The Swiss Yosemite.

We left Chamonix with a heavy heart. We all wanted to stay longer but the snowy weather made it a little easier to leave behind. We drove through the rain and fog over some narrow passes into beautiful Switzerland. On the drive we kept noticing the swollen, muddy rivers and commenting on how some of them appeared to be dangerously close to coming over the road. Later in the day, when we were 10km from our goal, we discovered that the road was closed because the river had washed away the bridge and roadway. Darn the luck! We found a deserted campsite and hoped that the road would be open the following day.



It wasn't a bad view for an unexpected stay.

To our delight the road was open the following day and we made our way up to the beautiful Lauterbrunnen Valley. If you've never been there you can make your own Lauterbrunnen Valley as follows:

1. Take Yosemite National Park and first move it way far away from Fresno.
2. Remove all the tourists and replace them with dairy cows, lambs, and goats.
3. Replace all the snack shacks and motorhomes with farms and flower-covered alpine chalets.
4. Take the number of waterfalls and multiply it by 10. Or maybe 100 after a storm.
5. Roll back the clock 1000 years so glaciers hang off the high peaks above the valley walls.
6. Take it away from the National Park Service and turn it over to the efficient and proud Swiss.
7. I hope that you remembered in step 2 to put big old bells on the cows and sheep so the random clanging noises will fill the valley instead of car engines.

Easy, huh? Words really can't describe how incredible the place is but maybe the photos from a great hike that we took will do it justice.




Our campsite was below the first waterfall. Our hike was along the top of the cliff to the right.


Any good hike starts with a cable car ride. Trams are the one thing that the Swiss will give away for a reasonable price.



The next leg of the hike: a narrow-gauge railway. Allie and Noelle suddenly love hiking!



Okay, now the fun part starts.



Who needs a GPS?



Cokes and coffee at an alpine hut. This hiking thing isn't so bad after all.



It's all downhill now.




Your typical water fountain.



Negotiating downtown Gimmelwald at rush hour.



Another cable car. This time back down to the valley floor, passing in front of 2 waterfalls.



The long walk back to camp. We finished the day with some American-style hamburgers and chicken nuggets and guess who had the raclette and swiss stew? We would have loved to stay longer in Switzerland but it was icy cold. And not just the people, the weather too! Add to that the crazy price of everything and it was time to head back into France and Germany.