Klangweg

I realize I say this every time we find a new place to hike, but this one might be my favorite. The Toggenburg Klangweg (the Sound Trail) is definitely up there when it comes to theme trails for children. Some friends told us that it had been extensively renovated and reopened in May this year, so of course we needed to go check it out. It is a one way trail, about 6 km long, with close to 30 stations along the way all dedicated to noise. Does this sound like my children, or what?

We started with a gondola ride up to the trail from the valley where we discovered a small playground and bounce house.

I'm not sure my kids will ever quite grasp how lucky they are to have access to such cool playgrounds

After awhile, we finally managed to drag them away from the slides and on to the trail itself.

how do trees manage to grow out of rocks?

We quickly happened upon the first station which was a series of three wooden columns with a metal tube hanging inside each stele. Once you strike the tube, the vibration of the metal is transmitted to the wooden post, creating a reverberation and is not only audible but also physically noticeable. The info sign says the reverberations from each strike can lasts up to ten minutes. I believe it.

We came to the largest megaphone on the planet.* Of which we, of course, had to climb in.

*not verified by the Guinness Book of World Records

Next came a series of Xylophone stations where we got to bang on tubes to make noise/sound/music...you pick. Also, apparently in September Christmas is already on our minds.

One of the coolest ones to me was the Glockenbühne (Bell stage). The info sign on this one said: A concert of the bells that swing at the necks of the willow animals grazing everywhere is constantly playing. On the Toggenburg sound path you can get in the mood by moving slowly or faster through the bell stage. Your body will vibrate the bells and – will trigger its own melody depending on how you move. This way you can also experience yourself as part of a herd of livestock. You trigger sound and sound just like the animals in the Alps.

Of course, we only really knew how to run through the bells (and fast).

At this point in the hike, the smallest Powell was looking like this:

So we made a stop at the mountain restaurant for lunch.

And then we were off again.

We found more bells to ring, singing sculptures, cool animal carvings, things that spin, swings in the forest, and a huge tuning fork.

In between we took time to enjoy the views and soak in the mountain air.

One of the last stations was the Klangmühle (Sound mill). There are two hollow rotating wooden cylinders inside an old mill room. The cylinders are strung with well over 100 equally tuned strings. As you rotate them, you can pluck the strings or let the plectrum create a wave-like sound. We, of course, couldn't not touch them as they rotated.

What a hike. I will never tire of views like this.

And Olivia will never tire of post-hike ice cream rewards.

And as for Charlotte, I think she's a llama girl.