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We are resending this blog because the previous posting did not include the photos which went along with them. We hope to add more soon. Sorry for any confusion.....
Dear Family and Friends:
We have been blessed with an abundance of bright, hot, and sunny days in Switzerland which have enabled us to ride the cable cars and to get high into the mountains for hiking around Mürren and Wengen.
Two days ago, we spent the entire morning hiking the Northface Trail near Mürren (elevation: 5,361 feet), which circles high above the village, traversing meadows upon meadows of wild flowers, small forests, and dozens of pastures with grazing cows (all wearing their signature Swiss cow bells). One of our most stunning moments was walking through a meadow, surrounded by ringing cowbells, and taking in the breath-taking views of all the north faces of the snow and glacier-covered mountains. The trail kept climbing higher through meadows of yellow, purple, violet, and red flowers, taking us by sheep, cows, and family farms, and over and through various forms of gates. Talk about an over-the-top Sound of Music moment! We have included photos from this hike looking up at the Schilthorn
Amazing Murren Trail
Through the cow fields...and with Lauren overlooking Mürren.
Yesterday was our last day in Mürren and Sam, who has been unrelenting in his desire to rent a mountain bike, finally wore down his parents. He and Ken started early in the morning and rode downhill (at rather terrifying speeds on a dirt road full of switchbacks) more than 3000 feet from Mürren to Lauterbrunnen. Sam has not stopped beaming from this expedition which continued through the valley below, included a hike behind a waterfall, and ended with a cable car ride (with the bikes) back up to the starting point. (Ken's knuckles are still white from this adventure).
We then moved across the valley to Wengen (train, then cable car, then cograil train). Our apartment here is huge - we have the top two floors of one side of a chalet. Top floor has two bedrooms (kids are in one, Ken and Kate in the other) and large, new bathroom. Next floor down has living room (where Marilyn is sleeping), dining room, kitchen, 1/2 bath, and a nice balcony. It all overlooks the Lautterbrunnen valley and Jungfrau. At night, the waterfall across the valley is lit up.
Today, Ken's mother,
Cow with Bell
Amazing cow bells ringing Marilyn, joined us on the cable car up to Mannlichen, which is a high ridge above Wengen (7,300 feet) with 360-degree panorama views of the whole Junfrau region. The early morning clouds lifted and we had a spectacular two-hour hike along the ridge from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidigg, where we met up with the local train which transported us back to Wengen. Kate enjoyed the up-close view of the Monch which she climbed when she was 20 (or so) and we all loved having front-row seats for the entire Jungfrau range of snow-covered mountains.
The kids have been reading voraciously, which is a real treat for us to say about Sam, who usually has to be prodded. We have never seen him so engrossed in a book as he was in "Where the Red Fern Grows." LAuren is on her 7th or 8th book of the trip and we already had to SOS Marilyn to please bring some books with her! Sam is now also enjoying reading Newsweek and USA Today, telling us every tidbit as he reads. Again, a nice surprise for us. We have loved not having a tv anywhere (or, if there is one, it gets
only one channel in the native language). ALso fun has been to read Newsweek and see the names of places we have been, really bringing the stories to life. When we read about the parade in Paris that would go from the Arc D'Triumph to the Place de la Concorde to which many national political figures have been invited, we could picture it perfectly!
As many of you know, we packed with all carry-on luggage. The last photo here is how much clothing each of us has. It's about the size of a city phone book. It contains 2 pairs of zip-off pants, 5-6 shirts, 4 pairs of underwear, and 4-6 pairs of socks. Everything is quick-dry. We also each have a bathing suit, rain gear, hiking boots, one pair of sneakers and one pair of heavy-duty sandals. All of that can just about fit in a backpack. We have 3 rolling suitcases which contain things like peanut butter and jelly (we have a PB&J sandwich every day for lunch!), tons of granola bars, frisbees, baseball gloves and baseballs, plates, and books. We have already sent home two boxes of paperwork, books, and the Coca Cola bottles which Sam
is collecting from each country (best so far is from Switzerland, covered in soccer balls). After Tanzania, we should have more room, after we leave behind the two huge boxes of toothbrushes our dentist gave us and the various craft items we brought.
Typically and joyously, we generally sleep 8-9 hours each night (it helps that we are all in the same room!), either have breakfast as part of our B&B or eat food from the grocery store, lunch is PB&J plus fruit and cookies or chocolate, and dinner is out, unless we are in an apartment. Of the 6 nights we had one, we ate out 2 of the nights, I think. We also average about 4 Magnum premium icecream bars each week, for each of us...although we have learned to get them at the grocery store where they are about half what you pay a street vendor. Some grocery stores require you to pay to use a cart, but baskets are free.
I must end. This has been a work in progress for many days and we apologize for any spelling errors and lack of fluidity! One of us starts it and the other fills in
and completes it, but we are always under the gun timewise...so, the rest of Switzerland and some of Italy will follow.
Love, K4
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Joe Tripp
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cow bells
Did you know that each farmer has a different tone for his cow bells so that when the cows mingle in the mountains they can tell who is whose? Fun facts to know....Love -Joe