Hotel-Restaurant Sternen Lauterbrunnen

... br>Deze hebben we eerder tervergeefs getracht te beklimmen in 2004 én 2007. <br>Helaas ook deze keer zijn we op de helft gestrand... <br>We hadden reeds 4uur omhoog geklommen van 1620 naar 2050 meter hoogte! Volgens de bordjes zouden we hier echter 2uur over moeten doen; Door de sneeuw was dit voor ons niet mogelijk.<br>Eerst was de sneeuw nog leuk maar na dat hij tot de schenen en vervolgens tot de knieen was het bijna niet meer te doen ...

This morning we set out for the famous Swiss Alps. Think Sound of Music. Yes, I know that was set in Austria, but think of the setting nonetheless. We took a morning train from Zurich to Interlaken, where we would spend the night. The approach into the Alps was breathtaking. Technically it's breathtaking in more ways than one, because at the higher altitudes it does become a little more difficult to breath, but not as noticable as I've ...

... atmosphere. And the libraries I frequent have tons of really interesting books on the topics I am studying, which is always a plus. And, it's pretty cool to walk around sporting a UN library badge. I always feel really important just walking through UN security like I have an important international mission that I need to research. Tuesday was also spent at the library, but I had lunch with a friend<br>from school who is also studying in ...

... but was unceremoniously woken up by the hostel owner literally barging into the room and telling us to get out or book another night...we had again forgotten about check-out times! We threw all of our stuff in our bags, and the girls fell out of bed and we booked it out of there. We poor little nomads sat in the town center sitting on our bags trying to figure out a plan of action...Teresa and I took off for another hostel we ...

... in the valley below, with great views of Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau peaks above.<br><br>Then we hiked from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg. Kleine Scheidegg is the starting place for the rail trip to Jungfraujoch, the saddle between Monch and Jungfrau. Conditions on Jungfrau did not look good, however&#8212;the top was ...

We were then supposed to take an overnight train to Bern Switzerland but I managed to **** that up royally and booked the train to Berne Germany, which is in the opposite direction... Jon was not impressed... and I only realized this 1 hr before our 10 pm train. So after hours of trying to rent a car (impossible during Oktoberfest) we got really lucky and found a car that needed to be returned to Switzerland anyways. So after a full day of ...

... made friends with during our stay came over and helped us out. <br><br>The funny part about it was the fact that I had to avoid the guy the entire part of our stay&#8230;when we checked in, we thought we would save 9 Francs a day by having me hide in the back of the camper so that Matt could say there was only one person checking in&#8230;a bit sneaky but in our previous stays, there was no way that they could tell who checked in once you were there. Of course, at ...

... at which I expected him to shake his head and send us away. I had underestimated the Swiss parts department. He fired up the computer, with his two assistants hovering over his shoulder, shaking their heads gravely. He typed, trying several alternatives, while the assistants looked serious and shook their heads sadly. Then he got out his Fiat-issue cell phone and began to make phone calls, each very brief and serious. This guy ...

... our leisurely picnic, we walked back to the train station for the ride down. <br><br><br><br><br><br> We rode down to Grindelwald, again by way of a very steep cogged railway. I was very glad for the Swiss engineering which kept our descent safe.<br><br><br><br><br><br> From there, we took another train toward Interlaken. Here we were on the valley floor. We zipped past little Swiss villages climbing up the valleysides. The houses appeared ...

We then had a 12 hour bus ride to Switzerland - the most magical place on this earth (says the 2 who have travelled the world ha ha ) Ouyr cabins were at the foot of 2 mountains, one being the highest mountian in Europe, we caught the 2 hour tain ride up it ...