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Published: September 4th 2007
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Switzerland
Scott and Will do the luge, it was a blast! August 29, 2007
I Live to Eat My Words
I know we all eat our words from time to time. I just hate it when it happens to me. Before I left the US I know that I told anyone and everyone (my mom, my sister, Kim, Judi, Becky, Kathy d, Dave and Laura, Pete and Katherine, and dozens at PPMM) that while we were traveling on a budget that “I would never stay in a youth hostel, I was too old for that.” Well, we just spent three days in Interlaken, Switzerland…in a youth hostel. We live to tell…and we may not have been the oldest people there. (second and third but not first!!)
After the Lucca experience, while at the Farm we made a reservation for our time in Switzerland. We also needed to save money so we ended up at the Happy Inn Lodge…aka hostel. We thankfully had a private room but alas the bathroom was down the hall and needed to be shared with all the twenty-somethings. So off we tromped with our towels (Scott told me not to bring them and of course we have used them more than even this computer.)
our shampoo and our flip-flops to the showers. All in all it was fine. The Happy Inn Lodge was clean, had nice comfy beds and a really good restaurant downstairs. We could have done without the timed showers and the music blaring till midnight in the bar but overall we had fun.
Interlaken and the Berner-Oberland are magnificent. The mountains are so fierce but the surrounding land is green, and the air is crystal clear. We had a really nice time. The first day we took a long hike through the town of Grindelwald. Grindelwald is the quintessential Swiss ski resort. It was so cute…not a flower petal out of place. Of course it had prices to match. We then took a gondola ride up to the top of Pfingstegg where we all had a luge ride or three. It was such a blast. We had ridden the luge in Austria but this was far better…longer, faster, and more turns. We then hiked on top of the mountain. It was amazing. The mountains are so huge and menacing. We saw a glacier on the top of the Eiger Mountain. There were definite signs of global warming. Scott had been
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cool mountain hiker there several…read 25…years before and said it is a tenth of the size. Many of the locals have also commented on the melting of the permanent ice pack of the area. While hiking down we had a nice talk with the kids about ways to save our planet. Let’s hope… It was a great hike and we earned our beer and chicken wings that we enjoyed back at the hostel that evening.
Our next day in Switzerland brought another gondola ride and hike. This time we rode up to 10,000 feet to Schilthorn Mountain, sight of the James Bond movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. This was a much longer ride to the top than the day before. We rode up with an English foursome and one of the women was having an anxiety attack due to the height and hanging from a wire over a cliff. I have to say I didn’t like it much either, though Justin and Will thought it was cool. She got off mid-way and waited for her party, while at least I managed to the top. I am glad I made it as we had unprecedented views of the three highest peaks in
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These mountains are so grand! this region of the Alps, the Eiger, the Monch, and the Jungfrau. It was very cold up there however and after about 10 minutes Justin, Will and I were in the gift shop followed by cappuccinos’ in the revolving restaurant. Scott being a hardier soul spent more time outside before also joining us for a coffee. We then took the gondola down to the town of Murren at 5400 ft, where it was much warmer. We met up with the English group, who rescued their pal who was doing much better. We had a nice lunch and hiked down to a sleepy village called Gimmelwald 4600 ft. We caught up with the gondola for the final descent, before returning to more beers at the hostel.
We arrived in Colmar today…so the Sornberger’s are finally in France! Viva la France!!
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Dave
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Bienvenue
Now you really are "Sornbergers in France." Switzerland looked fun, but cold. You really should have brought some long pants. It looks like Scott, Justin, and Will have been in shorts since June--even at 10,000 feet. While in Alsace (if you haven't moved on already) make sure to have some Flammkuchen (tarte flambee in French). It is a pizza kind of dish. Very tasty. Sure to be available at Brasseries or Alsatian restaurants in Paris too. Bon Appitite.