical wallisher" winery for a very nice wine tasting with air cured meats
and cheese and at least six different wines .
Then the walk descended along houses of the 16th century into Raron (2090 ft). We had an excursion to a church carved into the rock, unique to the continent, and then were rewarded with apricot tart in a local bakery. We returned to Bettmeralp by train and gondola. walking time: c. 3 hrs
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