6 August, Paris- Gimmelwald, Switzerland

After being up to at least 1am the night before re-fueling (a lot of the gas stations closed at like 9pm, so I had to backtrack to La Defense for fuel) the rental car and returning it to St. Lazare train station, and then taking the metro and walking back to the hostel, I was ready to get out of the city.  Paris is cool to see and experience, but I get sick of it after 48 hours.  I would much rather spend time in the alps, which is where I am writing this from right now, as I was trying to catch up on sleep on the trains yesterday.  

We got up early and headed to Gare de Lyon on the metro for our train to Basel, Switzerland.  After that we transferred to the Swiss train system, SBB, and took a few more trains and busses to Lauterbrunnen, and then took the cog train up the steep mountainside to Wengen.  Wengen is more of a touristy place compared to some of the other villages in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, but it is where my last name originated, so I definitely wanted to spend a little bit of time there.  Wengen translates to “sloped meadow” which is a pretty good description of the surrounding terrain.  Outside of the town, the only thing you can hear is the tinkering of cowbells and the roar of the many waterfalls pouring into the valley, from snowmelt and glacier runoff.  The glacier water gives all the streams and lakes a beautiful blue/ turquoise color, and the streams are still quite high, as there is still a lot of snow melting at higher elevations.

After touring around in Wengen we took the bus to Stechelberg, and then the cable car to Gimmelwald where we checked in to Mountain Hostel.  An authentic Swiss chalet built as a home in 1563, and turned into a hostel in 1939.  

Gimmelwald “Home of Heidi, heart of Switzerland” is a beautiful village nestled on the mountainside at the top of the Lauterbrunnen valley.  A panoramic view of Glacier and snow capped peaks across the narrow valley can be seen from just about anywhere in the village.  I will mention that Gimmelwald is much lest touristy than Wengen, Lauterbrunnen, and Mürren, as it has no modern buildings, and only one restaurant.

We took the cable car up the mountain to the Hotel Alpina for some traditional Swiss food.  My mother used to work there as a waitress in the 80s, so it was cool to go back there and eat.  The hotel Alpina is literally hanging off the mountainside, and our table was right at the edge and provided us with a stunning view of the valley.

After eating we decided to walk back down, (I think the cable car was closed as well) and ended up sprinting for the last mile as a nasty thunderstorm rolled in and soaked us.  The weather can change in an instant here, and we are hoping it clears up soon so we can summit the Schilthorn.  

That’s it for today