Last Day

After three trains and a few hours of travel, we arrived in a rainy, dreary Zurich.  Really, the weather seems like a reflection of what I'm feeling inside--inner weeping at the thought of this wonderful trip coming to an end.  After dumping our luggage, we walked around some of Old Town, which looks like this:

 

Aside from the churches, most of these buildings house very expensive stores--as in, so expensive I couldn't even afford to walk through the door much less purchase anything.  I stood at the window of the Jimmy Choo store and ogled a bit (they really are beautiful shoes, although I don't know how anyone walks in them), but I started to feel a little bothered when it became store after store after store.  They were all entirely empty of customers, which made them all start to seem like mini-museums of elite consumerism or artfully staged shrines to wealth.  Hence, no closer-up photos.  The one bright spot was the church behind this tacky ferris wheel being constructed for some upcoming festival or other.  This church, the Fraumunster, has stained glass windows by Chagall, which I had no idea about until our hotel concierge mentioned it in passing.

 

 





Photos aren't allowed inside the church, but do an internet search on Chagall's stained glass windows and you'll see why they're a favorite of mine.  In fact, I have one of them as the start-up screen on this computer, so it was an unexpected delight to be able to go see some in person. 

 

Because it was raining and not very pleasant to walk around outside, because we were tired, and maybe because really, this trip is over and now there's just the business of getting home, Peter and I decided to buy some dinner and treats at this amazing store (every glass display had treats to make your eyes pop) and head back to the hotel.

 

 

(dinner & treat)

 

To conclude (and alas, I must conclude), I couldn't have asked for or imagined a better 40th birthday trip, and I am so deeply thankful to have had the opportunity to experience all of this and to have a big brother who takes such good care of me (including but not limited to schlepping my heavy suitcase around) and is such a good travel companion.  Thanks also to those of you who have 'participated' along the way--I've enjoyed hearing from you and sharing my adventures with you.  Hopefully, there will be another one of these before too long.

 





Walking and Wildlife

Today was another gorgeous day (we really lucked out on the weather), so we took the train to Lauterbrunnen, which is about a half hour ride from Gindelwald.  Once there, we decided to walk to the gondola station that would take us up to the little town of Mürren, spend a little time there, then walk the trail to Grütschalp and take the Gondola from that station back down to Lauterbrunnen.  To give you an idea of our route, we started where my finger is pointing on this map, went all the way to the left side and up, then all the way back to the right side and down again. 

 

It's amazing what a difference location makes.  If someone suggested that I walk for an hour and a half to get somewhere in Southern California, I would probably say something not very nice to them.  But walking an hour and a half one way, and then totally being up for walking another hour and a half to get back is kind of expected here in Switzerland.  Of course, if Anaheim looked anything remotely like here, I might be more willing to walk around more there.

 

(the first of numerous waterfalls)

 

(wildlife! or at least it's wildlife to someone like me)

(insert your own joke here)

 

(where the waterfalls go)

 





Mürren is a quaint little village high up on a mountain with about 400 residents and lots of charming chalet hotels.  Cars aren't allowed and there weren't very many people, so it was a very peaceful and relaxing place to have lunch.

(check out this little guy)

(here's what he was looking at)

 

Shortly outside of town, we spotted these lovely creatures, which my brother identified as chamois, a goat-antelope species native to the mountains of Europe (I looked up that last part online).

 

 

We continued our walk, pausing to take in and enjoy all the beauty around us.  Even when you're staring right at it, it's kind of hard to really wrap your brain around.

 

 

What made the walk complete for me was spotting some more cows.  I don't know why I love seeing them so much.  There's just something about their placid faces that makes me happy.

 

 

I felt pretty good while we were walking, but on the train ride home I almost fell asleep.  Considering I've tramped around over 12 miles in the past 3 days, I guess it makes sense that I'd be a little tired.  And sore.  I think a soak in a hot bath is in order.

 

The storm clouds are rolling in, which I suppose is fitting for the close of my trip.  Hard to believe that it's coming to an end so soon, but I'm going to put off thinking about that as much as I'm able to.  I'm still here, after all.

 









Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg

We ended up with another day of great weather today (weather.com is so wrong about Switzerland!), so after seeing all the paragliders floating over us yesterday, Peter decided it was something he needed to experience.  My budget made this an automatic nein for me, which I can't say I was too sorry about.  As awesome as it looked, I'm not sure I'd want to be dangling thousands of feet in the air with only some yardage of nylon keeping me aloft.  Instead, I opted to follow a route suggested by my neighbor at home (thanks, Jerry!), who has traveled with his wife in this region a few times himself.

I hopped the train over to the next stop, then took the gondola up to Männlichen, which is about 7,600 feet up and the starting point for a number of hikes.  It took a solid half hour to go up the mountain via gondola.

 

There were so many lush and scenic meadows/fields along the way, I was tempted several times to pry the doors open and jump out.  It's so rare to see such beautiful, open stretches of land without any other person in sight, so I had this irrational urge to run across them or roll around or frolic or something.  I'm sure that would have been very entertaining for everyone else riding the gondolas, not to mention the cows (although they probably would have found it alarming), but I managed to restrain the impulse.  Speaking of cows, these Swiss cows have got to be the happiest cows I've ever seen.  It's common to see them lying on their side, basking in the sunshine like giant cats.  The first time I saw this, I thought maybe the cow was sick or dead until its tail swished lazily through the air.  Nope.  Not sick or dead--just blissed out.

 

When I reached Männlichen, I was pleasantly surprised by how few people were around.  Unlike First yesterday, Männlichen was very quiet, which I appreciated as I took in views like this:

 

(can you make out the tiny village at the bottom where I started?)

 

Another thing I appreciated were these little grassy tufts everywhere that functioned nicely as a natural ottoman to sit on:

 

 

My first attempt at a selfie with the mountains (no brother to snap photos this time around) got me and a bunch of grass.  And some folks having a picnic.

 

 

Angle is important, as it turns out.  So turning to stare directly into the sun and going the vertical route, I managed to get this (much better, although I can't help feeling that it looks like I'm standing in front of a fake backdrop--it's just so perfect): 

 

 



We heard from someone local that winter lasted much longer than usual this year, which was evident in the large blocks of snow everywhere.  Apparently, they're usually gone by now.  It made things a little tricky in a few spots on the path, but I managed even though I wasn't tricked out in professional hiking gear like everyone else on the path. 

(this stream soaked one of my feet as I went across.  I forgave it since it's so pretty)

 

The walk took a good hour and thirty minutes, and about 45 minutes in, I realized I'd left the protein bar I'd planned to eat in my other bag.  Fortunately, I had a small package of that nutrient rich food known as the gummy bear, which sustained me until I reached civilization.  Once at Kleine Scheidegg, I got some real food, then caught the train going back down the mountain.

 

this lunch cost $12 US, but I guess part of what you're paying for is this:

 

 

 

And now for a little of that locally made cheese, as well as a few other treats, while we enjoy the evening light.