Oct 17, 2016 - Hiking, riding and sunset

Day 14 - 28 Sep A glorious - if cool - morning greeted us, which was perfect for our plan to go high and hike. The aim was to hike in the morning, back to the apartment for lunch, then see what the afternoon brought us, weather-wise, before we decided what to do. Very radical for us, not to have a fixed plan! After breakfast, we made the ten minute trek to the cable car, paid our half-fare for the ride up to Mannlichen and set off. We had the cable car to ourselves, so could wander about at will, watching the unfolding scenery and taking...

Aug 23, 2016 - The real North Face

Aug. 23 Today a chance to enjoy the beauty of the Jungfrau region one more day. This was our "easy day" though we still hiked up and down for 18 km on a circular balcony hike high above Murren on what is called the North Face trail. What a treat- we are literally staring across at the amazing North faces of the Eiger,Monch, Jungfrau,Grosshorn and Briehorn all day, all in a stunning row, lit up by bright sun and blue blue sky. Can't believe our luck again. This trail is busy with hikers from all over the world, some doing treks like ours,...

Aug 22, 2016 - Don't look down!....the Busengrat ridge

Aug.22,2016 The sun breaks over the mountains in front of our mountain inn, and not a cloud to be seen today. My daughter says we should all do something that scares us once in a while...today I do something that scares me. There are two ways off the mountainside we're on to reach our next village, and the clear weather means we should take the higher route to get the wonderful views promised by our route guide. We are told that they will be the best vistas yet, but also that those bothered by heights or slippery descents or prone to...

Jul 21, 2016 - North Face Trail- Mürren

Today we took the cable car to Mürren and then the funicular to Allmendhubel to start our chosen walk. The circular trail known as the North Face Trail gave us absolutely stunning views of the Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau and many of the surrounding mountains. There was a series of information boards along the route of the hike which explained the history of the surrounding mountains. The walk also took us under the cable car that takes people up to Schilthorn famously used in one of the James Bond movies. It was an excellent hike and we just got...

Jun 9, 2015 - Swiss Alps

Matthew - Have had a blast exploring the gorgeous Swiss Alps mountains for the past couple days. Yesterday, we went hiking for a few hours enjoying the awesome views. Today, we had fun riding the cable cars down into the valley and walking around down there - most of the day today it has been a weird effect where we have had fog here in Murren (where we are staying), while the valley has been nice and had no fog. Obviously there are less things to do and see here than in London or Paris, but that's kinda nice - after about 10 days of city,...

Jun 7, 2015 - Are you kidding?

Quite an adventure last night. We structured the night to be a one that we would look for a place to stay on the road, an adventure. We left the Paris flat in the afternoon after a morning of shopping and geocaching. Was sorry to have our time in Paris be done but ready to get out of the craziness that is nonstop in this bustling metropolis. We picked up the rental car without incident (a little tight with six people - will be interesting when grandpa makes seven in Rome) and made it out of rush hour Paris traffic without too much trouble....

Jun 5, 2015 - The Orsay Museum and a French Dinner

It was an unusually hot day in Paris! The air conditioned Orsay museum felt heavenly after walking several blocks in the heat. We listened to a Rick Steves tour on the app, which, once again was really interesting. We enjoyed learning some art history, particularly the impressionist movement and the resulting Monet's and Renoir's and Degas paintings. These painters wanted to break out of conventional styles and instead focused on color and light and used tiny, uncontoured brush strokes, yet the sum made such a beautiful image. These artists...

Sep 14, 2014 - Murren...day 3

September 14, 2014 How many ways can you say " gorgeous"? There are hardly enough superlatives to describe the beauty of the Swiss Alps! We are so blessed to be here...! Today several from the group went to the other side of the valley to see the 3 highest mountains in Switzerland. They took many forms of transportation--- 3 gondolas, a cog-wheel train, a regular train...and their feet! They hiked 2.5 miles on a trail through the grass, under the 3 mountains. They saw contented cows munching grass, wearing bells around their necks. The cow...

Sep 13, 2014 - Murren...day 2

September 13, 2014 8 hours of peaceful sleep. Opened the window to crisp Alpine air and the SUN shining on the rocky, craggy peaks! Lots of blue sky, too. Soaked in a hot bath, got ready and joined the group for a Swiss breakfast. Swiss breakfast: everything we've had before with the addition of baked beans...yumm...and a yoghurt/oats mixture with fruit. We hit a little bump in the weather yesterday...rain and low clouds...not ideal for our time in the Alps! Our ride up in the cable cars was not as spectacular as our ride down this morning!...

Aug 21, 2014 - Thursday, August 21

This morning we woke up to beautiful sunny weather with a clear view of the Schilthorn. After breakfast we boarded the cable cars for the accent up the mountain. I was a little nervous obviously due to my fear of heights, but i did it! We were at the top where there is a platform and restaurant that revolves 360 degrees. Some (Dave & Mike) went out on the platform and went out to another one further out. I got a picture of them. They said it was very slippery to walk out to the small circular platform. In fact, the rail was so cold...

Aug 20, 2014 - Wednesday, August 20

Chuck wasn't feeling well so he stayed at the hotel today. After breakfast the group rode the train through Winteregg and changed to a cable car at Grutschalp down to Lauterbrunnen to board the bus. Our first stop was Tummerbach Falls. We took a rail car to the upper falls. The rail guy tried to trick us to think we had to climb up a ladder from the car, but really we got off the back of the car. We walked up many flights of stairs to see the chutes. Then we walked all the way back down to the ground level and saw 10 chutes today....

Aug 19, 2014 - Tuesday, August 19

Today we left at 8:30 on the scenic Black Forrest road that took us through Frieburg, Bern and Interlaken. Our first st was at Vogtsbauernhof, the Black Forrest Open Air Museum. Our tour guide, Frau Schmitt, told us a out the museum which is only 50 years old. It became a museum when the last of the 13th generation gave the farm to the country. The rest of the buildings were translocated to the site. The farm house was built in 1612. The first floor was the main living, dining and. Ouncil room for the 20 people who would share the...