So where were we.....ah right, we were in the car flying down the Autobahn headed south. Could there be a more perfect song to come on the radio than Danger Zone from the movie Top Gun? Now the car couldn't go quite as fast as a jet fighter, but I'm sure I was pulling some G's LOL.
So we get into southern Germany and we needed to squeeze in some more countries, so we nipped the corner of Austria, and then cruised through Liechtenstein. Then shortly after that we crossed the border into Switzerland.....so if my math is right, that's 6 different countries in 4 days. Ok well technically we only stayed in France, Belgium, Germany and now Switzerland, but that's cool!
Shortly after getting into Switzerlamd we got to drive some awesome mountain roads. I love them, Jo, not so much. You have to be a very confident driver, and one wrong move and you're in for a long ride off the side of a mountain....don't do that!
We pulled into the Lauterbrunnen Valley just after 5 and parked at the Staubbach Hotel....we have stayed here many times as we love it. We checked in and were greeted by Adam who welcomed us like returning royalty. We were handed the keys to our favourite room.....and you have to love it when they hand you a beer at check in, and then there is a bottle of wine and chocolates waiting for you in the room. Part of the charm of why we love coming back here again and again.
Now this wasn't just any day, it was Swiss National Day. The whole town was decorated and there was a parade and fireworks. We headed to one of our favourite spots for a light supper....
And we were serenaded by the local yodelling group
Then we headed back to watch the parade from our massive patio, while sipping wine and waiting for the fireworks to start. We have been here for Swiss National Day a number of times and this year were the best fireworks yet. Not only do they light up the valley walls, but the explosions echo up and down the valley. You have to hear it, and feel it, to really understand.
The only thing that can match it is when a thunder storm tracks down the valley...it has happened a few times while we have been here.
After the official fireworks ended, the locals fired off their own until the wee hours. I had no problem falling asleep though.
We got up the next morning and had the usual fantastic breakfast that they put on at the hotel. I will remember to get a pic of the breakfast and the million dollar view from the dining room. It, and our room, looks directly out at Staubbach Falls, which is the 12th highest free falling waterfall in the world.
After eating we headed into Interlaken to go shopping for boots. It seems that Jo lost hers somewhere along the way....she thinks she donated them to someone who needed them more than her on the train in France. Once the shop opened she scored a pair of boots that was regularly 269 Swiss Francs, for 99.....deal!
Then we headed back to our valley and geared up for a hike. We decided to start with a tough one. From the valley floor we climbed straight up to where the cable car takes most people....but we're not most people. A few shots on the way...We started near the bottom of the falls
And went up
And up
Spotted some Swiss graffiti on the way
And some of the locals
Lots of wildflowers in bloom right now
Eventually we reached the little town of Murren, the high point of our hike
Then we started to descend past Gimmiwald, and down a trail that wrapped around the end of the valley. Along the way we crossed a number of awesome waterfalls.....there are a total of 72 in this valley alone! J.R.R. Tolkien visited this valley and many say it was his inspiration for Rivendell....I can see why.
Some of the waterfalls we passed on our way down
When we crossed the footbridge over this one we had to keep moving because of the possibility of falling rocks.
And the best news is that we found a place we can afford to buy in Switzerland. It needs a bit of work, but it might make a nice retirement home.
When we got to the valley floor we walked back along the river to our little village. We found some more Swiss graffiti on the way...
Something interesting happened on our hike today, while walking along the trail I happened to look down and spotted something off the side of the trail. I climbed down to pick it up and it was a camera. I immediately turned it on to see if there were any identifying pics on it, but the battery was dead and it kept shutting off. I tried the spare battery and it was dead as well. We weren't sure if it belonged to some people that we had passed earlier on the trail, but they were long gone, plus they were going down and we were still going up. I put it in my pack and decided to see if I could find the owner....maybe through social media.
So we went out for dinner and while walking back to the hotel I tried the camera again. The battery had sat long enough that it had a bit of life in it. I went backwards through the pics and found a few shots of the couple that must have lost it, then there were a few pics showing them by a tent in a campground. We had just been right by the local campground so we turned around to try and find them. The battery had died again so I was going on memory. We walked around the entire site and didn't find a match....there goes the perfect ending to the story.
After getting back to the hotel I took the memory card out of the camera and viewers the pics on my iPad. I was quickly able to determine it was not that campground, but another one further up the valley. The most recent pictures showed that their tent was still there this morning.
Given that it's too late to go there tonight I have emailed the owner of the campground, and sent them pics of the owner. I asked them to let me know of they are still there so I can get their camera back to them. It has a few hundred pics on it, so I am sure they would love to get it back. I hope we hear from them in the morning.
And now to sleep. Let's see what adventure tomorrow brings.
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