Guest author: Melanie Gath
This blog post is about the Walton family, or rather, the Walton family's visit to Switzerland – and even to namuk headquarters, home of the owl. It’s about a real adventure and a conversation that couldn’t have been more inspiring.
The family, which calls Utah (USA) home, spent just over two weeks in Switzerland. The invitation came from us at namuk in collaboration with Switzerland Tourism. We had long hoped to bring this extraordinary family – which lives out our namuk vision like few others -– to the birthplace of the namuk story. Among other reasons, we wanted to create a special namuk product together with them. You can be sure we’ll be telling you more about that at a later date! But in addition to that, we especially wanted to thank this adventurous family, as they’ve been indescribably loyal friends of namuk and frequently tell their many followers on Instagram about us.
Exactly four months after their return to the USA, I had the chance to speak with Carly, Mike, and (for a few short moments) the elder of the little Walton adventurers. There are four children altogether: Whitney (7), Mara (5), Becca (3), and Melanie (1). Right at the start, I asked them what first comes to mind when they think of their trip through Switzerland.
It almost elevates your thoughts
Mike started, saying: “The first thing that comes to my mind is, Switzerland is just an incredible place. There is so much variety and it is just beautiful. I feel like in such a beautiful place like that, especially in the mountains - it almost elevates your thoughts.” His wife, Carly, added: “What comes to my mind is adventure because of the variety. You have these beautiful cities with so much history. And then you have these beautiful mountains with so much history. And trails and people with history.” She also talked about how clean Switzerland is and wonders whether the people who call Switzerland home are even really aware of its cleanliness.
Only a few seconds into our talk, I could already see, hear, and feel that they are happy and somewhat wistful when they look back on their time in Switzerland. To give you a brief overview of the course of their trip, here are the individual places they travelled to (and from):
Here you can download the PDF of the itinerary with all links.
I asked Carly and Mike: If you could have the opportunity to return to one place from the trip right now, where would it be and why? Without hesitating, Carly answered immediately: “Mine would be Ticino. This huge area with this river - the Verzasca, the marble tracks. And the villages – I mean this place was so unique. When people asked us about Switzerland, I always said, have you heard of Ticino? Cause we had not heard about Ticino!”
Discover places far off the beaten track
Mike also said: “We hadn’t heard about that area, heard about Corippo, the amazing stone village, hadn’t heard about the marble tracks. I think it was also fun as it was at the end of the trip and we had an amazing, action-packed trip in Switzerland up to that point. And then this felt different - because of the climate, the people - obviously Italian influenced.”
Both say that they would love to return to Ticino to explore it further. Mike also mentioned that he would like to go back to Adelboden to do the via ferrata with Carly. Frutigen was also a big highlight for them, as they were able to discover places with few tourists – or none at all. They were often asked how they had found this or that corner of Switzerland, because they were places where, usually, you would only find locals. “It was fun to go places that are not as well known”, said Mike during our conversation. “In other countries, that would be the touristy place. In Switzerland, there are so many of those places. It is just not the main one that people go to.”
When the family goes travelling, they generally prefer off-peak times. It's simply a different experience compared to having to constantly stand in lines or deal with an overcrowded train. “During the trip, Mount Titlis was the busiest. Titlis was still epic. You see the reason why. When you build an amazing tower on top of a mountain, people want to go”, said Mike. “That’s why I love places like Via Ferratas. It allows people to get to places they may not otherwise have.”
The high- and lowlights of the trip
I asked Mike and Carly if they could each name a highlight and a lowlight. Carly responded with a wistful look: “My lowlight was having to go home.” For Mike’s lowlight, he explained that their daughter, Becca, got sick, and they unfortunately had to go to the hospital in a hurry. “We were at Guardaval, which is the most incredible place, in Lenzerheide. And that was a big contrast, being at this wonderful place but having this sad time.”
But then he mentioned a list of highlights: canyoning in Ticino, the via ferrata in Engelberg — despite the cloudy and foggy weather — and the via ferrata in Kandersteg. He told me about a remarkable encounter there with a man who he estimates was about 80 years old. “I passed him on the approach, but when I stopped to put on my harness, he passed me. I took a few pictures and videos, but I was moving at a pretty steady pace. Still, I never caught up to him. When I reached the top, I found him sitting at a cafe, sipping some tea. I said, ‘I made it!’ And he said, ‘Congratulations! You made it very fast.’ And I said, ‘Ah, not as fast as you!’ He then shrugged and said, ‘Oh I was not that fast.’ When I asked him what his secret was to ‘staying young,’ he told me to ‘have a positive mindset and always do something. And do different things. Always be active.’” By contrast, Mike observed, “A lot of people retire into a hole.”
A family culture with a focus on a lot of time outdoors
This trip to Switzerland was yet another great adventure for the Walton family — alongside many others on which they have discovered extraordinary places and the breathtaking beauty of nature with their children. It’s clearly in their genes. Carly and Mike told me how they grew up and that they both have always spent a lot of time outdoors – as children and teenagers, too. “When we were first married, even when we were dating, it was in our conversations – how are we going to make sure our kids are outside and that we would travel. All we really wanted was to have a family culture – a focus on spending time outdoors. And if possible, can we go on a lot of trips to get them that?” Carly explained. Smiling in a way that told me things have worked out the way they dreamed, they said: “We’re glad that we found each other.”
Back on the subject of the trip through Switzerland, I asked them if they had actually ever had doubts that such an adventure would work out with four kids in tow. They said that Lena from the namuk team given them plenty of confidence, which, of course, we are delighted to hear. The only thing they sometimes found a bit nerve-wracking was using public transport. Did we have everything and everyone? All the luggage? Where’s the little one? Where’s the backpack? These things ran through their minds. But only once did Becca’s backpack almost get lost. They noticed it in time and found it behind the large front window of the bus. As Mike says:“If you’re traveling with kids, you kind of have to expect the unexpected.” Personally, I think that sums it up beautifully.
Asked about specific tips for all the parents who would like to experience many adventurous travels with their little explorers, Mike shared another valuable idea with us. “I think everything can be turned into a game,” he said. “Whether it’s the distance you’re hiking or that you’re trying to find something on the trail. You’re looking for cool rocks, you’re looking for animals, you’re looking for something.”
Playgrounds in the mountains
Towards the end of our talk, I asked Carly and Mike what makes Switzerland, in their view, a family-friendly travel destination. For Carly, it’s clearly the accessibility of various places by public transport.“I would say the convenience of the transportation,” she said. I was so amazed with how many places we could go via trains and buses. We never had a car. The accessibility is amazing.”
Mike mentioned a particular mindset among the people in Switzerland that makes them mindful about building things for different age groups: “All the mountain playgrounds. They’re everywhere, and some of them are in the most beautiful settings. So between the playgrounds and marble tracks, they’re designing experiences for the kids that help them be outside and be in nature.” Many in their community would also say that Switzerland is one of the most family-friendly places they’ve ever been. And as a family, they agreed wholeheartedly.
Before I asked the kids which accommodations they liked best and to rate them on a scale of 0 to 5 owls, I wanted to ask the same question of Carly and Mike. They both agreed: “Guardaval – but this is … an obvious one. It was incredible. (And) because of the unique experience, Corippo. These two.” Whitney agreed with her parents and gave Guardaval "10 or even 100 owls." And 5-year-old Mara named the Frutig Resort in Frutigen as her favorite. She raved about the "marmot tunnels" and even gave the accommodation "800 owls."
“Switzerland feels like it’s one step closer, the accessibility to the mountains and to the outside”
Carly, Mike, and I continued talking for a while after that. For me, this conversation – or more specifically, this family – was such an unbelievably deep source of inspiration. Towards the end, Carly said: “We agree that being in nature is so good for kids. This is namuk’s vision that we are fully aligned with. Away from screens, being in nature, being in the mountains – the creativity that comes for us and the girls – it is just incredible.”
Though the parents aren’t sure if the kids actively can already feel this difference or recognize it yet, they said, “When we do get to a campsite, for example, Whitney especially often says, ‘Oh, I wanna stay here forever! I think they recognize it is special.” Of course, vacation time isn’t necessarily comparable to regular, everyday life, they added. “But when we think of Switzerland, we think of accessibility of mountains. Switzerland feels like it is one step closer, the accessibility to the mountains and to the outside.”
