Hotel Steinbock Lauterbrunnen

... 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 ...

... next township called Zweilutschinen. It was beautiful to see the peaks and the blue sky. I then hiked back.
People are nice around here, they wave to mean through their windows. The hostel owners are also very, very nice. I also sat with some Koreans and we shared meals (there's being much better than mine). When I returned from my hike the two Americans offered me some of their Mexican dinner. It was very yummy. All in all not a bad day.

... 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 ...

... in, with the level lowering, the wind was picking up, and it was starting to rain. So we decided to do that trip some time in the future when we are back with better condtions. Instead, we had a nice (and affordable—for Switzerland, at least) lunch at a “hot dog” stand next to the train station— ...

... be a rest. Then I went up the opposite side of the valley to get a good overview of the marathon hike from the first day, see picture included. The views on this side were possibly even more spectacular than on the first day. I was elated.

On my last day I walked around Interlaken for a bit, only convincing myself that I made the right choice by not staying there.

Being from western ...

... too busy-Switzerland doesn’t seem to be as accommodating to the free camping as France and Germany were. One cool spot, though, was when we were driving through a place called Bulle and saw a chateau high up on the hill all lit up-then across the road in front of it ran two foxes!

The excitement of seeing them soon wore off, though, as we drove around for almost two hours trying to find a spot! Poor Matt was getting pretty tired and we were just about to ...

... the steepest train trip I have ever been on. When the train left the station, it started to climb immediatly. It got seriously steep and stayed that way. I don't know what the percentage of the grade was, but I was pressed back in my seat by the steepness. The rail was cogged, as no train could have climbed such a grade on tracks alone. We climbed through tunnels and ever higher. By the time we made it to Kleine Scheidegg 45 minutes later ...

... reality. The hillsides looked like perfectly groomed meadows, with the occasional stereotypical alpine house or village scattered,for effect. Occasionally, there are sheep or cattle, though the sheep appear more serene than real sheep, and the cows more content than real cows.

All along the bottoms of the valleys are long and beautifully clear and blue lakes, dotted here and there with sailboats.

Farther up on the hillsides here and there ...