Switzerland

Ah, Switzerland. If Austria was beautiful, Switzerland was more so. It was bigger, brighter and completely knocked my socks off. We woke up on Day 9 and drove from our little village in Austria to a beautiful little lake town in Germany called Lindau. There was a harbor with boats, flowers everywhere and such a charming little old town that you wanted to wander around all day. In one square (creatively enough called "Church square) there were two churches, one Catholic and one Lutheran. The Lutheran church was built during the reformation to allow for worshipers to choose which church they wanted to attend. Since the two were side-by-side neighbors could still enjoy the experience of walking to and from church together and still attend the church of thier choice. At noon, both churches ring their bells, which was such an interesting cacaphony in the middle of that square! The Catholic church was, of course, very ornate inside, while the Luteran one was not. In fact, the Lutheran church almost felt like a wedding cake, everything was so white and pastel.

We stayed in a town called Wengen, Switzerland. We drove to Lauterbrunnen where we caught the train to our village. While there were a few cars around, our big bus could not navigate the mountain UP to our village. We had dinner at the hotel that night and were surprised by an alphorn concert. The alphorn player got so excited about his instrument and all that he talked and talked and talked! And played and played and played. It was a great evening. (and btw, the food here was just "ok" though the fondue was amazing!)

The next morning was a free day, but our guides took a group of us to the top of the Schilthorn. At more than 10,000 feet, it was an amazing view before the clouds rolled in. Gondolas are a primary form of transportation in the Swiss alps. While not cheap, everyone rides them to and from villages (a group of school kids from Gimmelwald rode to Murren with us).

Once at the top of the mountain, we were amazed by this view. We also ate a dessert in the revolving restaurant. Shortly before we left, however, the clouds rolled in and we couldn't see a thing.

We went back down the mountain the way we came up (in gondolas) and walked from the town at the bottom back to Lauterbrunnen. This hike was about 6 km and gorgeous with mountains all around, cows ringing their bells while munching alphine flowers. The sky was gorgeous. It really was an amazing walk. In the middle of it all, though, we took a break for one of the highlights of our trip: Trummelbach Falls. Trummelbach Falls are inside the mountain. You walk into the cave, ride a funnicular up to the area where you can then walk, and go around and around these falls and every corner you take, every new view of the falls is a "wow" moment.

We finished our hike, had a late lunch, then rode the train back to our hotel where we rested up until dinner. We then went in search of fondue. We found out that you should order your fondue by 11am (if you're ever in Switzerland and want fondue for supper, remember this). It's not cheap, but it is delicious!

And that was our time in Switzerland. It made me desperately want to go back. If I didn't want to leave Austria (and I really didn't) I really, really didn't want to leave Switzerland. It was so beautiful and pretty and clean. The air was pure, the cows happy, and the food was pretty good--good enough to keep me fed anyway! I honestly can't wait to go back and spend lots more time there.