Wednesday May 7: We are riding on the train from France to Switzerland to make it Murren. We were so excited to make it there, but also kind of nervous. We weren't sure how the weather was going to be and everything in Murren was basically based on having good weather. So we had our fingers crossed. But we loved travelling through the countrysides!
Our first stop in Switzerland was in Basel! This was the first international train station in Europe and it was cool to know that we were in Switzerland. We had some questions about our Swiss Pass so we spoke with an attendant and then decided to get some lunch. This was kind of fun because we could definitely hear a change in accents when they spoke English, they were speaking German now, and the money had to be either Swiss Francs or they still accepted Euros because it was a train station. We made our way into a little deli and sweets shop and got a sandwich that had ham, baby corn, and a sweet pickle on it. Normally I hate sweet pickles, but I actually liked this one! It was an interesting first taste of what they eat here. Better than it sounds! Then we got on another train and eventually got to Interlaken (passing through Berne which was absolutely beautiful-we definitely want to spend more time in Switzerland and that will be on the list for sure). In Interlaken we didn't leave the train station but we were able to see the two lakes that surround Interlaken and give it is name. The water here is just mindblowingly clear, and with the green valleys and large Alps, it is definitely serene. In Interlaken we boarded another train that took us to Lauterbrunnen. The weather report had not been so great for the days we had in the Bernese Oberland (the valley in the Swiss Alps where we were staying), so much so that I regretted buying the tickets. We knew it was a huge gamble because we were about a month or two early for the good summer weather. So when we arrived in Lauterbrunnen and the sun was starting to peak out I got extremely excited! I was talking a million pictures and running around in circles telling Rusty that even if the rest of the trip here had bad weather I would still be happy that I saw what I did. We went into a cute little bakery and bought some chips (disgusting) and our first batch of Swiss chocolate bars. Oh my word, they really are so smooth and more delicious. We got some Swiss brand and then a Toblerone bar!
We took a bus to Stechelberg where we took a cable car up to Gimmelwald, and another one to Murren. It sounds like a lot, but it actually didn't take that much time and everything was so beautiful that it felt like it went too quickly. The cable car was kind of terrifying because it started out by going completely vertical over a cliff face. Ahhhh! From Gimmelwald to Murren it wasn't so scary. The weather stayed nice in Gimmelwald, but then it started hailing on our way to Murren. I stated getting nervous thinking I had messed up and we should have stayed in Gimmelwald which is lower in elevation. But when we got to the top, it was BEAUTIFUL. I couldn't stop giggling and smiling and running around. Really I was just running around aimlessly, so ecstatic that I had to be moving. I had planned on not being able to see the mountains the entire time we were there, and our first night I saw all of them with only a few clouds!! This was already shaping up to be one of the must amazing places I had ever been, and because I wasn't expecting much it made out that much more beautiful.
We walked the five minutes across the tiny town full of little cozy, quaint homes and B&b's. The views of the mountains and the valleys below were truly breathtaking and unlike anything I'd ever seen. When we got to our B&B, Eiger's Guesthouse, we checked in and went up to room 10. I couldn't remember for sure but I was pretty positive that we didn't even have a window in this room, but when we walked in we had a big window facing the main mountains here: Jungfrau, Eiger and Monch!! We even had a balcony off the other side of the room! Talk about the best day ever! We went back out in the town and walked around a little and then went and sat on the huge porch on the second floor of the hotel. What a view! Then we sat on our balcony and watched the sun set. It was a beautiful day!
Thursday May 8:
The next morning we woke up and looked out our window to see the sun rising up over the mountains. There are no cars in Murren or Gimmelwald. The people here earn a living through tourism or through their cattle and goats. You can hear the giant bells on the cows when they are up having in the high meadows. There are attractions year round here: In the summer there is mountain biking, hiking, paragliding, sky diving, and riding the gondolas, and in the winter there are ski lifts that leave right from the town. We were there in the off season, right before summer really took off, so it was really quiet and sleepy. We really loved being there at that time when we pretty much had the entire town to ourselves with only the locals and a handful of other tourists. Luckily for us we got EXCELLENT weather, which doesn't normally happen!
The three main mountains here are all in a row and although they are not the tallest mountains in the Swiss Alps, they are known to be some of the most iconic. Eiger was the first mountain to be named, way back in the 1300s. It originally was supposed to be translated to mean sharp or pointed. Next came the Jungfrau, which means maiden or virgin. This one got named quite a bit later and they think its name came from the fact that there was a nunnery in the valley underneath it. The last one to be named was the Monch which means monk. There is a story for these mountains that caused the name of Eiger to be changed a little to one of its different meanings, ogre. The story is that the maiden is being protected by the monk from the ogre on the opposite side. The funny thing is that the huge mountain that looks so imposing is actually the Jungfrau, the maiden. The ogre is quite a bit smaller haha. Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau!
Today we woke up and went and had some breakfast that was included in our hotel. It was our first Swiss breakfast so we didn't really know what to expect. There was yogurt, some cereal, fresh milk, breads, croissants, and a large platter of different meats and cheeses. It was so different and exciting! I tried some of the salami and it was delicious! Rusty had a different kind of meat that he said was maybe liverwurst. He said it was gross and I believed him and never tried it haha. Then the owner of the hotel, Ema, came over and asked us if we wanted some hot chocolate. Not even a question! I've been dreaming about trying the Swiss hot chocolate. It was really rich and I could only have a few of little cups (although she brought each of us our own pitcher ha). We talked to Ema and got some advice on where to go on our hikes and met the family dog, Bonnie. We set off super excited because the skies were clear and blue. To start we began hiking up past Murren. We got a ways up and then met a lot of snow just like Ema said we would. We went past it a little and then turned around and walled around a little creek and waterfall.
After that we decided to walk down to the even tinier town of Gimmelwald. We waked past fields of wildflowers and heard the tinkling of bells on goats and cows as we walked into the town. The views on this walk were so spectacular that we had a hard time deciding where to look: up at the beautiful mountains or down at the luscious green valley. As we were waking we saw someone paragliding, and then another and another! We probably saw 20 people throughout the whole day. We thought it would be really fun to do that because both of us have always wanted to, but because it was the off season there weren't any stores open to rent stuff and have a guide take you. (Later down in Lauterbrunnen we saw a shop that was open and took you up to Murren. So next time!)
Mostly today we just hiked, walked around, and played with some goats, horses and cats. Something really great happened though! As we were walking in Gimmelwald, Rusty spotted this little sign that was written in a few different languages. It said something to the effect of, "Self serve cheese, milk, sausage inside." So we were brave and decided this would be awesome so we went in. It was a little farm house with giant cow bells hanging inside (which I'm just a little obsessed with and have been a huge highlight of Murren for me) and those shoes that make you think of Holland, like wooden clogs. So we opened the fridge and there was all kinds of goodness! We picked the smallest block of cheese, still 350 grams, paid and then left. As we were getting the cheese the farmer came in so we met him and talked for just a little. Then we went and found a bench with a good view and stated eating our cheese. No lie, that was maybe the most delicious cheese ever. And don't worry, we didn't devour the whole thing. But Rusty would not throw it away, so he kept it wrapped up outside our window it keep it cold. Haha.
After we had hiked around we came back to Murren and had dinner in the restaurant. We thought it would be Swiss food but it turned out to be Italian! The Swiss people love their Italian food. Although we were a little bummed because it wasn't Swiss, the food was really delicious and very authentic. Ema and her family are Italian so it just made us excited to get to go eat all of that stuff! Later we found out that Italian is actually a large part of Swiss food and culture in some areas (like this one and Zermatt) because it is so close to Italy. We got a salad with delicious celery that isn't like what we eat and a super tasty veggie pizza-we had really been missing eating enough fruits and veggies by this point in the trip. After dinner we walked around a little more and found a cool trail that gave us even more views of the mountains. We just sat on a rock over there for a while until we went back into Murren and then looked at the views there. What a great day! It's so nice to take it easy and enjoy nature after rushing around in the big cities (which is why I planned the trip this way :) ).
Friday May 9:
This morning we got up and went down for breakfast again. After all the cheese I had yesterday, I wasn't so sure I wanted any more so I chose to forgo that and ate some cereal and two delicious cinnamon roll things that had no cinnamon. I know it sounds weird, but trust me. Divine. Then we walked down to the cable car and went back to the Lauterbrunnen valley. We got off the bus and visited Trumelbach Falls, a big waterfall on the inside of a mountain! If was really cool to see something like that. We rode an elevator up that was inside the mountain for part of the climb with a really funny Swiss guide. He warned us of the "oops" for the take off (the elevator would lurch really bad) and said there would be another one when for us at the top. He also gave the couple in front of us a hard time for pushing the button down for so long because apparently it makes a horrid beeping sound the entire time you hold it haha. We got off and then continued our hike weaving in and out of the mountain. It was eerie inside and felt like we were caving, but the views really were cool and very different from anything that I'd seen before. The coolest views were actually further towards the bottom though. We hiked all the way back down and enjoyed a bunch of different waterfalls. The valley with the cows and their bells, all of the wildflowers, and the waterfalls was so spectacular! I love this place. The Lauterbrunnen valley has 72 waterfalls. They are everywhere!
Our time in Murren was so much better than we expected. After our whole trip, this consistently makes the top 2 places. We cannot wait to come back here, but for now it is time to head on to Zermatt!
Our first stop in Switzerland was in Basel! This was the first international train station in Europe and it was cool to know that we were in Switzerland. We had some questions about our Swiss Pass so we spoke with an attendant and then decided to get some lunch. This was kind of fun because we could definitely hear a change in accents when they spoke English, they were speaking German now, and the money had to be either Swiss Francs or they still accepted Euros because it was a train station. We made our way into a little deli and sweets shop and got a sandwich that had ham, baby corn, and a sweet pickle on it. Normally I hate sweet pickles, but I actually liked this one! It was an interesting first taste of what they eat here. Better than it sounds! Then we got on another train and eventually got to Interlaken (passing through Berne which was absolutely beautiful-we definitely want to spend more time in Switzerland and that will be on the list for sure). In Interlaken we didn't leave the train station but we were able to see the two lakes that surround Interlaken and give it is name. The water here is just mindblowingly clear, and with the green valleys and large Alps, it is definitely serene. In Interlaken we boarded another train that took us to Lauterbrunnen. The weather report had not been so great for the days we had in the Bernese Oberland (the valley in the Swiss Alps where we were staying), so much so that I regretted buying the tickets. We knew it was a huge gamble because we were about a month or two early for the good summer weather. So when we arrived in Lauterbrunnen and the sun was starting to peak out I got extremely excited! I was talking a million pictures and running around in circles telling Rusty that even if the rest of the trip here had bad weather I would still be happy that I saw what I did. We went into a cute little bakery and bought some chips (disgusting) and our first batch of Swiss chocolate bars. Oh my word, they really are so smooth and more delicious. We got some Swiss brand and then a Toblerone bar!
Lauterbrunnen
This chocolate was SO tasty! We spent a lot of time laying in our bed at night eating bars and bars.
We thought these mountains looked like Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau!
Cute Gimmelwald! Instantly loved it!
We walked the five minutes across the tiny town full of little cozy, quaint homes and B&b's. The views of the mountains and the valleys below were truly breathtaking and unlike anything I'd ever seen. When we got to our B&B, Eiger's Guesthouse, we checked in and went up to room 10. I couldn't remember for sure but I was pretty positive that we didn't even have a window in this room, but when we walked in we had a big window facing the main mountains here: Jungfrau, Eiger and Monch!! We even had a balcony off the other side of the room! Talk about the best day ever! We went back out in the town and walked around a little and then went and sat on the huge porch on the second floor of the hotel. What a view! Then we sat on our balcony and watched the sun set. It was a beautiful day!
Our adorable B&B
Thursday May 8:
The next morning we woke up and looked out our window to see the sun rising up over the mountains. There are no cars in Murren or Gimmelwald. The people here earn a living through tourism or through their cattle and goats. You can hear the giant bells on the cows when they are up having in the high meadows. There are attractions year round here: In the summer there is mountain biking, hiking, paragliding, sky diving, and riding the gondolas, and in the winter there are ski lifts that leave right from the town. We were there in the off season, right before summer really took off, so it was really quiet and sleepy. We really loved being there at that time when we pretty much had the entire town to ourselves with only the locals and a handful of other tourists. Luckily for us we got EXCELLENT weather, which doesn't normally happen!
The toilets all flush high up on the wall!
Our balcony. Kill me.
The three main mountains here are all in a row and although they are not the tallest mountains in the Swiss Alps, they are known to be some of the most iconic. Eiger was the first mountain to be named, way back in the 1300s. It originally was supposed to be translated to mean sharp or pointed. Next came the Jungfrau, which means maiden or virgin. This one got named quite a bit later and they think its name came from the fact that there was a nunnery in the valley underneath it. The last one to be named was the Monch which means monk. There is a story for these mountains that caused the name of Eiger to be changed a little to one of its different meanings, ogre. The story is that the maiden is being protected by the monk from the ogre on the opposite side. The funny thing is that the huge mountain that looks so imposing is actually the Jungfrau, the maiden. The ogre is quite a bit smaller haha. Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau!
Good morning, Switzerland!
Swiss Hot Chocolate!
Swiss Francs!
Our tiny town of Murren!
The mountains just rose up above the town; it was beautiful.
The Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau
The Jungfrau had so many glaciers on it that you could see from Murren
Starting down to Gimmelwald!
A miniature horse!
This cat loved Rusty and followed us all the way to town
Gimmelwald, just sitting right on the cliffs surrounded by mountains
Rusty rubbed his leg on a plant that stung him a little bit. But he didn't let that slow him down, my tough man.
Oh hey.
Absolutely loved all of the window boxes and flowers
Wild flowers
A cute Swiss bunny!!
There were signs like this in all of the towns to direct you on the paths. They were done in the amount of time it would take you to walk there :)
Mostly today we just hiked, walked around, and played with some goats, horses and cats. Something really great happened though! As we were walking in Gimmelwald, Rusty spotted this little sign that was written in a few different languages. It said something to the effect of, "Self serve cheese, milk, sausage inside." So we were brave and decided this would be awesome so we went in. It was a little farm house with giant cow bells hanging inside (which I'm just a little obsessed with and have been a huge highlight of Murren for me) and those shoes that make you think of Holland, like wooden clogs. So we opened the fridge and there was all kinds of goodness! We picked the smallest block of cheese, still 350 grams, paid and then left. As we were getting the cheese the farmer came in so we met him and talked for just a little. Then we went and found a bench with a good view and stated eating our cheese. No lie, that was maybe the most delicious cheese ever. And don't worry, we didn't devour the whole thing. But Rusty would not throw it away, so he kept it wrapped up outside our window it keep it cold. Haha.
After we had hiked around we came back to Murren and had dinner in the restaurant. We thought it would be Swiss food but it turned out to be Italian! The Swiss people love their Italian food. Although we were a little bummed because it wasn't Swiss, the food was really delicious and very authentic. Ema and her family are Italian so it just made us excited to get to go eat all of that stuff! Later we found out that Italian is actually a large part of Swiss food and culture in some areas (like this one and Zermatt) because it is so close to Italy. We got a salad with delicious celery that isn't like what we eat and a super tasty veggie pizza-we had really been missing eating enough fruits and veggies by this point in the trip. After dinner we walked around a little more and found a cool trail that gave us even more views of the mountains. We just sat on a rock over there for a while until we went back into Murren and then looked at the views there. What a great day! It's so nice to take it easy and enjoy nature after rushing around in the big cities (which is why I planned the trip this way :) ).
Swiss Francs!
Murren is so small that they only have volunteer firefighters. This is the fire station!
Swiss Army Knives
This is the ski lift!
Friday May 9:
This morning we got up and went down for breakfast again. After all the cheese I had yesterday, I wasn't so sure I wanted any more so I chose to forgo that and ate some cereal and two delicious cinnamon roll things that had no cinnamon. I know it sounds weird, but trust me. Divine. Then we walked down to the cable car and went back to the Lauterbrunnen valley. We got off the bus and visited Trumelbach Falls, a big waterfall on the inside of a mountain! If was really cool to see something like that. We rode an elevator up that was inside the mountain for part of the climb with a really funny Swiss guide. He warned us of the "oops" for the take off (the elevator would lurch really bad) and said there would be another one when for us at the top. He also gave the couple in front of us a hard time for pushing the button down for so long because apparently it makes a horrid beeping sound the entire time you hold it haha. We got off and then continued our hike weaving in and out of the mountain. It was eerie inside and felt like we were caving, but the views really were cool and very different from anything that I'd seen before. The coolest views were actually further towards the bottom though. We hiked all the way back down and enjoyed a bunch of different waterfalls. The valley with the cows and their bells, all of the wildflowers, and the waterfalls was so spectacular! I love this place. The Lauterbrunnen valley has 72 waterfalls. They are everywhere!
Cows in Lauterbrunnen, WITH cow bells on! AND more cow bells hanging on the barn!
The spectacular Lauterbrunnen Valley
Our time in Murren was so much better than we expected. After our whole trip, this consistently makes the top 2 places. We cannot wait to come back here, but for now it is time to head on to Zermatt!
No comments:
Post a Comment