We got a little bit of a later start that morning so that Ken could get a little extra rest and then made our plans for the day. We had really wanted to over to the other side of the valley and hike Kleine Scheidegg, but after pulling up the webcam we saw too much snow and did not want to chance that we would have to turn around. This really bummed me out because I really wanted to explore this area. Oh well, I guess we will just have to go back!
We decided to walk down to Stechelberg and catch the cable car to Murren and then hike on the mountain trail to Allmendhubel and back around to Grutschalp.
We knew that we were likely to see a few BASE jumpers on the walk to Stechelberg. Ken was really hoping to see one from the ground, since he saw one actually jump off of the platform in Murren.
Such a beautiful walk to Stechelberg
As we were walking we heard this loud wind sound and realized it was a BASE jumper pulling his chute. We missed seeing him free falling by two seconds!
We knew that there had to be more jumpers so we stood around and watched for a bit. Sure enough we saw one leap of the cliff.
It's a bird, it's a plane...no wait, it is a BASE jumper! Click to enlarge. He looks like a little bird!
We were pretty excited that we saw one. Then we saw another and heard him yell WAHOO! He landed right by us and looked like he had quite the rush. It seemed a little too scary for me!
This ended up being one of my favorite pictures I took the entire trip. The walk to Stechelberg was so pretty.
We got to Stechelberg and ran into the Asian Invasion on their way up to the Schilthorn. Let's just say that it was very clear that they annoy the hell out of the Swiss as well. We stopped at Gimmelwald to change cars and they were literally running like they were going to miss the cable car. They were running into both of us. It was really annoying. Let's just say that anytime I see a video of people running or being trampled in China will come at no surprise. We could not get off the cable car fast enough and were grateful that we were not going to the Schilthorn.
We arrived in Murren and stopped for lunch and drinks right away.
All glassed in Germany and Switzerland are marked with a fill line so you know how much drink you should receive.
Murren
We left Murren and the trail went straight up. Yeah. One of the KJ's was not very happy about this.
I think this picture pretty much sums that up!
Despite the attitude of one of the hikers, it was a gorgeous day to be hiking.
There was a debate that took place at one point because someone did not walk to continuetowalkallthewayuptheeffingmountain. I did my best sales presentation that we had to be coming to a flat section eventually. Quite honestly, I am surprised he did not kick me in the shins and run away. He was such a trooper going straight up and not feeling well.
View of the Schilthorn. I did my best to try to reassure Ken that despite what he may have thought, we were not hiking to the top.
We ran into a little bit of snow and I think this is when Ken started to feel better. It may have been because I kept falling in the snow. I guess there is just something about watching your Ironman wife bite it in the snow.
We made it to Allmendhubel and instead of being greeted with a hut for drinks and snacks, we were greeted with more snow. As in, a lot of snow. We decided to try to cross since it was not in an area with a steep drop off.
I cannot speak for Ken, but there was definitely f-bombs coming out of my mouth at this point. Plus, I fell at least two times.
We lived!
Looking back at the hill we came down
I wish I could say that this was the only snow we encountered, but it wasn't. I also wish I could say it was the only time I fell, but it wasn't.
The three peaks, Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau
This is another one of my favorite pictures of the entire trip! With the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau
I zoomed way in to get a picture of the Spinx on the Jungfrau. Look how deep the snow is!
I could not believe the clear views of the mountains. It was kind of like they were shouting Take our picture Keri!
Soon enough, we were back in the snow
All of that snow. We were the only people hiking in this area too. I was kind of getting tired of hiking in the snow.
While I was tired of the snow, Ken was loving it. He said it reminded him of his childhood and being out on an adventure, making his own trail.
Since we were at a higher elevation, we ended up running into farmers that were building their fences for the cows to come up for the summer. The strangest thing was walking all over and opening gates and closing them because you were on someone's property, which was totally legal.
The beginning of Staubbach Falls
We finally made to Grutschalp and decided to take the cable car back to Lauterbrunnen instead of hike down. The hike down was pretty steep and we did not think our knees could handle another steep descent.
Since it was our last night in Lauterbrunnen we went back to Hotel Oberland for dinner, which was our favorite restaurant in the village. Ken had rosti and I had fondue, again. It was sooooo good!
Rosti and fondue, how Swiss of us
After dinner we walked back to our hotel and sat out and had a few drinks. The wind had picked up like it was going to storm and the falls were all blowing like crazy.
Staubbach Falls blowing in the wind
The end of a wonderful day
We loved our time in Lauterbrunnen!
No comments:
Post a Comment