Welcome to Switzerland!

From Paris we headed to Interlaken, my favorite city in Switzerland. We checked the weather a few days before and it predicted sunny on Friday and overcast on Saturday. We left Paris as early as possible Friday morning so we could catch a good day in the mountains. Even miles outside of our destination I was snapping pictures as we rolled through beautiful Swiss towns and closer to the white-capped peaks towering in the distance.	Switz (1).JPG 1.33 MB	Switz (7).JPG 1.44 MB
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We dropped our luggage in the little hotel by the Interlaken train station and headed for the hills. For obvious reasons, we felt welcome on the Berner Oberland Bahn (Bern region train). As we rode toward the mountains the skies were blue and cloudless. The only challenge was getting the camera to take pictures fast enough.	Switz (8).JPG 1.52 MB	Switz (13).JPG 1.97 MB
Switz (19).JPG 1.80 MB	Our first stop was Lauterbrunnen, one of the most picturesque towns I've seen. Nestled in a green valley, surrounded by huge cliffs with waterfalls pouring over them and rugged snow-capped peaks towering right above you. Check out the big version of the picture to the left. Could you design a more gorgeous scene? How about if you added a Swiss flag blowing in the breeze?	Switz (21).JPG 1.68 MB
From Lauterbrunnen we took a gondola up where we could see the whole area with the alps wrapping around the sky. The view got better and better.	As we crested the hill we had a superb 360° view of the region. Off the far side was the town of Grindelwald (way below) with the rugged Wetterhorn looming directly behind it.	Off the other side of the ridge we could spy Interlaken and Thunersee in the back left (more pictures of this later).
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.	These beautiful sites, however ,were completely dwarfed by the main event: the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau trio, towering directly overhead, gigantic up against the blue sky. It was awesome.	.
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	From the gondola we walked up a short but steep hill to open views of arguably the most beautiful place on earth. There was live folk music being played on the lawn below which combined with the distant clanging of cowbells a few miles away. Perfect Switzerland. Here's the wide-angle view.
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	If you have time, save the following panorama to your hard drive and open it with QuickTime. (Note: just clicking the link will open it in a mini-window in your browser. Not as good!) 360° Alps Panorama (3.8MB .mov) Highly recommended. (QuickTime Player needed to view.) Maximize the viewer and smell the Swiss air! Notice Julie waiting patiently for me to finish my picture feast.

At the top of the hill ate our picnic, took numerous pictures, chatted with the locals, and watched a courageous hang-glider launch off the steep grassy slope and glide out over the canyon.	Switz (56).JPG 2.01 MB	Switz (62).JPG 1.94 MB
Switz (29).JPG 1.82 MB	A few tidbits on the mountains... The Eiger (left) is one of the more well-known mountains in the Alps and has always been one of my favorites. It's menacing north face (the side showing), first climbed in 1938, has claimed over 50 lives. Maybe we'll do that next summer. ;) The Jungfrau, or "virgin," (right) is beautiful and the tallest of the three big peaks (13,642ft). A train goes up through the inside of the Eiger to the highest train station in Europe called Jungfraujoch (joch = saddle), often advertised as the "Top of Europe". You can see it to the left of Julie's shoulder in the picture above.	Switz (71).JPG 686.30 KB
To enjoy the country side more and save a few Franks we decided to forgo the peaceful gondola ride down to Grindelwald and hike it instead. It didn't look too far away, it was all downhill, and we were certain we could finish it much faster than the suggested 3 1/2 hrs on signs.	Switz (87).JPG 1.96 MB	Switz (88).JPG 1.89 MB
Switz (84).JPG 1.46 MB	The trek was beautiful and we got to see a lot more of the Eiger, but it was very steep! After 3+hrs we finally arrived in the valley. My knees ached for days. Like Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald is picture-perfect. With the long shadows of the setting sun, the rolling green hills spotted with Swiss chalets, and the stark white mountain giants, the experience was so memorable. Looking at the big version of the picture to the right still feels good.	Switz (100).JPG 1.46 MB

Interlaken Switzerland, Day 2

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The water in the river was a wierd lightgray-blue. We later saw a river coming from the Grindelwald glachier which was completely gray, perhaps its source.

Day 2 was completely overcast. We decided to jog out to Thunersee, one of the two lakes touching Interlaken.
(For the record, I think running stinks.)

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Even with gray skies, the scenery was still Swiss quality.

	Arriving at the lake was great both because it was pretty and because we could take a break. Here's a panorama that shows what happens when you let the camera adjust exposure settings for some frames.
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After our run we decided we better make the most of the day so we headed back to Grindelwald and took a long chairlift up the other side of the valley to a place called "First". It took us about an hour to hike up to the little lake, Bachalpsee, from the top of the lift.

To the left is what the brochure advertises. To the right is what we saw. If you look close you can see the same snow fields on the mountain. I didn't realize how much of the top of the mountain was obscured by clouds.

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So, it wasn't a perfect day, but it was great all the same. We got to the lake around 5:30pm. It was breezy and was threatening to rain, but we had the hills to ourselves. Switz (136).JPG 1.79 MB	Switz (122).JPG 1.74 MB <sappy>I suppose once you have kids and a busy career you really appreciate time alone with your favorite person in your favorite places doing your favorite things, even on cloudy days. </sappy>	We hiked our way back down to Grindelwald through grassy fields covered with little cascading streams and with the snowy cliffs in view the whole time. Switz (163).JPG 1.74 MB
We even met a few cows along the way, some friendlier than others. (And I thought Julie was only afraid of bears.)	Switz (139).JPG 1.93 MB	Switz (137).JPG 1.75 MB

Interlaken Switzerland, Day 3

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Sunday morning around 7:30am I called the missionaries to find out when church was. They said it was usually at 9-12, but today was going to be from 8-9am because of the big parade for the Unspunnen festival. I was hoping to see my old friends but we never would have made it, esp without a car. The parade was fun and showed all sorts of old Swiss traditions and dress. It was a treat.

About half-way through the parade a lady came by to sell us a pin. I tried to decline but she said that it was obligatory for anyone watching the parade. I glanced around and couldn't see anyone who wasn't already wearing a pin, so I forked out the requested 10SF. This was immediately followed with "And for the lady...?" <sigh>

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<-- $8.50 pin.
I bought 2 :-\

Welcome to Switzerland!

Interlaken Switzerland, Day 2

Interlaken Switzerland, Day 3

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