We arrived in Kattigen, which is just outside Interlaken, Switzerland, about 10:30 on Friday night. We would have arrived earlier, but we ran into traffic around Strasbourg, which delayed us about an hour and half.
We lucked out and the Chalet ended up being half of what we expected. That was awesome because hotels in Switzerland are ridiculously expensive and it turns out everything else there is as well!
The big question was whether or not the weather would cooperate the next day. It looked good, but it had rained the entire way down. We got up early to get the first tram up to see the Schilthorn. As we drove through Lauterbrunnen to the base of the tram we could not believe our eyes. This valley is the prettiest, most dramatic valley you've ever seen. Water falls, sheer cliffs, manicured pastures, French chalets, etc.
The kids couldn't believe that we were going to be going up this straight cliff on a tram. While we were walking up to the tram a wing suit guy jumped off the huge cliff and soared right out to the middle of the valley! I never thought I'd get to see one of those guys, but we saw lots over the next couple days.
Sort of like Disneyland, we got sticker at the price to ride the trams up to Murren and onto the Schilthorn. 300 euros! Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get everyone there, so we bit the bullet and jumped on the tram. On the way up we saw waterfalls, suspension bridges, cows, sheep, avalanche barriers, paragliders, etc. The entire trip we couldn't really believe we were where we were. It seriously is like Disneyland, but for real!!!!
As we got close, we all jumped and tried to figure out was going on when a super loud noise occurred on the top of the tram. I thought, "What have my kids done now?", but it turned out that ice was falling from the cables onto the top of the tram. It was pretty scary until we figured out what was going on.
On top, we could not believe the view. 360 panoramic view of the Swiss alps all the way to Mont Blanc near Chamonix.
After a bunch of photos, we were excited to see Rob and Camille. They were coming up on the next tram. They had actually hiked from Murren the day before to the top of the Schilthorn in the rain, snow and fog. 7.5 hours from top to bottom. They're in much better shape than us!!!! They were excited to see that the weather was good and they could actually see what they had missed the day before.
After a taking a bunch of pictures and touring the small James Bond museum we headed back down to Murren. Murren is a one of the prettiest little Swiss villages that you could ever imagine. The only way to get there is by tram. The Aagards stayed in a little hotel on this huge cliff. It seriously doesn't look real, but it is. We had some Swiss chocolate, Alpkase (alpine cheese) and hiked around the city for a couple hours. We eventually made it down to Grimmelwald and took the tram down to the valley floor.
On the way down
After that we jumped in the cars and with the Aagards following headed up towards Grindelwald. It is a little town just below the Eiger up the other valley. Again, just an absolutely stunning valley and picturesque little town. We drove to the top until we couldn't drive anymore and went on a little hike to the first tram ever built. It turns out wikipedia may question their claim, but it was impressive nonetheless.
The hike was underneath a huge glacier and with Paragliders and mountains, again, you'd think you're in paradise. We had a fun hike with the kids. They tried to see who could hold their hand the longest in the glacial run-off!
We ended the day eating Swiss cheese fondue at a restaurant at the end of the hike. Like true Europeans we ate outdoors with our stinky cheese and late nights. We actually outlasted all of the Europeans talking with the Aagards while the kids played on a nearby playground. It was very, very pleasant and is a dinner/evening that we won't ever forget. The setting, the food, the friends... It was perfect.
A short 30-minute drive got us back to our chalet/hotel. We all were asleep by 9:00 pm.
Next morning at 6:00 am we woke up again to catch the 2nd train up to the Top of Europe. It is the saddle between the Jungfrau and the Monch. If you catch the early trains you get a discount. Again the sticker shock was unbelieveable. It cost about 500 euros for us to all get up the mountain.
The Aagards were there waiting for us, so we jumped on the Cog train and headed up the mountain. Cog trains can go up crazy steep slopes. We could not believe how fast this train went up theses steep mountain slopes. Again, just crazy beautiful view of the Lauterbrunnen valley. We stopped in a few towns on our way up past the cows and Swiss chalets.
Eventually we made it up to Kleine Scheidegg, where we transferred to the final train. This town is where you can watch climbers attempt the north face of the Eiger. There is a super famous trip that ended in failure and everyone watched the climbers fall or freeze to death in their attempt to climb the mountain.
The train actually has no trouble climbing the mountain. In fact, this train tunnels right through the Eiger. Literally. It stops in two spots on the way up where there are viewing ports. Unbelievable that miners were able to dig through the solid rock in the late 1800s and even know where they were at.
The train eventually ends up on the saddle between the Jungfrau and the Monch. You end up on this rocky outcropping looking at an 11 mile long glacier and amazing peaks. We felt like we'd cheated by taking the train vs. hiking up Mount Rainier. The views are very similar. Glaciers are extremely beautiful!
Lots of helicopters, tourists, amazing views, etc. They've built quite the little tourist trap up there. Chocolate shops, food, watches, and even a walk through the bottom of the glacier. While the Aagards went on a short hike the kids went sledding and snow biking. They had a small hill with a moving carpet lift back up. The kids spent about 2 hours going up and down the hill. The first time we sent Ashton down we about killed him.
The train ride down seemed a lot slower than the ride up, but we eventually made it down to Lauterbrunnen. The Aagards went for a hike in Kleine Scheidegg, so we said goodbye to them until Tuesday when they are coming to stay in the barn.
On the way home we took a 3 hour detour to visit Liechtenstein. It is waaaaaay smaller than Luxembourg, only 35,000 people. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liechtenstein
We drove through the capital Valduz, took a picture and got some McDonalds to eat in the car. We also briefly drove through Austria, so we crossed two more countries off the list. After a long, tiring drive home, we rolled in at midnight and went right to bed.
Definitely the highlight of our European Adventure! We would go back to Switzerland in a heart beat!!!!
Other notable events this week...
Ashton started school again and is doing great! We were a little nervous when he said he wasn't going to eat or talk at school. He's at least talking, so 1 out of 2 ain't bad!
Jacob is spending more time with the Bishop's son, Adam. This week they went carting and rode the train to mutual! Jake's french is improving rapidly as he's forced to communicate in French with Adam. Pretty exciting to see his improvement!
Click here for Pictures from Week 38
Other notable events this week...
Ashton started school again and is doing great! We were a little nervous when he said he wasn't going to eat or talk at school. He's at least talking, so 1 out of 2 ain't bad!
Jacob is spending more time with the Bishop's son, Adam. This week they went carting and rode the train to mutual! Jake's french is improving rapidly as he's forced to communicate in French with Adam. Pretty exciting to see his improvement!
Click here for Pictures from Week 38
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