Day 3 & 4 The Alps

Aug 5

We decide to go down into Lauterbrunnen today, as husband wants to visit an underground waterfall in some caves down there.  I pass (walking around in dark, damp underground pathways to see a waterfall- yeah, count me out).  So I wandered the town, bought a couple of souvenirs and then collapsed under an umbrella at an outdoor cafe for a mineral water– it was much hotter down in the valley.

Ended up talking with a man who lived down the valley and when we commented on the heat (almost 90°), he told me of the winters here.  Everyone skis every chance they get – even the seniors.  They use snowshoes to get into town.  He tells of the short days and long winter nights where everyone works on indoor projects.  The farmers carve new fence posts for the summer, the women knit, the children carve wooden tableaus for school projects and gifts.  Not many have central heating and usewoodstoves throughout the winter.  But, he reflects that this is a special season, a cozy time with family.  The outdoor winter activities seem to excite them as much as summer ones.

Here are some photos from husbands cave/waterfall expedition.

Later we took the cable car up and hiked a bit around the Grimmelwald area to explore further.  We had fun finding all the places Rick Steves visited on his Switzerland show.  Grimmelwald is his favorite place.  Check out this garden, more cow bells (I know, I know “more cow bell”…don’t think we didn’t chuckle over that old SNL skit – every time we saw cow bells.  But then, we are easily amused).  

The last photo is at the hostel Rick always stays in.  It’s run by an ancient man who still serves coffee and water with a smile.

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Aug 6  (with video – I know — look at us taking video)

Today we planned our most adventuresome hike – the North Face which gives incredible views of the Eiger and the other peaks in the range.  We start early and congratulate ourselves on another great weather day.

We brought our i-phone (a hand me down gift from our friends Jim & Melinda – thanks guys) so husband took a video of our hike today.  Click to view.

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Now some plain old – school photos.

We meet Brenda, the St. Bernard on the way up in the funicular.  Brenda guards the cafe and children’s area up top.   The children love her and she stoically accepts all petting and praise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And off we go, we watch the gondolas while catching our breath and then hold our breathe while going through a herd of cows.  The trail signs are as good (if not better) than road signs.  Very inspiring to see where we’re going and where we’ve been.

What you don’t see are our aching knees, tired feet and sore legs – but we couldn’t be happier.

Got back around 5pm as we were invited to a hotel-hosted champagne party (we booked for 4 nights so I guess we rated).

For our last night, we had reserved dinner at our hotel and having made casual acquaintances with some of the staff we were surprised with some extra treats at our dinner.  Most notably, an introduction to a taste of Raclette   which is — wait for it Mom — melted hot cheese scraped over toasted bread with pickles, potatoes and little condiments.

A perfect ending to our incredible visit to the Alps.

OK one more time BREATHTAKING (3)