Engelberg Magazin Nr. 19

Von der Fürenalp sind die Spannörter zum Greifen nah.

The pasture where local farmers used to graze their animals now offers excellent year-round hospitality to visitors from far and wide. Ribbons of mist drif t past the steep rock face as the sma ll red gondola brings v isitors safely up to Fürena lp mountain restaurant, 1,850 metres above sea level. Since 1979, the ca- bleway run by the Mat ter family at the end of the va lley has been the most comfor table way to reach the cu linar y delights and spor ting ac tiv ities on of fer here, high above the v illage. In winter, the Fürena lp is far f rom the bustling

manager who had a lso caught the cruise bug and was working on the same ship. Ha lf a year later, she was a lready expec ting their f irst son, Kev in. Two years later came Christopher. And thus a cruise ship romance quick ly turned into a family. The Por tmanns eventua lly lef t the high seas behind them and for a lmost ten years ran Josefa’s family’s guesthouse in the Bavar- ian Forest. They eventua lly moved to Engel- berg in 1999. Urs was a lready familiar with the region; while training to be a chef at the Kurhaus hotel in Melchsee-Frut t, he at tended

ski slopes and of fers pure, un- spoiled nature. Hikers with or without snowshoes can take to the trails and mar vel at the majestic mountain landscape. The sledge run is a lso a whole lot of f un – not

the loca l vocationa l college in the low season and lived in the boarding school at the Schweizerhof hotel. Despite the various cha llenges he faced at Titlis Cableways, Urs never lost sight of his dream

Josefa and Urs Portmann have invested a lot of love in the res- taurant on the Fürenalp.

on ly for the lit tle ones. However you choose to spend your time, you’re likely to work up an appetite for the regiona l specia lities on of fer in the restaurant. Among other delights, the Fürena lp mountain restaurant ser ves Ä lpler Magronen, Swiss macaroni cheese just as farm- ers used to eat daily on the summer pastures. It was their mea l of choice for one simple reason: pasta, potatoes and onions keep well, and they cou ld produce the cheese and but ter them- selves. Since December 2015, Urs Por tmann has been put ting hear t and sou l into running this charming restaurant complete with spec tacu- lar v iews. The Obwa lden native knows his way around Engelberg as he spent 15 years as head chef of the restaurants operated by Titlis Cableways. But before Urs and his family set- tled in Engelberg, his job as a chef took him around the world. Af ter working in various Swiss hotels and in Sweden, he spent f ive years on exclusive cruise ships in Antarc tica. On his last cruise, he met his wife Josefa, a hotel

of one day opening a mountain restaurant. When the Fürena lp was adver tised for lease in the loca l newspaper, he jumped at the chance. He ran the restaurant on his own until June, when Josefa joined him as f ront-of-house staf f and host. “We have invested a lot of love in this restaurant,” says Josefa. And you can tell. The tastef u lly decorated dining room and beauti- f u l terrace adorned with f lowers are ver y wel- coming. And if heavy wind and snow ca ll a ha lt to outdoor ac tiv ities, the restaurant is the per- fec t place to wait for the bad weather to pass, especia lly since ski passes are a lso va lid for the Fürena lpbahn. The wide range of delicious homemade dishes is sure to get your mouth watering. The tripe, for example, has a lready achieved cu lt status, so make sure you order it when it ’s the daily specia l. Pair it with a good bot tle of wine f rom the tanta lising wine list and watch the world go by. And at the end of the day, the sma ll red gondolas are right there to bring you safely back down to the va lley.

32

33

gastronomie | food+drink

gastronomie | food+drink