We had fun in Zinal, playing at the playground, ping pong and exploring. Each of our families had their own little room. Campbells was like a little doll house. Jon couldn't even stand up in it. I love European comforters!
 |
| Arriving at our first hut in Zinal |
 |
| Most hotels/restaurants had pingpong tables, trampolines and toys for kids. They are so smart. |
 |
| The Campbell cabin |
 |
| Our excited group in Zinal |
 |
| All the huts provided breakfast and full course dinners |
 |
| Sarah and Amanda at playground |
 |
| Heading out from Zinal |
 |
| Relaxing at Bella Tola |
JULY 13-Hiked from Bella Tola to Gruben spending the night at the Hotel Waldsruh. It was a great day of hiking across snow fields and meadows. The highlight was stopping in a meadow for a nap and to read the "Joseph Smith history" on my cell phone. We also watched tiny specks of climbers through the binoculars. I was amazed at all the wildflowers and beautiful rocks. I wanted to bring some home with me. Some looked like they were made of pure gold, silver or bronze.
 |
| Almost there |
 |
| Jon at Waldesruh. Our room is on top. There are two long rooms up there each filled with about 18 mattresses. The one bathroom is upstairs at the top of the stairs. We shared our room with a couple from London and also a couple from Belgium.
JULY 14-Hiked from Gruben to St. Niklaus, took a short ride on a bus and walked the rest of the way (about an hour) along a beautiful path to Gasenreid where we spent the night at the Hotel Alpenrosli.
This was one of my favorite days. The weather was perfect and the views amazing.
Good thing there were frequent signs to show us how much further and to make sure we were headed the right direction.
Looking down on St. Niklaus
We were able to save a lot of time and painful knees by catching a tram taking us down into town
 
Me and Mariah show off our tye dye as we leave the Alpenrosli. He had a lot of fun waiting here about 1 1/2 hours for dinner by playing cards and our table games. We played a lot of the card game, "Oh My Heck."
JULY 15-Today was probably the most challenging hike as we clawed our way uphill for 3 hours then along rocky fields. At some places we hung on to guide ropes and even got to cross a suspension bridge. About half way along a sharp rock caught my left calf putting a 2 inch gash in it. It was fun to actually get to use my first aid kit. We arrived at the Europa hut around 5:00 and enjoyed the views before dinner. We got our own tiny private room filled with bunk beds.
 
Amanda enjoys view at lunch spot. Lunches were usually our trail mix snacks and either chicken or peanut butter & honey on flat bread.
Sarah, Amanda & Mariah
The Bischoffs take a rest
Europa hut
JULY 16-Because a suspension bridge that we needed to cross had been knocked out by rock falls we were forced to hike down into the valley and take a different route into Zermatt. Jon took the train the final leg to Zermatt while the rest of us hoofed it. There are paths everywhere. This path led right into town along the river and RR tracks. We passed farms, a gravel pit, dozens of waterfalls and helicopter pad. We met Jon & Sarah and our luggage and headed to our hut in Zermatt, the Matterhorn hostel.
Leaving Europa hut
Our London friends from Gasenreid took this picture. We ran into them frequently.
Catching a "lego" taxi to the Matterhorn hostel in Zermatt
A view of the Matterhorn mountain from town
Highlights of Zermatt:
We hiked up to a bridge and were able to catch a mountain train leading to Gornergrat and great views of a
glacier.
 
At the top of Gornergrat with glacier in the background.
Karen, Mariah, Amanda and I rented mountain scooters and road a tram to the top of a mountain for a long ride down on our scooters. Amanda crashed once and got a big bug in her eye but she was okay.
Karen, Amanda, me and Mariah on our mountain scooters. When we were buying our tram tickets Karen asked the cashier if she could buy a tram and he said, "No but you can buy a ticket for the tram." He was so cute and funny. Guess ya had to be there!
Zermatt was beautiful. The only cars that are allowed are little tiny lego looking vehicals, mostly utility trucks and tiny taxis. There is a beautiful cemetery there and monument to those who have died while trying to climb the surrounding peaks. We even witnessed a sheep herd drive right down the middle of town.
JULY 18-23-Murren
The only day it rained was as we were leaving Zermatt. We dragged our luggage about a mile to the train station and took a few trains and a tram, then a mountain train to arrive at our tiny mountain village of Murren. A short walk up a hill took us to a beautiful apartment where we spent a week. Jon did an amazing job find this place. It was luxurious, especially in comparison to the the hostels and shared community bathrooms. Jon & I had our own room as did Wayne & Karen, Amanda & Mariah. Sarah had the living room. We had a blast here.
Some of the highlights are:
Hiking down to the valley and taking a tram back up.
We hiked to valley. This is a typical house. So many flowers and window boxes!
Karen, Amanda, Mariah and I went paragliding. It was pricey at $160 each but worth every penny. We each had a "pilot" behind us and ran off a grassy slope, soaring for 25 minutes over a 2000 foot high valley. The launch area was just a short walk from our apartment so it was all very convenient. My pilot, Fabian, let me drive a little. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and can now be crossed off my bucket list.
   Me and Karen flying
Another day we took a tram to the top of Piz Gloria. The views were so amazing. This is where the James Bond movie, "In her Majesty's Glory" (or something like that) was filmed. There were a lot of fun James Bond things to entertain us at the top.
Another day we took trains to get to Schynige Platte, high up one mountain. At the top we had lunch with the most incredible view of the valley below, then went for a hike. We passed (or they passed us) a marathon.
  
On Sunday, Campbells and I put on our Sunday best and attended service at the Reformed church. It was held in a quaint little chapel with a pipe organ and a pastor. The sermon was all in German but at least the tune to one of the hymns was familiar, "He is Risen." We met a young man from Georgia who arranged for Wayne to come work on the farm he was hired at. Wayne was very excited! spent a quiet restful day in our paradise.
Our last day in Murren we split up choosing what we wanted to do the most. Karen, Mariah, Sarah, & I rented mountain bikes and rode all downhill and along a beautiful path to Interlaken. We put Mariah and Sarah on a train back and we rode the valley all day long, taking in a hike to a waterfall, some shopping and ice cream.
 
Mariah and I had a little crash but we were okay. Good thing the girls were about done riding and could return the bikes that didn't roll so good anymore.
Jon and Amanda took the mountain trail to Jungfraujoch.
When the girls got back from the bike ride they joined Wayne on a farm about 40 minutes away to rake hay. They had the best time working and getting to know life on a real Swiss farm.
 
It was hard to leave this beautiful place. On the way to Zurich we stopped in Bern and Wayne, Karen, Mariah, me and Amanda found the Mormon temple about 3 minutes from the train station and did a session while Amanda and Mariah did baptisms. The session was in French but we had headphones. Wayne and Karen were the witness couple. It was an interesting experience.
 
Mariah, Wayne, Karen, Amanda & me at the temple
We spent our last night in Zurich close to the train station. It sure is hard to see the trip come to a close.
 Our last dinner in Zurich (I'd say we look pretty good for having hiked over 60 miles with 30 pound packs on our back! The U.S. could sure learn a few things from Switzerland!
A big thanks to my sweetie Jon who made all this possible. It was an incredible trip!!!
|
Wow, what an amazing trip! It is all so beautiful. Cool picture of you and Karen in flight!
ReplyDelete