If You're in Switzerland, is it just "_____ Cheese"?

It is a trek and a half to get into Switzerland! We left from Salzburg towards Interlaken a couple days ago and spent the majority of the day hopping from train to train. Those darn Swiss Alps just get in the way sometimes!

We arrived as the sun was setting and marveled at the breathtaking view as we stood by the bus station, surrounded by massive vertical peaks in every direction. It is an incredible feeling to be standing at the center of 13,000 feet tall mountains whose vertical ascent is within walking distance. There’s a strange feeling of being protected by the mountains in this city. The Alps seem so close that you could nearly reach up and knock some snow off the side of the peak.

We set out for a day of hiking yesterday and found our way towards Murren. We began by catching a ferry to Interlaken (we stayed in a city called Iseltwald) then taking a train up to Lauterburren. We passed several white water rafters along the way to Lauterbrunnen and caught a glimpse of a massive waterfall, cascading from a sheer vertical rock face. The beauty of our surroundings as we climbed higher and higher into the Alps was breathtaking.

Once we arrived in Lauterbrunnen, we took a 5 min cable car up a vertical face to the ne-t city. From there, we set out on a 4 mile hike to Murren. We passed through a town called Winter Egg along the way. The hike along the Alps was gorgeous. I think it would be impossible to take a lousy picture. Every ne-t corner seemed to present an even more brilliant, picturesque view of the “Top of Europe”, or “peak of Jungfrau”. In between the peaks of Jungfrau and Monch, sits the Schilthorn which was used on the James Bond “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” film set.

We reached Murren and enjoyed a bite to eat while we sat facing what seemed to be a cinematic backdrop of snowcapped mountain peaks. We made our way back down in the late afternoon and passed some cows along our hiking path. (Mom, I thought of you :))

Because of a change in our itinerary, much of the last two weeks of this trip is getting bumped up, so we only had one full day in Interlaken. Between me getting sick today and the day lost in Interlaken, we feel like we need about 5 more days in Switzerland to truly e-plore and appreciate the beauty of our surroundings.

We are in Bern, now, and heading back to Interlaken tomorrow to e-plore more of what we missed today. It’s only an hour train ride, so we’re looking forward to spending the day strolling around the city after taking it easy today.

More on Bern and our double-take on Interlaken soon!