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Guet Tag.

Nice to meet you on the Alpine Experience Trail, here on Mount Rigi.

For those who don't know me or have already forgotten:

• On the alp, everyone is on first-name terms. That's why I'm Margrit. Margrit without an H. No frills.
•  grew up on the Rigi and was a dairywoman together with my husband, Heiri. Now my daughter, Lisa, and her husband, Xaver, run the alp. And I'm the proud grandmother of their son, Reto. He has a mountain dog called Barry.

Our alp is a great source of happiness for me and my family. We live and work with nature and for the animals. The Rigi is a beautiful and challenging mountain landscape.

When we alpine farmers talk about grazing, we mean more than just haymaking and tending our farmland. We remove the rubble and wood that rockfalls and storms have thrown onto the pasture. We fence in the land so that our cattle can graze safely. There are 100 other jobs that need to be done: clearing paths, keeping the house, garden, and barn in good condition, draining ditches, stacking hay, tying back weeds, repairing machinery, and so on.

We milk, feed, and look after our cattle seven days a week. We are happy when our animals are healthy, and we suffer when one of them is sick or injured. Then we have to act. And we have to act quickly.

Life on the mountain pasture is a lot like a marriage: we stick together through thick and thin. We enjoy the sunny days together. We go out in all weathers to do our work. As alpine farmers, we experience every day that nature is stronger than we humans. We respect that and know how to deal with it.

Ui, it's going to rain soon. Äxgüsi, I'll quickly call my daughter, who is just bringing the freshly mown grass from the pasture. - Lisa? It's me. Do you need help with the hay? – Not? You're almost finished? – Of course. Gladly. Ciao. 

I'm so glad I have a cell phone and that there's a signal everywhere on the alp. – And running hot water throughout the house, a shower, a toilet with a flush, electricity, and a decent heating system. A few alps without electricity or running water have their own solar panels and springs. Conditions like in the so-called “good old days” are long gone on the alp. Tempi passati, as my grandson Reto would say. But I think I've said that before, haven't I?

We also use modern technology in the barn and on the pasture. I'm just saying: milking machine and mower. They and other devices make our work on the alp easier.

That's why we occasionally have time to have a chat with guests like you. After nightfall, I check my WhatsApp, consult the weather app for the next day, continue to knit a winter hat for Reto, or we play a game of cards as a family and talk about the experiences of the day.

I hope you too enjoy your time on the Rigi and its Alps.

Thank you for listening to me.

At the next stop on the Rigi Alpine Experience Trail, I will tell you more about life on the Rigi Alps.

See you soon. Hebs guet.