Meiringen Local Customs

This crispy blown up dessert (egg whites and sugar) was invented here in Meiringen in the 17th century. Meanwhile, they baked the biggest one for the world record. You can buy them to take away with you, either plain ones or with added flavours like chocolate.

If you get a chance you should eat them in a café or restaurant best with ice cream and whipped cream (Merengue glacé mit Schlagrahm). You may find this typical Swiss dessert not only in Meiringen but all over the German part of the country but the quality of the Merengue itself varies from industrial to handmade ones.

There are lots of activities for Sherlock-Holmes-Fans in and around Meiringen. Every year there are "pilgrimages" of Sherlock-Holmes-societies from places all over the world and they come to Meiringen in their costumes, visiting all the important places in that area.
See the pics, that I saw in a window at the station of Reichbachfall-funicular.
In Hotel du Sauvage you may attend a 4-course-menu and have to solve a murder-mystery togeather with other guests and some actors.
Learn more about Sherlock Holmes at :
The Sherlock-Holmes-Society in London
and you may click here in order to see another Sherlock Holmes museum in Switzerland, close to Geneve
The Sherlock-Holmes-Museum in Lucens

Merinques is a special kind of desert, it originated here in Meiringen and of course you may get it all over Switzerland. In 1600 A.D. a confectioner named Gasparini invented that crispy pastry that consists mainly of beaten egg-white, a lot of sugar and maybe some extra flavors. The merinque will then be put in the oven untill it gets dry and crispy.
When you order Merinque in a restaurant it will be served with a lot of whipped cream and mostly it is hard to tell, what is the merinque and what is the cream.
Merinque is upon request also served in combination with chestnut-mousse and/or icecream or fresh fruits. I am ot a real fan of Merinque so I did not taste it at my last visit in Meiringen.
For the Guinness-book-of-records the world's biggest merinque was produced 1985 in Meiringen : 2,5 meters long, 1,5 meters wide and 1 meter high

3 more images

Almabtrieb is a special event at the end of the summer-season, when the local farmers take down their cows from the alps, where they stayed during all of the summertime. I was lucky to see such a small Almabtrieb, when I had been in Meiringen at the end of October 2005. See my photographs : the first in the procession was a police-car, that directed all cars to stop as far as possible at the side of the street, leaving the main-space for the cows and the farmers family, who directed the cows towards their home-stables. All of the cows were decorated with giant bells and other decorations.
When-ever you are in Switzerland, check the local newspapers - some of these events will be posted there and will be big festivities with hundreds of cows, traditional folk-music etc.

Meiringen is the birthplace of meringue, a fact which is much celebrated by the local bakeries.

Just look at the size of the one I had in a very local bakery...in the mountains during the hike with Rebibi..had to insist on 2 spoons so she could help me out.