The Swiss Alps are breathtakingly beautiful. This morning I signed up for white water rafting. With so many extreme sports choices (skydiving, parasailing, canyoning, etc) I was glad to pick the one that would get me back on the water and would make my parents the least worried! We went down a glacier melt river for an hour and half. The river was so fast moving that we really got to just ride and marvel at the mountains the majority of the time. It was me and 9 boys from a high school in New Jersey. We broke up into 2 boats and complete with our New Zealander guides had a great time getting jetted down the river and through some very drastic white water.
The river poured out into Lake Brien (East). Rich the guide has us put our hands in the water as we transitioned from river to lake. You could feel the difference! First you could see the transition from gray water to clear blue, next you realized the water wasn’t gritty at all, and finally the temperature change. Both were very chilly, but the lake was most definitely warmer. We had a ton of fun – it was so fun to be the eldest (and only girl) around the high school boys. Haha they were cracking me up! When we got back at the base camp they had out some cheese, bread and drinks (beer and dr. pepper). I cracked open a beer because I hate Dr Pepper and offered to split it with Kevin and Matt (my 2 favs) and they said they were only 17. I guess they didn’t realize that no one in Europe cares… I met 15 year olds in bars in Sevilla.
I got dropped off by Sven at my hostel and changed and headed out again. This time my destination was HarderKlum – a panoramic hiking spot at 3,300 ft. I had to take the train up because I started out too late to hike up and back before dark but the train turned out to offer some of the best views! The 10 minute train/tram ride was gorgeous – you got to see both lakes and look out at the most impressive mountain range I have ever seen. At the top I had an hour and a half before the last train down for the evening. So what did I do? HIKED!
I choose what looked like a promising path and set off. I guessed well because after about 30 minutes when I was about the turn around to get back on time I found a sign leading me back in a loop to where I started from. It felt so good to get some exercise. Hiking up, up, up for the first half hour and back down in a windy trail the second. The views were amazing. Purple and yellow wildflowers were blooming in between the carpet of ferns. Little babbling brooks would cross my path every few hundred meters. Evergreens made the air smell like the best car air freshener ever and the air was so clear and crisp. I don’t have the words to explain how happy I was and how great I felt while hiking!
*I also found some pretty sweet Swiss cows - thanks to them we can all enjoy swiss cheese! they were so close that I touched one! The bells they wear make quite a lot of noise but, I guess that's the point
Tomorrow is supposed to rain all day. As long as it is not storming I will be venturing out. I got nuts cooped inside all day!I think I will try to figure out a oath to the west lake and go for a run. I am glad I got to spend all day outside today. This area was such a fun place to explore. I didn’t see a single person while on my hike and it was nice to be utterly alone for a while. I found a little bench in the sun surrounded my wildflowers and laid down for a short rest. The hike was so relaxing I wish I could have stayed up there for hours.
I miss and love you all. I am enjoying myself so much on this trip. I can hardly believe it is over half way over! Peace - At
Gorgeous view plus some of my favorite flowers - columbines. These ones were a deep purple and were growing all over the mountain. So beautiful!
The lake we ended in after rafting.
One of the many impressive views from my hike
Zee Sviss Alps! Zey are zo impressive
The hidden tresure (bench) I stumbled upon. The 10 minutes I spent laying on this bench might have been the most relaxing, tranquil minutes of my life thus far.
I couldn't get enough of the snow capped mountain views - this one shows the glacier that feeds the river I rafted down
Hiking! So much fun!
Mountain goats in their natural habitat! Just kidding, these were in a nature reserve I found on accident.
Hard to lose this guy, that bell can be heard from far away - it's what lead me to find these cows!
Swiss francs - the most colorful, non-monopoly I have ever seen. Dad: if you think euros look fake you would think twice after seeing the swiss franc!
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