Grindelwalderhof

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 in its own way as I ...

... chalets. Some chalets were so close together in narrow streets that I'm sure you would be able to hear the neighbour’s conversations.

We went back to Interlaken and went to a chocolate shop to buy some Pave which I had heard about and to do some grocery shopping and then get in to cook dinner before the kitchen got crowded.

... the people get off to hike at Klein Scheidegg and the mountains are very well organised for hiking with signposts everywhere with times to walk. The train stopped at Eigergletscher (2865 m) where the train stopped for everyone to get out and look at the glacier very close up. We also stopped at Eismeer (3160 m) before arriving at Jungfraujoch at a height of 3454m.

Our first stop was the dining room as we ...

... true Swiss style, you changed trains on the same platform and everything went like clockwork. The Swiss really know how to organise everything. All stations are announced in plenty of time and in at least 4 languages. Everything in Switzerland is also very clean, we even saw a guy polishing the rubbish bins at a train station. I just wish they had a major anti-smoking campaign.

We arrived in Interlaken to fairly fine weather and ...

... drop full of avalanche protection fences for a much less gradual descent. These would also come in handy if either of us lost our footing… luckily not necessary.

In the next two days I did a couple more hikes, much easier. I took a walk down to the end of the valley, hiked up a bit of a hill, but nothing as strenuous as the first day. Got some more good views and considered that day ...

... ziplock bags with granola, bread, cheese and honey and got ourselves ready for the day. The woman at the tourist office suggested a hike on the map. I acknowledged her suggestion and made a much bigger circle around the valley with my finger, asking her if that could work. She said it probably would, so we left and just kept following the yellow signs. First leg: Grindelwald to Grosse Scheidegg. Second leg: Grosse ...

... this morning and it was bright and sunny, and oh so beautiful. Today I head out to the tourist town of Grindelwald. Then later my town is offering a free lace making class, most people didn't believe me when I said I came here to do almost nothing, just relax, so I think going to a lace making class is just the ticket. Hope everyone is well, and enjoying as fine weather as I am.

... check into our hostel till 2:15 or so, so we took instead a gondola from Grindewald to First, which is over 7000 feet above sea level. we hiked around First, beautiful green hills, rocky cliffs, gorgeous views of the snow capped alps all around us, and the sounds of cow bells everywhere. when Maria sings the hills are alive with the sound of music she must have heard all the cow bells. there are a lot of cattle herders up on the mountain ...

... some grocery store scores.  Gabrielle led the charge on a beautiful dinner of noodles and seasoned sauce, fresh cooked veges, and bacon for Nate and I, and scrambled egg mixed in.  It was a spectacular meal and hit the spot.  We also got talking to an Indo-Scottish couple who were doing a little backpacking around as well and it was awesome to be talking to fellow backpackers again about where they had been and where they were going.  We had ...

... Apparently when Napolean came through, he held the bears hostage and the people of Bern were quite upset about this...and capitulated to him. The Swiss...giving up without a fight. That night we came back and while cooking dinner we met two guys from Colorado who just came in. We all hung out that night (it was a blast, probably 20 of us) and I also met a group of Southern boys on spring break. Ahhh the blissful ignorance they lived in. The next morning those girls ...