High Expectations

I saw the "famous Langnau Market" would be held on July 20 with almost 200 vendors set up in the streets of Langnau, Switzerland.
I was excited! There would surely be all sorts of things Swiss here!
It was just a 30-minute train ride.
I as soon as I got off the train I spied a local photographer. I purchased several cards.
I walked to the booth across the street and bought an almond croissant.
I passed over 100 vendor stalls and did not see anything from Switzerland! Lots of cheap plastic toys from China, and dozens of hat and t-shirt stalls, but there was nothing I wanted to look at - and definitely nothing I wanted to buy.

Langnau Has a WWI Monument

Langnau Has a Town Park

Langnau Has a Town Clock

Maybe There Are More Down This Hill

Langnau Market definitely does NOT have 200 vendors of Swiss products!
I did find two deli stalls so I bought some cheese and sausage. I also found a trailer from a farm with sheep, goats, alpaca, and camels. This excited me. I was told the farm was near a bus stop.
I had an adventure to plan!

The town also had a local museum. Of course, I had to check that out.
As is true of all Swiss museums, this little spot has done a fine job of displaying its collection in a repurposed building.
The only thing I had never seen was this loom.

This Loom Was For Weaving Braid or Ribbon

Here's How to Use the Woven Result on Clothes

Here's How to Use the Woven Result to Keep the Baby in Bed

Even though I was disappointed in the market and I didn't come home laden with Swiss goods, I had a pleasant train ride and saw some different countryside.

For the next couple of days, I was excited thinking about going to buy Swiss yarn at the Spycher-Handwerk farm, the one truly Swiss vendor I had seen at the Langnau Market. I thought I would buy enough yarn to make a sweater or an afghan. I researched patterns; I ogled the website; I looked at the map and brochures to locate other country villages to visit.
Spycher-Handwerk offered yurt stays and classes. Maybe I would come back someday for a week's stay and study as I did in Otavella, Ecuador. Here, I could make felt hats and slippers!

I finally planned a route that would require 2 buses and 1 train to get to Hutwill to visit the farm and yarn site. A bus and train ride would get me to Trubschachen to visit the famous cookie makers. Two more train rides would complete the circle back to Burgdorf that evening.
What a day I had planned. I even considered buying another suitcase so I could buy lots and lots of yarn and cookies.

I was excited when I showed the bus driver a list of all the buses and trains I needed to take. You can buy one ticket at the start of your trip that is good for every method of transport you will need within the area you are going.
A bit of misunderstanding turned the first bus ride into a bus and a train ride, but that was okay. I was enjoying the country travel and looking forward to the yarn shop. I thought I might also purchase a pair of felt slippers.

Signpost near the schoolyard

Soon I See Some Sheep and the Yurt Guesthouses - I'm Getting Excited

Camel Mother and Child

I Learn Camel Fleece Is Harvested Not Sheared

Here's Some Goaats for Angora

I Don't Think They Get Fleece from Swine

I KNOW I Don't Want His Hair - Maybe a Chop

Handwashing the Fleece

Carding Machinery Makes the Process Easier

I See Lots and Lots of Carded Fleece I'm Getting Excited

What a Great Playyard for the Family's Children

I Have Wandered onto the Private Quarters of the Family

Here's the Entrance - I'm Really Excited

Hmmm All This Is Manufactured Items

Maybe Some Soap with Sheep's Milk

I Know Grape and CBD Lip Balm Is Not Made Here

Definitely Not Made Here

Oh well, so I won't buy any felt slippers. I still have the yarn shop to visit.

They Only Have 5 Skeins of Yarn from Their Fleece

I learn that the fleece business is a small operation. They really don't have enough stock or equipment to produce yarn. Their primary fleece business is to card the wool - much of it from other flocks- and make duvets and pillows. Their business entails mainly retail of manufactured items that are manufactured who knows where. They have stacks and stacks of Lang yarn - a Swiss company that manufacturers yarn throughout the world and the brand I purchased two skeins when I was on the tour in May.

My Few PurchasesWait While He Talks on the Phone

I walk the half mile back to the bus stop.

The Buildings Across the Field Spin Parachute Fabric No Wonder It Is Such a Huge Operation

I Return to the Bus Stop

I Stand in the Relentless Sun

It is very hot. The town of Huttwill is a mile away. I read that Trubschachan has a good restaurant. I will soothe my disappointment with a nice lunch in that village.
A bus and train ride later, I arrive in the village of Kambly Cookies
Geez it's hot! I relax in the shade for a while before I head down the road looking for the Kambly Experience.

The Travelelr Sculpture

A Very Interesting Modern Fountain

I Can Smell the Cookies Can I Find the Experience

I Think I am Coming in the Back Entrance

It's a Family Advemture

Pepperidge Got Goldfish from Kambly

I had to come all the way to Switzerland to learn that Goldfish crackers were copied by Pepperidge Farms when they visited Kambly!
There are racks and racks of cookies. You can taste each variety and flavor. I end up buying more here than I did at the Handwerers! Unfortunately, each small bag is at least $8.

These Cashiers Are Busier Than at Spycher-Handwerk

I walk over a mile in the heat to the restaurant.
It is closed for their summer holiday.
The only place in the village is a little market with a sign in the window "Fine Sandwiches." Maybe it wasn't English; it wasn't very fine, but I bought one and a bottle of unsweetened cold tea.

I Eat a Fine Sandwich in the Shade of This Church Porch Roof

4 Bus and 4 Train Rides Provide Lots of Scenery

Miles and Miles of Agriculture

As Seen from the Train

More Train Views

Unfortunately, some of the scenery on this trip was ruined by the very vocal conductor and passenger. They could both speak English. They asked about my politics and I laughed and shook my head. At this point, they told me they supported Trump and that he would be the next president. They continued their excited conversation in German and the only words I could understand were Trump and Biden, both of which I heard them say at least a dozen times.

A Trump Fan Rides on My Train

I went home and ate cookies.