Aida-castel Crans-Montana

... the casualties of the Matterhorn.
Zermatt itself is tiny, with only electric taxis. It is much colder than Lauterbrunnen even though it's on the border of Italy.
Switzerland is strange. It has no language of its own. In Bern, Lauterbrunnen and Zermatt they speak German but in Montreux they speak French, even the train announcements change languages. It gets confusing, so I just stick to greeting people in English most of the time. When I had arrived here I was fuming a bit because I ...

I decided to change hostels because I really didn't like this one. I am not fond of the international hostels. They're like hospitals, although the buffet breakfast was nice and I liked their cat. I was woken up by screaming, unruly kids. Some parents aren't parents. I was happy to change. The sun had also come out and so I snuck on the train from Montreux Tilletet to Veyvey which is only 5 minutes away. The place is much nicer and has free food and a kitchen. I actually got an entire 6 ...

... and beggars, especially here. I have gotten to the point where when I saw the man praying for money I just wanted to kick him. I have been told that there is work in Switzerland if you don't mind the cold and a little hard work.
It has been a while since I have encountered any of them, but it really made me hot under the collar. I have also found that I am much more suspicious of everybody, everytime someone approaches me I am a little more on my guard.
I think I also saw an old ...

... from the mountain to Murren. One path stated it was for only experienced hikers. That's a very subjective description. I figured you would need proper shoes and equipment. I took a look at the path and it is treacherous. You cross bridges of ice where the mountains just fall away on either side. I didn't mind that but it was quite steep and covered in snow- too slippery for my shoes. It looked spectacular though. Just standing at the precipice on the mountain and away from ...

Unfortunately the weather was terrible. It was raining this morning but I decided to make the most of what I could Mannlichen as I thought I would go on a small hike between there and Kleine Scheidegg. Wengen and Lauterbrunnen are ok in the wet but Mannlichen was not. I suppose it was too high and the weather couldn't hold. It was very windy and I swear the rain was ice flakes. Twenty metres in front of me there was only white. It was quite amazing ...

... that I have much to compare it to, but I wouldn’t argue with that. Pictures will tell that story.

Shortly after I got to the hostel I met Bill, a retired engineer from Baltimore. He’s a pretty experienced hiker and I decided to go with him on a "six hour" hike the next day. That six hour hike turned into nearly 10, but it was entirely worth it. I can’t count the number of ...

... covering different scenes from one of Wagner's Operas, he even has a room that has been transformed into a cave, yes that's right a cave. Nether the less this place is an amazing to walk around and well worth the entry fee. Now if Austria was stunning and dramatic, Switzerland was charming, one of those places that pulls at the heart strings. Our first stop was in Lucerne, a little town set on a lake. We really only looked about for a few hours, but ...

... France, the crossing into Switzerland, then stopping again, the views dramatically changed. Though we weren't in the Alps yet, I knew we were close. Going past Lausanne, the headquarters of the IOC, and Montreux on Lake Geneva, the views dramatically changed into the Alpine views we all knew. The village of Crans-Montana was at one point two separate villages ...

a brekkie of crossants again - seriously getting sick of these things lol dying for vegies but maybe not for brekkie. we have a huge drive today about 9 hours all up going up the Jungfru mountain tomorrow should be awesome might even do a husky ride and buy a swiss army knife. becxx

... town. The furnicular to Murren was closed - construction. We could see a town halfway up the mountain to the left - forget the name right now. From there we could see a cable car riding to the top of the mountain (a ridge, really) - probably great views. Murren was up the steep mountain to the right, and then Gimmelwald was to the left of there, across the ridge that formed the sheer cliff that waterfall was falling from. Through the valley straight ahead were snow-covered ...