Alpen

Hamilton, New Zealand
July 2024

The opposite of a great truth is also true.
- Zen proverb.

When I was very young, I loved cereal. I would consume it every morning for breakfast, and often in the afternoon upon coming home from school. I used to have a "triple-layer" approach, which involved layering three different types of cereal in the bowl, one on top of the other. The base layer was usually Weetabix. The middle layer, Cheerios. The top layer, however, was reserved for my personal favourite back then - Alpen. 

Alpen is a type of muesli that was (is?) marketed as coming straight out of Switzerland (see the commercial, to the right). It contains wheat, oats, raisins, milk powder, nuts, and, of course, sugar (1). In other words, Alpen is packed with processed carbohydrates, with little fiber. Nowadays, I would generally not touch it, but in the 1980s, I would devour Alpen. As I chewed away, I'd wistfully peer at the back of the cereal box, at a photo of the doors of a barn, which opened outwards into an alluring view of the Swiss Alps, white-capped peak in the distance. I wondered what it was like there.

Ironically, that old Alpen cereal may have partially inspired me to agree to speak at a low-carbohydrate conference in Switzerland many decades later. Specifically, the 4th International Keto Live Conference, hosted by the European Keto Live Center (2). The conference was set to take place in the picturesque town of Saint Moritz, which is located in the south-east corner of Switzerland, near the Italian border. Given the location and the fact that a number of prominent speakers in the keto-sphere were scheduled to speak over 5 days, I looked forward to it.

As usual, I did a 2-day fast during my flight from Auckland to Zurich so as to completely mitigate jet-lag, which enabled me to hit the ground running. I only stayed one night in Zurich, long enough to learn that the metropolitan area has 1.8 million people and that it is a premier financial center. The food in Zurich was generally quite excellent, although supremely expensive. Following a nice morning, I took a train to Saint Moritz, several hours away, and was treated to a whirlwind of dizzying views as the alpine farms, forests, and mountains swept past my window. All too soon, I had arrived at my destination.

Keto Live 2024 was taking place in the ballroom of the Hotel Reine Victoria, a conglomerate of elegant lounges, stucco ceilings, and wide staircases built in 1875. While checking in, I heard someone call out my name, none other than the main conference organizer, Josephine from Germany. We had "met" over video a couple of times before, so it was gratifying to finally meet her in person. Josephine's sole motivation for hosting Keto Live seems to be to improve the access of valuable information for people with lifestyle-related (metabolic) disorders. She appears to be motivated by mission over profit, and I respect that.

During Keto Live, I had a chance to catch up with many interesting people, some of whom I knew, many I did not. It was great to get up to speed with carnivore doctor Anthony from Australia over a couple of dinners. Unfortunately, neither dinner we attended was actually carnivore, but I did have chance to try Raclette, which is a melted cheese dish of Swiss origin. I was also happy to finally meet a fellow physician and cancer researcher, Tomás from the United States, whom I found to be a sincere and honest person, as well as writer Jess from Israel, who has a passion for metabolic neurology, physician and scientist Adrian from Mexico, who has a natural bend towards philosophy and thinking "out of the square," and super-pharmacist Graham from Britain, who enthusiastically endorses drug-free approaches for patients. I gave a couple of talks on cancer and  neurodegenerative disorders, but the week went by fast. Keto Live was over before it really began, and it was time to move on.

Alpen commercial from the 1970s.

Enter Switzerland.

Mountains encircle Saint Moritz.

Historic Hotel Reine Victoria.

A nice view from my room.

Some of the speakers at Keto Live 2024.

A Hike in Switzerland

When immersed in a new environment, I prefer not to plan ahead too much. It's good to keep the brain on edge a bit, keep it uncertain about what lies next. Keeps you sharp. I also like not knowing how a journey will end. So I booked a night in Davos, a small town to the northeast that I knew nothing about, and started walking to the train station. En route, I had the excellent fortune to run into Tomás on the street. We spoke of cancer and many other interesting things, and I carried on.

I boarded a train to Davos and eased into the trip. Aside from ferries and motorcycles, I'd say trains are the next-best way to travel. It opens up your senses - there are plenty of windows, not to mention the therapeutic sound and sway of the locomotive itself as it winds its way through places unknown. I was captivated by the trees, valleys, and mountains. No longer a static view of a photo on the back of a cereal box, but rather an endless, scrolling frame of forests, valleys, and mountains that my eyes had never before rested upon. All too soon, I arrived in Davos. I ambled straight to towards an inn, and after doing a bit of work in the bar, retired for the night.

Waking, I trundled into the main foyer and consulted a map of Davos, where I noted that a mountain called Schatzalp abutted the western edge of town. I could take a gondola ride partway up the mountain. Ever since watching the 1969 film Where Eagles Dare, an epic action masterpiece, I have had a mild fascination with gondolas. The film features a group of elite soldiers who storm a castle in the Alps, which is only accessible by gondola. It's stayed with me a long time, so I had to go.

The gondola ride was not as epic as I perhaps imagined from the film, but it was still pleasant. To my mild surprise, it terminated at a ritzy hotel, called Hotel Schatzalp. It was a resplendent day and I sat outside, sipping coffee as I basked in the views of Davos and the surrounding summits. The Alps were formed millions of years ago as the Eurasian and African tectonic plates edged up against each other. The mountain on the back of that old Alpen cereal box, Matterhorn, lay on the other side of Switzerland. Upon leaving the hotel, I came across a huge sign with a map that showed many hiking trails leading further upwards, to the top of the mountain. Given it was evening by now, it was too late for me to go higher, but as I walked down the hillside back to town, I promised myself to return the next day for a real hike.

That day arrived, as it always does, and the next morning I left the hotel a bit earlier. Forsaking the gondola, I tramped from the hotel to the forest on the edge of town, where I entrusted my way to a wide, well-trodden path. It was a tranquil morning, with very few people on the trail. The gentle grade of the path made the trek easy, and I proceeded swiftly the first hour. As I met the snowline, the path gave way to a thin, worn-down trail, and I found myself amongst the Alps. 

During the second hour I traversed Strela Pass, the gateway to the summit of Strela. It was starting to drizzle, but although I was not at all prepared for wet weather, I didn't much care. Still, I did consider it might be ideal to get out of the incoming rain for a bit, which is not usually an option in the middle of a mountain pass. Yet my logic was proven wrong as a large building at the top of the pass entered my view, even as the rain intensified. 

I entered, intrigued to find myself inside a sort of restaurant situated at the top of Strela Pass. It was a luxury I had not anticipated. I waited nearly 3 hours for the rain to stop pouring, biding my time with the dog Falco. I asked the fellow working at the restaurant if it was possible to hike to Latschüelfurgga, which was a sort of viewpoint. Given the large snowfields, he said it would be difficult, with a harrowing descent, and that he would not recommend it. I pondered his advice as several other hikers came and went, but I have discovered that many "difficulties" in life are exaggerated. I'd already made my decision, even before he ceased talking.

As the rain eased down I left, edging my way across the mountainside, to Latschüelfurgga. As forewarned, the snowfields were indeed vast, but they were easy to cross if I just paid attention to my feet. Despite wearing shoes that were by no means waterproof, they didn't even get wet. After an hour or so of careful trekking, I knelt on a grassy knoll at Latschüelfurgga, basking in its cold winds.

I had to cross a few streams and snowfields on the way down, but it was only mildly technical. Eventually, the snowline and its companion, the wind, ended. The world fell into a hushed silence as I drifted downwards. The descent of hike is always much more introspective than the ascent. Towards the end, half an hour from Hotel Schatazalp, I came across a lonely hut guarding the valley, my favourite memory from that day. I imagined who had built it, and why here? Perhaps the builder was captivated by the beauty of the valley and its residents, but only from afar, which was a perspective I could understand.

I arrived, full circle, at Hotel Schatazalp. After descending a different route down to town, I chanced upon a restaurant serving Steak Tartare, which is basically a dish of raw ground beef. It was ok, but not particularly great.

The following day, I ventured to nearby Sargans, a town that was watched over by a semi-famous castle. I stayed at a hotel with a maze-like assortment of tiny rooms and stairs, which was pretty unremarkable other than its solid breakfast buffet. I virtually always skip this meal of the day, but given the superb assortment of meats and cheeses available in Europe, it was all too easy to have a ketogenic meal every morning of my trip.

I explored Sargans Castle for the single day I was there. The castle was built about 800 years ago, and I enjoyed my gradual ascent up the tall bergfried, which is the tall tower in the middle of the castle. Each floor catered to a different theme, and I felt like I had been teleported into the film Game of Death. 
​
As the day came to a close, I thought it might be nice to see more castles, maybe even another country. There was one nearby that seemed appealing, so the next morning, I went there.

The valley of Davos.

A well-trodden path winds through the forest.

A worn-down trail takes me higher, into the mountains.

A building enters my view in Strela Pass.

Many snowfields to cross, which hide the trail.

Latschüelfurgga, a very windy place.

The snowline and wind give way to a hushed silence.

A lonely hut guards the valley.

Wet weather in Sargans.

Swiss ketogenic breakfast.

A Stroll in Liechtenstein

It was difficult to book a train to the country of Liechtenstein, so I walked there. It is a tiny nation, so I reckoned I might have to put in, at most, 20 kilometers of distance. 

Leaving Sargans, I marched down an empty train track for an hour before crossing an old stone bridge into Liechtenstein. From that point, I followed the Rhine River, which marks the border of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Aside from walking I had no plans for the day, which was invigorating. Trudging along, a castle came into view, which I initially thought nothing about, as it lay in a different direction from my chosen path. But, after hearing its silent call, I relented and proceeded to get a better look at it. 

I walked towards what I later discovered was Gutenberg Castle, in the town of Balzers. Although generally open to the public, it was a Sunday, and I found that virtually everything is closed in Liechtenstein on a Sunday, including the castle. I saw what I could, but realized I'd already had the best view of it, and moved on, stopping at a cafe on the outskirts of Balzers before leaving town. I began to walk down the highway, but was wearied by the noise of the speeding cars, and I sought a different way. I found it, a peaceful path that would also take me to where I wanted to go. Much more scenic, and virtually devoid of cars. The path took me through grasslands and farms, all the way to Trieste, where I navigated my way to a hotel.

There wasn't much going on in Trieste, but I did note that the capital city of Liechtenstein, Vaduz, was close, so I explored it the next day. Despite being a capital, Vaduz only has a population of perhaps 5,700 residents. I stopped by Vaduz Cathedral, which used to be a church, but was raised to the status of Cathedral in 1997 (the former is run by a priest, the latter by a bishop). I enjoyed the solitude of the cathedral, and stayed to contemplate for a while before moving on.

After a pit-stop at a cafe, I climbed up a small hill to get a better glimpse of Vaduz Castle, which stands like a sentinel over the town. Even though a Monday, the castle was closed; I found out later that as the official residence of the Prince of Liechtenstein, the castle is not open to the public. Nonetheless, I still found a serene spot to sit and enjoy Vaduz from above.

I enjoyed another lengthy stroll the next day, through the center of Vaduz, down a quaint country road, back alongside the Rhine, and finally back over another stone bridge to Switzerland and the town of Buchs. It was a hot day and I stopped to rest on a log draped by shade, which provided ample time to reflect on what was behind, and what lay ahead. The town held no surprises and I boarded the evening train back to Zurich, followed by another 2-day fast and flight back to New Zealand.

When I was very young, Alpen seemed like a cereal with a nice picture on the box, but it's really quite different to the reality it is named after. Similarly, life's mountains and castles may be alluring, or even inviting, and yet again, these things too are not as they appear to be...and yet, once again, nor are they otherwise.
​
​Solace.

Setting out for Liechtenstein.

A castle beckons in the distance...

Gutenberg Castle, but nobody's home.

A peaceful path to Triesen.

Vaduz, from above.

References
(1) https://weetabix.com/our-products/alpen/alpen-original-muesli/#:~:text=Ingredients,Also%20may%20contain%20other%20Nuts.
(2) https://www.european-keto-live-centre.com/.