A few days off of school means an opportunity to get away.
We took advantage of a long weekend in early October to visit our dear MN friends in Switzerland, and hike in the Bernese Oberland.
They've been in our blog before, because by the grace of God we have been sent abroad at the same time - they landed in Switzerland just a couple months after we came to London. Sharing in the ex-pat experience and being able to visit one another, and enjoy phone conversations with only a one-hour time difference - it's been a real blessing.
We landed (2 hours late, ugh!) in Geneva on Friday October 4th. Grabbed a rental car and in less than an hour, though pouring rain, we arrived at La Belle Charmine.
Saturday morning we ventured to hike right in Montreux, a beautiful trail leading into les Gorges de Chauderon - Les Avants. After the pouring rain the night before, the trail was very muddy and wet, but we felt like we had been transported into a rain forest - lush green vegetation, a gushing river and a gorge and rock cliffs.
Saturday afternoon our friends gathered everyone for a tour of the UNESCO world heritage site vineyards in the Lausanne area (Lavaux area). What perks we have in knowing the locals - they knew this most beautiful spot to walk through the vineyards, all the while enjoying magnificent views of Lake Geneva. Admittedly we could not help ourselves from sampling a few delicious plump grapes!
May I take a moment to brag a bit about our friends' beautiful Swiss home?
La Charmine is nestled along the hillside above Montreux among the vineyards, with walking paths, those famous Swiss cows nearby, and stunning views of Le Lac Lehman at the mountains across - views all the way into France.
We often joke that they should be the Londoners and we should be in their shoes. Sharing this experience together truly makes you appreciate it; whichever side you are on!
Sunday morning found us bidding our dear friends "au revoir" and turning towards the Bernese Oberland.
First stop: Interlaken, where we parked across the river from Harder Kulm, walked over and then, instead of taking the lift/tram up the mountain, we made a hike of it! It took us from about 11:30ish to about 5ish to do the entire thing - up and back down. But we say, ALL WORTH IT!! If you have the time, it's a great hike. We stopped for lunch and stopped for lots of views along the way.
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| Look at the color of the beautiful waters - glacial lake waters running between Lake Brienz and Lake Thun |
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| The path up takes you right through some cow pastures, where you can greet these friendly creatures up close! |
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| a stop along the way |
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| Reward for all that hiking - the viewing platform is awesome!! |
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| you really feel suspended in air |
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| When the clouds cleared we could see the Eiger |
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| If you want to do this hike, start HERE! |
Now as the beginning of this posts warns, we indeed came to Switzerland in search of fresh mountain air and hikes and all things nature and outdoorsy!
Being budget conscious I naturally booked us a place at one of the cheaper spots in Interlaken. We were only going to be sleeping there, right?
Well, DO NOT STAY AT KATY'S INN unless you are a smoker!! Even though the rooms are smoke-free, the owners smoke without ceasing, and because it's an old house, the smoke just travels right up the stairwell and into your room!! COUGH COUGH!! SO GROSS!! We were appalled.
And while we're on the subject, don't stay in Interlaken at all - if you have a car. We had a car, and we could have stayed in a quaint little village....like this one below:
Well after a smoky night's sleep and a crappy breakfast at Katy's, we went out to enjoy the most beautiful part of the Bernese Oberland. We had considered taking the tram all the way up to the Jungfraujoch - "The journey to the Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe, at 3454 metres Europe’s highest altitude railway station, is the highlight of every visit to Switzerland. It offers visitors a high-Alpine wonderworld of ice, snow and rock, which can be marvelled at from vantage terraces, the Aletsch Glacier or in the Ice Palace. On clear days, views extend as far as the Vosges mountains in France and Germany’s Black Forest. "
Top of Europe - where you can pay 1,000 dollars to have your family transported up to the highest railway point in all of Europe - just to look at clouds....We decided the views we darn good from the hikes, and we can look up to see the clouds!! =)
So, after realizing we could drive quite a ways into the mountains, and then head out on another fantastic hike, we followed the road all the way to Stechelberg, where there was ample parking (although not probably on summer days or weekends - this was a Monday), and we had a ton of different hiking path options.
We hiked 11ish to 2:30ish and then had to make the drive to Zurich, where we had a flight that evening at 9pm.
Wanting to eat some traditional Swiss Cheesy Food, we found a place in Zurich called "Swiss Chuchi" which served food all day and had reasonable prices compared to some Swiss restaurants!
Bellies full of cheese, we were able to enjoy a quick walk through Zurich and then it was time to get to the airport!
GOODBYE BEAUTIFUL SWITZERLAND!!!
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