Hello again,
Happy Independence Day! I love the U.S.A. and miss fireworks but I concentrated very hard on pretending today wasn't the 4th of July. What a day! We awoke to a completely clear view of the Eiger
– no clouds at all this morning! We had breakfast in the hotel. It is rather
universal that European breakfast includes breads, Nutella, jellies, salami,
ham, and cheese with tea or coffee. I had English Breakfast tea and then we set
off through town. I made a side trip to the little bakery… no cupcakes. Rather
depressing. I’m going to pull through because there are cupcakes in Vienna fo
sho.
Mr. Mountain Man, ready to greet the day.
We bought tickets to ride a funicular another measly (!) 1,000
feet up above Murren to Allmendhubel.
These colors don't run baby... Go U.S.A.! Even up another 1,000 feet.
That's fear for you right there, ladies and gentlemen.
At the top, we utilized the self timer to
take cheesy photos and then began our hike through the Swiss Alps. It was such
a glorious day weather-wise, about 65 degrees and sunny all morning. The hike
is what Rick Steves calls the “Family Trail” because it is all downhill… Thank
you God. The scenery here is just
astounding… as you walk along you see cows, streams, waterfalls, giant trees,
and gondolas every few feet. Every time a gondola went by above us, I waved.
Some people did the friendly neighbor wave back, others didn’t. Their loss. Additional
cheesy photos to follow!
Meet Molly Moo Cow and Bessie, my new friends.
After our hike, we ended up at the gondola and rode it down
to Gimmelwald, the next town below Murren. We had lunch here… guess what it
was?!?!?!?!?!?! Well Petey had pizza (BORING) but I had SWISS CHEESE FONDUE
WITH BEER BREAD! OMG… the bitter creaminess of the fondue coupled with moist,
succulent, hoppy-ness of the bread was a combination to die for. I needed the
McDaniel gals to help me finish- it was too rich to destroy on my own.
We rode the gondola back up the hill to take a nap. Three
hours later, we set out to another Rick Steves recommendation… Mr. Tham’s
Chinese Restaurant! The Thams are a couple from Singapore and Malaysia who
settled here to provide Chinese food as an alternative to the traditional Swiss
Cuisine. They are the kindest people ever- both shook our hands and asked our
opinion of their food as we left. Petey had Beef and Broccoli (are we
surprised?) and I had Kung Pao Chicken. The chicken was all white meat in a
tangy, peanut sauce with fresh vegetables. It was fabulous!
We ended our day at the Folkloric Evening at the Sports
Center here. We heard a Swiss Brass Band, saw traditional Swiss dancing (a
little more toned down than the Wobble), heard a WHOLE YODELING GROUP, and saw
a Swiss horn player and a flag thrower. The people here are so proud to share
their culture with visitors.
One of the brochures here says that earlier generations of
the Swiss people believed that the Jungfrau region of the Alps (where we are)
was the reference in Psalm 121: “I lift up my eyes to the mountains, from
whence cometh my help.” I like this. The mountains here are so unbelievable that
Peter just looks at them and laughs.
Tomorrow, we continue our quest for the traditional pork schnitzel
with cheesy hash browns. On Friday morning, we head to Luzern… rumored to have “SWISS
MAC AND CHEESE” – Ashley, I will give you feedback on how it compares to Brewer’s
– and pretzel bread sandwiches. J
Toodles,
KT
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