This was one of the best holidays we have had as a family.
Firstly, the valley boasted unspoiled, postcard-perfect alpine idyll in every direction. The Reka village is situated in a rural spot with views all round. Just being there made you feel relaxed, and seeing the sun set and rise on the mountains even more so. More on the surroundings later.
The Reka village was perfect for us. This was partly because there was so much to do for our boys, age 7 and 10, and we actually felt it was a safe environment (no busy road nearby...) to just let them roam free for a bit on site, whilst we caught our breath or prepared for the next activity.
For example, both absolutely LOVED the pretend road and the go cars, bikes and e-vehicles they could use on it. (Could the opening hours for that be extended to weekends and a couple more hours each day?)
One of our boys made new friends and happily went to the Rekalino club each day to meet them. It was particularly great that we could use the club flexibly, so we would get our picnic ready in peace and then collect him once we were ready. (From memory, this wasn't the case at Reka Soerenberg.) Also, it was really useful that the playroom was accessible outside club hours: once, the boys spent two hours there building a house from giant play bricks.
We also used the table top games, which were freely available from the games cupboard, the table football, table tennis, crazy golf, outdoor chess, trampoline and indoor pool.
Lenk (known as "the Lenk"), which is walkable from the Reka village, is very charming and has a large Coop, a village shop and lots of eateries. (Alternatively, the bus leaves right outside the Reka village and is free for Reka customers.) We had come by public transport, but with the help of the carts/trailers available to borrow, we managed to pull all our grocery shopping from Lenk up the hill.
We made use of the public swimming pool in Lenk, which has an amazing mountain backdrop.
The playground by the picturesque little Lenk lake is fantastic, and, apart from petting goats, also had a miniature railway, traditional carousel and even live music. We hired the six-seater bike from the kiosk there and had a blast, going around the lake and beyond.
In terms of day trips, one should definitely take the cable car up Betelsberg and do one of more of the 5 trails up there, aimed at all ages: The Gryden Hoehenrundweg with its wild flowers and unusual landscape was well worth it, as far as we made it in the rain. The Murmeli trail for young children seemed extremely well done, we just ran out of time to finish it.
On Wednesdays, it is possible to send the children to the club for 6 hours in one go - this gave us parents the chance to hire bikes from the site and cycle to the Simmen falls. On foot, we even made it further up to the Siebenbruennen falls, right below a spectacular mountain backdrop. It was a breathtakingly beautiful alpine paradise of waterfalls, forest and mountains for me.
Also within easy reach on foot is the Wallbach chasm with waterfall. There is a part where the river bed widens a lot - perfect for children to play amongst the pebbles and also a perfect spot for a bbq.
In Summary: Reka is a great call for parents and children alike and makes relaxing easy. And the Simmental must be one of the most beautiful parts of Switzerland - we travelled through Switzerland from East to West this summer, so we have seen a fair bit of it.
Shame the whole site is being pulled down. We might come back when the rebuild is finished in a few years' time.
This was one of the best holidays we have had as a family.
Firstly, the valley boasted unspoiled, postcard-perfect alpine idyll in every direction. The Reka village is situated in a rural spot with views all round. Just being there made you feel relaxed, and seeing the sun set and rise on the mountains even more so. More on the surroundings later.
The Reka village was perfect for us. This was partly because there was so much to do for our boys, age 7 and 10, and we actually felt it was a safe environment (no busy road nearby...) to just let them roam free for a bit on site, whilst we caught our breath or prepared for the next activity.
For example, both absolutely LOVED the pretend road and the go cars, bikes and e-vehicles they could use on it. (Could the opening hours for that be extended to weekends and a couple more hours each day?)
One of our boys made new friends and happily went to the Rekalino club each day to meet them. It was particularly great that we could use the club flexibly, so we would get our picnic ready in peace and then collect him once we were ready. (From memory, this wasn't the case at Reka Soerenberg.) Also, it was really useful that the playroom was accessible outside club hours: once, the boys spent two hours there building a house from giant play bricks.
We also used the table top games, which were freely available from the games cupboard, the table football, table tennis, crazy golf, outdoor chess, trampoline and indoor pool.
Lenk (known as "the Lenk"), which is walkable from the Reka village, is very charming and has a large Coop, a village shop and lots of eateries. (Alternatively, the bus leaves right outside the Reka village and is free for Reka customers.) We had come by public transport, but with the help of the carts/trailers available to borrow, we managed to pull all our grocery shopping from Lenk up the hill.
We made use of the public swimming pool in Lenk, which has an amazing mountain backdrop.
The playground by the picturesque little Lenk lake is fantastic, and, apart from petting goats, also had a miniature railway, traditional carousel and even live music. We hired the six-seater bike from the kiosk there and had a blast, going around the lake and beyond.
In terms of day trips, one should definitely take the cable car up Betelsberg and do one of more of the 5 trails up there, aimed at all ages: The Gryden Hoehenrundweg with its wild flowers and unusual landscape was well worth it, as far as we made it in the rain. The Murmeli trail for young children seemed extremely well done, we just ran out of time to finish it.
On Wednesdays, it is possible to send the children to the club for 6 hours in one go - this gave us parents the chance to hire bikes from the site and cycle to the Simmen falls. On foot, we even made it further up to the Siebenbruennen falls, right below a spectacular mountain backdrop. It was a breathtakingly beautiful alpine paradise of waterfalls, forest and mountains for me.
Also within easy reach on foot is the Wallbach chasm with waterfall. There is a part where the river bed widens a lot - perfect for children to play amongst the pebbles and also a perfect spot for a bbq.
In Summary: Reka is a great call for parents and children alike and makes relaxing easy. And the Simmental must be one of the most beautiful parts of Switzerland - we travelled through Switzerland from East to West this summer, so we have seen a fair bit of it.
Shame the whole site is being pulled down. We might come back when the rebuild is finished in a few years' time.
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