normal magazin nummer20 sommer

Die Alp Stäfeli ist auf einem einfach begehbaren Wander- weg von Engelberg erreich- bar – trotzdem scheint man hier weit weg vom Alltag. The Stäfeli can be reached quite easily along the hik- ing trail from Engelberg, and yet when you’re here every- day life seems far away.

At the foot of the Spannort mountains in the canton of Uri lies the Stäfeli mountain pasture and dairy with its idyllic guesthouse. Brothers Stefan and Richard Arnold live and work at the Stäfeli ever y May to Oc tober with their families. Their father, a herdsman, was born here in 1927 and grazed his cat tle on these pastures ever y summer. Stefan inherited the grazing rights, while Richard inherited the guesthouse. The guesthouse originated in 1968, when their mother Marie Arnold got tired of passing hikers constantly asking for

makes the dried meat for the cold meat plat- ters himself. Dair yman Stefan produces the cheese, but ter and yoghur t. Richard ’s wife Edith is in charge of the kitchen while her husband enter tains the guests. “That works well,” grins Richard. “We each have our own territor y.” The couple’s children Antonia, Katja and Kilian a lso help out in their spare time. The Stäfeli is not connec ted up to the elec tricity grid, but it rises admirably to this cha llenge with a lternative energy sources. The dishwasher, f ridge and lights run thanks

direc tions or for a glass of milk and decided to ser ve them f rom a snack bar with a sma ll terrace. Marie’s en- terprising idea represented a much-needed boost to the family f inances. Her hus-

to diesel motors, natura l gas, solar panels and stor- age bat teries. The hot water comes f rom a wood-heated boiler. When Stefan makes his cheese or milks his cows, he gets the power he

From May to October, guests in the Stäfeli are treated to lots of wonderful home-made produce.

band wasn’ t thrilled, but as long as he was lef t in peace and was still able to go hunting in the autumn, he didn’ t mind too much. Marie inherited her pioneering spirit and business sense f rom her father, a pros- perous cat tle dea ler in Isentha l (Uri). In 1974 , Marie had a new stable built to prov ide lodg- ing – at that time just 30 mat tresses laid out on the f loor. These days, the accommodation is a lot more comfor table: the guesthouse sleeps 19 people in cosy two-bed, three-bed and four- bed rooms. In the early days, the range of food and beverages on of fer was modest: cof fee, milk, soup and tinned hotdog sausages. Then, one day, a hiker came by on his way f rom the Spannor t hut and said that if he was going to stay here he wanted to eat a Wähe (a tra- ditiona l Swiss f lan). “And so Mum made one for him.” That moment marked the beginning of a gradua l expansion in the Stäfeli ’s menu. Today it is so varied that guests are spoiled for choice. Richard is a qua lif ied butcher and

needs f rom a generator – so that the wash- ing machine can be used at the same time. From Engelberg, this mountain idyll is reached by bike or on foot. You can park your car at the va lley station of the Fürena lpbahn cableway and hike f rom the Fürena lpbahn mountain station past the Stäuber water fa ll and the Stierenbach stream. If you’ d like to make the guesthouse the destination of a longer hike, we recommend the wa lk f rom At tinghausen in Uri to the Engelberg Va l- ley v ia the Surenenpass. Your ef for ts will be rewarded with great v iews and a warm welcome at the Stäfeli – with some crispy Rösti, for example, and a glass of good wine. In Oc tober the pastures and dair y are made ready for winter and the fam- ily moves back down to Engelberg. They spend the colder months working for the cableways or loca l businesses before go- ing back up to the Stäfeli in May.

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gastronomie | food+drink

gastronomie | food+drink