Switzerland!

Next to the Brienzersee

We began our long family vacation on Saturday, August 27th and our first stop was Wildserwill, Switzerland just outside of Interlaken.  Let's just saw WOW!!!  What a beautiful area.  We could have spent out entire time here, but our pocketbook would have been completely empty. Switzerland is NOT an inexpensive place to be.  However, I just kept Tim focused on the beauty while quietly paying the bills and we made it through our two days there ok:)  Our highlights of these days:

They love their cows...many statues like these around the area...and we saw and HEARD many of them with those great big cow bells!



Our Hotel



1. Tunnels!!! Switzerland is the country of tunnels apparently - the best way to get around the mountains is through them:)  We even drove through one that was over 5 Km long - super cool. And NO smell of exhaust or anything

2. Cleanliness - the Swiss know how to keep their environment beautiful

3. Glaciers - we stayed just below the Eiger and spent one day ON THE GLACIER! Yep, for a mere $400 we took the trains up the mountain and wandered around Jungfraujoch - the "top of Europe" - a great facility at the top of the mountain where one can wander through an ice palace, walk around on the glacier and climb to the top of the observation tower and view the sites - an amazing (and chilly) time! 

Inside the Ice Palace - sculptures and tunnels of fun!

Snowball Fight!



"On Top of Euope" - aahh!!!

4.Paragliders - EVERYWHERE!  We saw no less then 30 of them over the days - often in groups of 5-6 just catching the wind around the mountains. We also saw a handful of them land which was a highlight for the girls

5. Waterfalls - WOW WOW WOW....we saw too may to count! Our first night we drove up one of the valleys by our hotel and could not believe our eyes. HUGE waterfalls splashing down the mountains.  Then, all along our drive the next day we spotted one every few Km's - just too cool to see - especially when paired with not only mountains but bright green pastures as well!

DOWNER...now, I must tell that that our time there started with a bad bang...literally! It's almost too hard to write about, but it's part of "the story' I guess.  Upon our arrival into our super neat suite, which had a loft with a ladder, Chloe promptly fell off that ladder.  Now, we had just spent time going up and down for practice and reviewing safety rules, so Momma thought it was ok and went over to unpack.  I think her shoe got caught and I watched a fall that to this moment makes we shake. I seriously wasn't sure I'd pick up a conscious child.  I've never been so scared in my life. Tim sprung into action and got a hotel staffer with ice. Luckily - seriously PRAISE GOD - she seemed ok. The worse injuries seem to be her tongue with a couple of bites. So, we put lots of ice on tongue and head and watched her like a hawk - and no sleeping allowed.  I just keep praying that everything on the inside is ok and that God keeps her little body in His hands...this trip has been hard on her with many trips and falls. Is it the age? the stupid brown sandles? the rougher/bumpier cobblestones? WHAT??? But...I now have her wrapped in bubble wrap and hope to get home without further incidents!!! But...prayers are welcome and needed!!

Let's end on a positve note....our time in Switzerland ended neatly with not only a scenic route, but a neat little lunch at a roadside - very local- cafe just over the mtn pass - with some of the best soup (Goulosh soup basically) I've ever tasted!!! Yes, the highlights are always food-related - hee hee!!!  Overall, we would vacation here over and over....at least once we won the lottery!!!