Okay, What Do You Think It Is?
Our day started with a winding bus ride through the Black Forest to the Black Forest Open Air Museum. This car gave us all a chuckle as we arrived at the museum and we soon learned that the hat with the pompoms is a traditional costume of the area. (Although usually worn by ladies, not cars!) The museum was fascinating as we learned about the historic farm houses on the property and toured several of them, as well as seeing a working flour mill. We enjoyed lunch at the museum, and then we were on the bus and headed to the mountains.
Pack Only What You Can Carry!
We crossed over into Switzerland and the mountains began to appear! Before we knew it, we had arrived at the cable car station that would take us up to Murren. How many cable cars does it take to get to Murren? Two, as you have to transfer to a second one in Rick's favorite spot of Gimmelwald. As this photo shows, everyone takes their own luggage through the little town of Murren to the hotel. We imagine the locals are always amused as the groups arrive and parade through town! We kept marvelling at how quaint the town was, as well as what it must be like to like on the edge of a cliff!
A Room With A View
We had this amazing view from our hotel window. Although the view didn't always look like this as the weather changed! It did make it interesting every time you looked out the window... could you see the mountains, or had they disappeared into the clouds? We had two fairytale moments in Switzerland. The first was seeing this view out our hotel room. The second was sitting outside seeing the mountains, hearing the cow bells in the distance while the alpenhorn and accordion players entertained us the first night. Pure magic.
A Hike in the Alps
Our first day in Murren, Tara organized a walk in the alps for those that wanted to go. About half of our group tagged along. Tara helped us as we bought tickets for the trek, as we would need to take a train, cable car, another train, and another cable car to get to our starting point. After all our various modes of transportation we were excited to start the walk. We exited the last cable car and walked into a wall of fog. Had the weather been perfect we would have missed the mysterious views of the mountains with clouds surrounding them. We had to keep paying attention to the view, as it was ever changing. While we like to tell people we "hiked" in the Alps, this was really an easy walk and very enjoyable. In fact, this was one of Rebecca's highlights of the whole trip!
After the walk, we all made our way back to Lauterbrunnen by train and then a final cable car and train back to Murren. By the time we got back to Murren, the weather was very rainy. We had thought we would go to the grocery store for supplies for a room picnic, but much to our surprise, the store closes each afternoon for two hours. So we settled in at a cute restaurant to enjoy fondue and Roesti (a local cheese and potato dish). Then we spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on journals, naps, and Swiss chocolate!
After the walk, we all made our way back to Lauterbrunnen by train and then a final cable car and train back to Murren. By the time we got back to Murren, the weather was very rainy. We had thought we would go to the grocery store for supplies for a room picnic, but much to our surprise, the store closes each afternoon for two hours. So we settled in at a cute restaurant to enjoy fondue and Roesti (a local cheese and potato dish). Then we spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on journals, naps, and Swiss chocolate!
Day Trip to Bern
The second day in Murren brought us the same rainy weather, so Tara and Josie spun their magic, and offered a trip to the Trummelbach Falls and then into the capital city of Bern. Most of our group joined in to tour the waterfalls. You could feel the powerful vibration of the water shake your bones. The weather was fine off the mountain, so about half our group decided to spend the day in the city. Tara showed us around the city pointing out the interesting fountains and architecture, as well as the famous "Bears of Bern." We enjoyed a leisurely lunch, a little bit of shopping, and then we were ready to head back to our mountain retreat for our Farewell to Switzerland dinner. We first enjoyed happy hour while we all introduced our "buddies." The buddy system makes sure that everyone is accounted for as our group moves from one location to another. Some people prepared more than others for the introductions, but all were as intriguing as the people! It was fascinating to get to know everyone and hear what they do when they are not on a "Europe Through the Backdoor" trip.