Villa Europe Interlaken

... werden we verast met een dik pak sneeuw!! <br>Een wandeling van Riederalp langs Blausee, vervolgens door de heuvel-bos-rug naar Rieder Furka was een wandeling van 4 uur, met onze schenen in de sneeuw, was een goede start van onze wandel vakantie:)<br><br>Zeer fijn waren onze mooie nieuwe waterdichte en dus warme bergschoenen!<br><br>De volgende dag stond ondanks de nieuwe sneeuw welke de nacht gevallen was, wederom de Eggerhorn op het ...

... zig-zag. Stones called schindles sit like heavy checkers on old rooftops, awaiting nature's next move. These stones protect the slate from the violent winter winds. Gimmelwald's biggest building is the school in which 2 teachers share one job. There's nothing but air between Gimmelwald and the rock face of the Jungfrau a mile or two across. Kick a soccer ball wrong and it ends up a mile below on the Lauterbrunnen Valley floor. Gimmelwald ...

... them was a kitten of probably about 4-6months playing in a tree. Very cute and I managed to coax him over for a pat and a cuddle!<br><br>Where we really went wrong was at the train station where there were several options for which path to take. The path we took saw us end up on the main road out of Interlaken and completely confused. We asked a couple of people for directions and eventually found a lady who told us to go back the way we came and then under the railway and around the ...

... which was nice. I dropped my bag off and tried to get going quickly because I knew I had limited time here. There is just so many options of activities here that it seemed to take me a long time to figure out what to do. I finally set my sights on hiking and was lost on how to do it. I finally figured out where some good trails were but I needed to take a train into the mountains. I also had to go to the other side of town. Well I ...

... through the fields of wildflowers and hear the cow bells. However those cows can be nasty. We saw one toss a little girl up in the air today. She could have been badly hurt. We were both a little shaken by that experience.<br><br>All in all it has been a good few days. We have experienced heavy downpours, high wind and blowing snow. At the Swiss border it was so miserable that even the guard didn&#8217;t come out of his hut. <br><br>We have had spectacular views as we ...

We have been spending the last few day's hiking some of the best of the lower mountain hikes Switzerland has to offer. Some of the views we have stumbled across have been magnificent. Glacier lakes, snow capped mountains (Shona's particular favorite), and the lush green pastures. The valleys harbor many small towns with mountains looming so close overhead it feels as if you should be able to touch them. We caught a bus up to Lauterbrunnen, a ...

... as some rings for my sisters~ It then started to rain prettry *******ce we got to our hotel. This hotel is very cute- it's very ' church retreat' like- It had a common dining area, a t.v. room and the rooms seemed very family like! Dinner tonight was DELISH! It all started with a shot of apple schnapps and then a quick demonstration on how to take a shot, where your thumb and pinky are involved. Thumb on top and pinky on bottom when it is before ...

... even prettier due to the two-inch coating of snow on the ground. Our hostel was clean and comfortable, and most importantly, cheap. For dinner that night we got some pasta, which was pretty good, and most importantly, warm. Sunday we woke up early to catch a bus to Grindelwald, an even smaller town even higher up in the mountains. The busride alone was worth the trip, since we were driving precariously up these mountain roads ...

... I learned on this trip was to NEVER mess with the Swiss. Neutrality only exists until you mess with them directly. After that, all bets are off and they will retaliate with deadly force. (Reading up on the history of Switzerland is full of this kind of stuff.) Train Ride to Geneva After the Swiss Parliment we went back to the train station and picked up our luggage. From their we caught a train to Geneva from Berne. It was a crazy double decker bus with ...

... its centerpiece. Despite what I've heard though, it is NOT more beautiful than Interlaken. We had to hike a good fifteen minutes from the station to the Backpackers youth hostel, a clean and cozy locale right by the lake's edge. We had no problem getting a room and were surprised to learn it was already 5PM by the time we'd settled in. I was ready for a nap. Del was itching to go scope out the scene. "Knock yourself out." I said. "I'll be here." I'm awoken ...