My most recent stop was the quiet, quintessentially Swiss, town of Gimmelwald. Everyone that has been there raves about the place, and with good reason. The town is nestled in between mountain ranges, and the views are spectacular! It's beyond small-town... there's a hostel (the world-famous Mountain Hostel), a couple guest houses, and then some old-school Swiss houses on the hill. Cows & sheep are grazing everywhere, and there's nothing to do except hike around or, perhaps, throw yourself off a mountain (preferably with a parasail attached).
I arrived in late afternoon, as the day's hikers were making their way back to the hostel. Nothing to do but relax & have a pizza (the hostel makes fantastic pizzas).
The next day, I set out early on a hike to the Schilthorn. James Bond fans will recognize the peak of this mountain as the Villian's lair from On Her Magesty's Secret Service. Despite the fact that I am in reasonably good shape (at least I think I am), this was a difficult hike. I was winded within 20 minutes, and was taking frequent breaks. Fortunately, the breaks are all very scenic.
About halfway up, the clouds started rolling in. Not wanting to get caught in a rain on a mountain (again), and not really wanting to climb all the way up to look at clouds - I changed my route. I headed up to another peak, which offered a cloud-free view. It was breathtaking - I had never seen mountains like that before. Hiking down, I found myself behind a waterfall that emptied into a deep mountain gorge - with a mountain in the distance.
Today I woke up early & took the cable car up to the Shilthorn. Yeah, I cheated, but my legs & available time wouldn't allow me to hike. The view at the top was great for about 45 mins, and then the clouds rolled in again. It was cool to watch clouds racing up the sides of the mountain towards us.
The hostel may as well have been a US embassy - I couldn't believe the number of Americans there. I met a nice couple from Brooklyn, another couple from Austin, and a big group from Indiana. There were also a couple of families from Minnesota at the guest house next to the hostel... small world. There were also a number of Aussies there. I have always found Aussies to be very friendly & fun-loving people, and the people here definitely lived up to that reputation. It was a lot of fun at the hostel!
This afternoon, I took the cable car back down - sure that I would return to Gimmelwald again. I'm back in Interlaken now, getting ready to head up to Munich tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to hoisting huge steins of beer!
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Tons of Americans - several new friends
everyone has computers
yay gimmelwald. i can't believe you paid all that money to go up to shilthorn! we got up to that scenic overlook, too, and got an equally awesome view of the clouds (except we couldn't see even a foot in front of us..heh) =)
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