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Murren, Switzerland
Day 5, Wednesday July 11
Day 6, Thursday July 12
Mom Wow!
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Yodelers on the gondola coming down from the Schilthorn
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Awesome view of the Alps from our room
What do you think of when you say the word Switzerland? It makes me smile and think of majestic, snowy mountains, cow bells and fondue. And I'm so happy to report that is exactly what we saw and so much more, and this is the view from our room!
Door of the Day
Murren, Switzerland
Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg hike.
Our first full day in Switzerland began with a hike. I can now say that I hiked in the Swiss Alps! Most of our tour mates joined in on the hike. Tara helped us buy tickets since we needed to take a cog wheel train and a gondola to reach our starting point of Mannlichen. She even negotiated a discount, another perk of being on a Rick Steves tour.
The hike was on a gravely trail that twisted and turned around the mountain. Wildflowers and amazing views were around every turn. A refreshing Rugen Brau was just what I needed before we began the trip back to Murren. A group of us had lunch together on an outdoor patio....lunch with a view tops my meal plan any day!
Our wonderful bus driver, Joost, joined us on the hike. Joost had most of the group meals with us and was fun to talk to. Everyone was going to walk at their own pace so Tara explained the trail marking system. She wanted to make sure we wouldn't venture onto a trail that was meant for more experienced hikers.
Once back in Murren we walked through the village and wandered through the grocery store, looked at menus to see where we wanted to eat dinner and Mom found some bookmarks to take home. The salad at dinner came from the hillside garden right next to the restaurant. That evening there was a wonderful folkfest with traditional dancing and music. The walk back to our hotel was so peaceful with stunning views of the alps that surround Murren.
Day 6 and we are off to Trummelbach Falls. We took a funicular up and deep inside the mountain and then took the stairs down while witnessing the power behind 10 glacier fed waterfalls. It was loud and slippery in spots but so amazing! Everyone took the stairs down at their own pace to view this masterpiece of nature. Once we were back on dry land many walked along the Flower Trail to Stechelberg but mom and I decided to take a chance that the clear skies would hold on and we hopped on the bus to take us to the Schilthorn gondola.
As we rode the gondola up to the Schilthorn we watched the clouds move in. We knew we had to go straight to the viewing platform to get a picture and we made it just in time! (check out the picture on my home page) Within minutes the clouds took over. That's the chance you take and we are lucky we got a peek at the peak. We ate lunch at Piz Gloria, a revolving restaurant. I had delicious rosti (a Swiss favorite which is similar to hash browns) and smoked salmon. After lunch we visited the James Bond museum. The film, 'Her Majesty's Secret Service' was filmed on the mountain so there were fun interactive things to do (see where I have morphed into a movie character on a luge).
After a crazy, packed waiting line to get on the gondola back to Murren we got off at Birg (just a few minutes from the top) so I could do the Thrill Walk. It was certainly thrilling! No crowds so I was thankful a family came along at just the right time to take my picture. I'm not the best at taking selfies. The highlight of the day was listening to a group of yodelers as they descended along with us. Huge WOW moment ....on a gondola with breathtaking views of the Alps and Swiss yodeling! This was our last night in Murren. We had a happy hour at the hotel where we played Two Truths and a Lie about our travel buddy. The we celebrated with an accordion and alpine horn concert. I tried to make a noise on the horn but it was hopeless. The yummy fondue made it all better.
Our three nights in Murren were at the Hotel Jungfrau. Wonderful room and great meals, (sorry I didn't get a picture of the breakfast). We also took advantage of their laundry service where we dropped off a bag of clothes in the morning and they were done by that afternoon. Now we're set for the second half of our trip.
This is the view from the back of our hotel. The white building way up on the mountain is Birg, where I did the Thrill Walk.
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