Day 4: Gimmewald, Switzerland

Tuesday

In the morning, I had a croissant and coffee at a cafe in the train station before we left Montreux on the GoldenPass Rail. It was a panoramic train, which really means there were big windows so you could look out at the mountain scenery. Of course, the views were a bit disappointing because of the rain and fog. We arrived at Interlaken late morning. Interlaken is the major town and travel hub in the Bernese Oberland. While I was sitting around the train station sipping coffee, Jared spotted a CoOp store and wandered over. He came back about 20 minutes later, visibly excited, arms laden with food supplies. From that moment, CoOp became our new favorite store. Cheap(er) food!

We left Interlaken for Lauterbrunnen by train. What a ride! Although it was still raining, we could see some of the mountains. Waterfalls everywhere. Giant peaks. We were finally in the Bernese Oberland, and I was excited! Apparently, an elderly couple sitting across from us either found my constant "ooh-ing" and pointing as either charming or ridiculous.

We arrived at Lauterbrunnen where we took a bus (not obvious) to Stechelberg, a tiny village about 15 minutes from Lauterbrunnen nestled up the Lauterbrunnen Valley below towering peaks and cliffs. It was raining again and we couldn't see the tops of the peaks. From there, we boarded a gondola (which I'll refer to as a "lift" from now on) big enough to fit about 20 people or so. It took us up the steep rock face in front of us. (I think they call these cliffs the Lauterbrunnen Wall.) It gave me the willies. It was very, very steep, with the lift seeming to rise almost vertically, like an elevator. As we ascended, we looked around the valley and all the waterfalls. The closer we got to the top (which we still could not see), the rain started turning slushy. Higher and higher and the slush became a full-blow snow event. We got off the lift at Murren and entered a heavy snowfall.

The next step was to get down to Esther's house, a somewhat communal bed and breakfast in the sleepy village of Gimmewald. We discovered the van that ran every half hour or so down to the village, so we hopped on. Down a narrow, windy road we rode (a little too fast for my comfort) where we were then deposited in the middle of the village. Seeing as the entire town consists of about 100 people, we didn't have far to walk.

Esther was surprised to see us, as I had gotten the reservations wrong and we weren't expected until the following day. She had room, though, and was gracious enough to allow us to stay an extra day. The room was very nice, opening into a communal area/kitchen and, across the hall, our washroom, which we shared with another couple for one day, but otherwise had to ourselves.

The windows in our room overlooked the village and the surrounding mountains. We opened them and breathed in the fresh air...and snow... The peaks were still shrouded, so we had no idea of the amazing landscape around us. We unpacked and then walked down to the Mountain Hostel (the only place in town serving food) for pizza and indecipherable german conversation.






The lift in Murren arriving from Stechelberg. This was taken days later, after the mists and snow had cleared. We could see very little of the surrounding landscape when we first arrived.






Dropped off! The main drag of Gimmelwald. Esther's is the house at the end of the street, and our window is the top left one.






On the way to Esther's, this little chalet caught my eye. I've yet to translate the carving. Most homes here have some sort of textual carving on the outside, a proverb, the family name, etc.






The view (and the snow) as seen from our window at Esther's, down "Main Street". I'm dying to know how high those mountains are!






The view to the left, overlooking the only real restaurant in town, the Berg Geist, which was "geschlossen" for the off-season. (We became quite familiar with the word "geschlossen" during our travels.) The mountains ahead are hidden, but we would eventually learn they were the massif containing the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau.