Where others come for vacation...
where others come for vacation ...

One month, quite a few tonnes of tiles, a dozen odd workers, some of them careless resulting in stress, some rains and storms in the beginning but good weather in the end  = One fine Heritage Roof.

The roof is the main protective shell of a house and decisively affects its appearance. Since we will heat the entire house with the "Kachelofen" (wood burning stove) as the primary heating source, a roof renovation with appropriate insulation is essential.

 

As the existing roof has zero insulation and broken tiles, the entire roof needs to be stripped and re-covered.

400 years ago.. in 1615 when this house was built, there was no electricity and therefore none of our modern machines. Trees from the surrounding land were cut down with axes to make the beams and boards. We have enormous respect for the workers and their work.. which we feel is art worth preserving and displaying with pride.. so we opt for adding the insulation layer on the outside to keep the grand, hand-made 400 year old beams visible from the inside.

This beautiful clay tiled Kitchen floor

Was quite a different story before

Underneath the worn old laminate

stones, rubble and earth await

Hammer, Jackhammer and Spade

become our Tools of Trade

As we start to Cleanup

In order to move on to the Buildup

Overnight Unterrüti has taken on an incredible golden hue. All around, leaves have turned into variations of amber beauty, giving a magical quality to our little outdoor picnic place. This picnic place with its natural pagoda of old trees, and the path leading up-to it had cast a spell upon us, when we first came to visit this house. Peace enveloped us as we stood under the shade of these wise old trees and i could imagine Pixies, Gnomes and Elves peeping from behind every moss covered stone or bush along the path. Now suddenly, nature is showing off its palette of colours in this magical place...

A woody Chärnwaldräuber (Kern forest robber) figure sits comfortably on the idyllic moorland Gerzensee enjoying the view and the biodiversity of the flora and fauna. He seems to be basking in the absolute tranquility, which is almost meditative. Sometimes, the water level of this small forest lake is so high that the robber can bathe his feet in the water. 

My friend Maya has invited me on a walk through Kernwald. She grew up just a couple of kms from here. 

Kernwald (Or Kern forest) forms the border between the cantons of Nidwalden and Obwalden. We start walking on the trail at Chabisstein. Mira (Maya's 3 year old daughter) is happy to skip around. Every moss covered stone, colorful plant and tree species is a miracle to her..