We had decided last night to meet for breakfast at 7:20 if the weather was clear, so we could get a good start on the day. Our backup plan was to look outside and if it was raining we would go back to bed. We were thrilled when we looked out to see clear skies!
In the small-world-department: We met a couple at breakfast this morning. We introduced ourselves and found that they were from Atlanta…and that they arrived in Switzerland the same day we did…and that they were on the same flight we were on…and that they were six rows away from us on the plane. Now, four days later we end up staying at the same small chalet bed-and-breakfast at a tiny village in the Alps!
Immediately after breakfast we took the lift up to the top of the Shilthorn. There were a few clouds, but views of the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau (the big three mountains in this area) were in full view, and spectacular. There has been snowfall in this area as recent as just a few days ago, so there is snow everywhere.
After viewing the mountains from the top of the Shilthorn, we got off of the lift at a place called Birg, where we took photos of us in the snow there.
We caught the next lift back down to Murren and took a funicular up to an area called Allmendhubel. From there we hiked the “North Face Trail” up through some spectacular areas, and eventually back to Murren. It was a long, but beautiful hike.
While on our hike, we stopped at a little chalet to enjoy our picnic lunch. We bought cokes from the little restaurant and sat outside and ate our lunch and enjoyed the wonderful view.
After consuming our peanut butter crackers and granola bars, we continued our hike. This view is of our fearless leader (Olen) as he enjoyed the view.
We met several other groups of hikers along the trail, and all of them spoke English. One lady was kind enough to take a photo of all of us.
The trail took us up the sides of mountains, across streams, through patches of crusty snow, and through cow pastures where we had to watch what we were stepping in. Swiss cows are my favorite. Many of them have those lovely sounding bells around their necks. I love the sound, but I wonder if the constant ringing might cause some cows to be in need of some sort of cow-therapy.
Here are two of the cows on a quiet hillside, with a snow-capped mountain behind them. If you look closely, you may be able to see the viewing platform at the top of the Shilthorn behind them in the distance.
We passed several farms, with the usual animals. Of course most farms have pigs, but these were extremely large ones. They had a good-sized pen, but they all decided to take a nap in the same spot. Apparently one of them did not get the memo about putting your head in the eastern direction!
We ate an early dinner at a restaurant in Murren. We all ordered Rosti Alpina, which is a fancy (and fairly expensive) way of saying hash-brown-potatoes-ham-and-cheese-baked-in-an-oven. We ate by a large picture window with great views of the valley and mountains beyond us. Unfortunately, the moment our food arrived and we took the photo, a cloud rolled by.
We liked our Rosti Alpina, and finished our dining experience with a stop for Magnum ice cream bars on the walk back to the chalet. (Magnum bars! This is now officially a vacation!)
It was a great day. We turned in early and plan to get up early again tomorrow. We are planning another great day for tomorrow, if the weather cooperates.
But, we are not the only ones in our family that are “journeying” at this time. Our son, Barry, leaves tomorrow to go to Israel. He has a website that we highly recommend, and he will be blogging his trip to Israel through the website. Those of you who are interested in travel blogs or Bible study might want to look at it. You can follow Barry’s blog at http://www.exploringbiblelands.com. You can get automatically updated on the blog by following him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ExploringBibleLands.
Have a wonderful trip, Barry. Travel is such a great learning experience…and a love for travel must be in the genes!
In the small-world-department: We met a couple at breakfast this morning. We introduced ourselves and found that they were from Atlanta…and that they arrived in Switzerland the same day we did…and that they were on the same flight we were on…and that they were six rows away from us on the plane. Now, four days later we end up staying at the same small chalet bed-and-breakfast at a tiny village in the Alps!
Immediately after breakfast we took the lift up to the top of the Shilthorn. There were a few clouds, but views of the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau (the big three mountains in this area) were in full view, and spectacular. There has been snowfall in this area as recent as just a few days ago, so there is snow everywhere.
After viewing the mountains from the top of the Shilthorn, we got off of the lift at a place called Birg, where we took photos of us in the snow there.
We caught the next lift back down to Murren and took a funicular up to an area called Allmendhubel. From there we hiked the “North Face Trail” up through some spectacular areas, and eventually back to Murren. It was a long, but beautiful hike.
While on our hike, we stopped at a little chalet to enjoy our picnic lunch. We bought cokes from the little restaurant and sat outside and ate our lunch and enjoyed the wonderful view.
After consuming our peanut butter crackers and granola bars, we continued our hike. This view is of our fearless leader (Olen) as he enjoyed the view.
We met several other groups of hikers along the trail, and all of them spoke English. One lady was kind enough to take a photo of all of us.
The trail took us up the sides of mountains, across streams, through patches of crusty snow, and through cow pastures where we had to watch what we were stepping in. Swiss cows are my favorite. Many of them have those lovely sounding bells around their necks. I love the sound, but I wonder if the constant ringing might cause some cows to be in need of some sort of cow-therapy.
Here are two of the cows on a quiet hillside, with a snow-capped mountain behind them. If you look closely, you may be able to see the viewing platform at the top of the Shilthorn behind them in the distance.
We passed several farms, with the usual animals. Of course most farms have pigs, but these were extremely large ones. They had a good-sized pen, but they all decided to take a nap in the same spot. Apparently one of them did not get the memo about putting your head in the eastern direction!
We ate an early dinner at a restaurant in Murren. We all ordered Rosti Alpina, which is a fancy (and fairly expensive) way of saying hash-brown-potatoes-ham-and-cheese-baked-in-an-oven. We ate by a large picture window with great views of the valley and mountains beyond us. Unfortunately, the moment our food arrived and we took the photo, a cloud rolled by.
We liked our Rosti Alpina, and finished our dining experience with a stop for Magnum ice cream bars on the walk back to the chalet. (Magnum bars! This is now officially a vacation!)
It was a great day. We turned in early and plan to get up early again tomorrow. We are planning another great day for tomorrow, if the weather cooperates.
But, we are not the only ones in our family that are “journeying” at this time. Our son, Barry, leaves tomorrow to go to Israel. He has a website that we highly recommend, and he will be blogging his trip to Israel through the website. Those of you who are interested in travel blogs or Bible study might want to look at it. You can follow Barry’s blog at http://www.exploringbiblelands.com. You can get automatically updated on the blog by following him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ExploringBibleLands.
Have a wonderful trip, Barry. Travel is such a great learning experience…and a love for travel must be in the genes!
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