On Saturday, April 21st, some of us went on an excursion along the valley/canyon of the Engelberger Aa.
In August 2005, after days and days of heavy rain, the rain, water from snowmelt and thusly softened hillsides combined to cause massive flooding and landslides. When the road and railbridge (see below) collapsed, Engelberg was in "lock-down" for ten days while the locals scrambled to build an emergency access road.
The viaduct is still only half-rebuilt. Our first stop on the bus tour down the valley was at the construction site. Impressive, don't you think?
The stream (the Engelberger Aa, Aa = water) looking quite fierce on this very sunny day and after a dry period of about two weeks, with snow melt low due to the scarcity of snow higher up:
Huge boulders weighing several tons each have been sunk into the banks to the right and left. The engineers hope this will keep the riverbed stable enough during future flood events so that the structures above may be safe.
Two years ago, the Aa flooded vast tracts of farmland, causing millions of Swiss francs of damage. Further downstream, near Grafenort, the driftwood has still not been cleared -- people have been busy rebuilding the most necessary parts, like this barn that narrowly escaped destruction. Its further left-hand-side corner was torn away by a gentle tributary to the Aa that swelled into a torrent and found a new bed very close by. 
The goats on the meadow nearby are completely oblivious of the mayhem that was.
If the goats are oblivious, the people here are resilient. Someone planted a tree. May it flourish!
Next post: the Manor House (part of Engelberg monastery) at Grafenort.
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