Bad weather, that is. Well, we have bad weather all the time here at home. It’s just that we have had uncannily good luck when we have traveled. When we went to Switzerland in October, however, that was most definitely not the case. It rained. It rained and rained and rained. And then it rained some more. Normally this wouldn’t pose much of a problem – who cares if it’s raining while you’re in the Louvre?! This time, however, I had planned a kid-friendly, outdoorsy, commune with nature kind of trip. So, what do you do when it’s raining in Switzerland?
The same things you do when it’s sunny.
We altered our plans somewhat (we didn’t pay the $150 (apiece!!!) to take the train to the Jungfraujoch (the highest train station in Europe), and we didn’t go up the Shilthorn. Overall there was less hiking than I had planned. We still, however, went on some walks, we still went to the open air museum, and we still walked through Brienz. We just got really wet doing it all.
We stayed in the Lauterbrunnen valley (aka the valley of waterfalls).
The view from our apartment…
Our first day there (it was raining of course!) we decided to visit a small castle (Schloss Spiez) on the edge of the Thuner See. We escaped the weather for awhile, had the place to ourselves (there was NOBODY there) and by the time we were done, the rain stopped just long enough to get a few pictures.
Maybe sometime we’ll get back there on a clear day. I imagine the views would be incredible.
As we were walking around the castle in these few moments of non-rain, I noticed an overpoweringly strong yeast smell. “Hmmm...,” I thought to myself. “Either they are baking insane amounts of bread in the old castle kitchens, or this castle is a brewery masquerading as a museum.” We continued walking and sure enough, down beneath the castle museum was a brewery. All I can say is that if beer tastes anything like it smells…..yuck.
The next morning the weather was rainy………………….again, so we decided to go on a hike that would have gotten us wet on even the sunniest of days. In the Lauterbrunnen valley there is a gorge that is home to 10 waterfalls. You take an elevator up into the gorge (they’ve tunneled through rock to make the elevator shaft) to the halfway point. From that point you can either hike down to the bottom 5 waterfalls, or hike up to the top. We opted to hike up first (why hike it twice?!) and then wound our way down past all 10 waterfalls to the bottom. It was hard to get pictures that accurately portray the coolness of this place. (It was very dark so a flash was necessary, but it was also rainy. The flash bounced off the raindrops and wreaked all kinds of havoc on the images.) Anyway, a few turned out, and here they are…
A peek into the gorge…
A view down into the valley, probably from the midway point…
On the trail…
In the gorge…
The following picture is is how most of our pictures turned out. As you can tell, the pictures of falls that were already illuminated by lamps or by light from the outside look the best. It’s unfortunate that it was so hard to photograph because the entire hike was incredible. I wish I could have captured what we saw better on “film.”
The sound of the water thundering through these small spaces was deafening. I must confess it was somewhat of a relief to get back into the open, calm and quiet valley.
At the end of the day we went to dinner and had, of course, fondue. The meat fondue was delish, but I’m thinking we should have gone for the cheese…
This post is already going to take 9 years to upload, so I’d better stop for now. Back soon!
8 comments:
that fondue looks so yummy! i confess I've really only had fondue once. i need to make it. It'll never compare to what you're getting over there though.
That hike through the gorge looks AWESOME. I'm constantly jealous of the amazing things you guys are able to just go see on the drop of a hat.
What a beautiful place! And what intrepid travelers you are to face it in rainy weather! Switzerland is outrageously expensive; I love it there, but I'm always angry when we leave because I feel fleeced!
great pictures!! It is so beautiful... I'm so happy for you that you have been able to take advantage of living in Germany.
Absolutely breathtaking! If it looks like that in pictures I can't imagine how beautiful it is in person. I guess I'll just have to come see it for myself!
(I figure as long as I keep saying that I will eventually make it over there:)
Emma - Your pictures are AMAZING - even if the weather was rainy! So jealous of everything you guys are getting to see! HUGS!
I LOVE the pics....that place is AMAZING....
Switzerland is Breathtaking! I loved it there! Cheese Fondue is Great! The spread on that table looks delicious!
Those pictures are AMAZING. I can only imagine how it must have been in person (although, having seen some places like it, I already know how it can be), and it makes me ache to go see you and visit places like these! Sorry about the rain. Good job braving the weather anyway, instead of going crazy indoors!
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