Blogs from Gimmelwald, North-West, Switzerland, Europe

Greetings from Gimmelwald! This town takes the cake for least populated place on my trip so far--it's a farming community of 130 people perched on a cliff in the Jungfrau region of Switzerland. It is only accessible by cable car, and is a carless community. There are breathtaking views of snow-capped mountains, dozens of wildflowers in the fields, the most refreshing public water (runs out of natural springs all over the village), and the clanking of a cacophony of cowbells and sheepbells from animals grazing nearby. What a great break from the rest of the world! But probably my favorite part about Gimmelwald--the Honest Cheese stores. These self-service stores run out of people's houses serve the most delectable dairy products for cheap (and it's vacuum-sealed so I may be coming home with some...) I have been ... read more

We were ecstatic about starting our full day in the Alps. Our hotel recommended that we have breakfast in Schiltorn, which was the highest point you could be as a visitor. It was in the 40's so we bundled up with as much as we could. Since we deliberately packed light and were going to be in so many different climates, our Swiss Alps gear was limited. We took a cable car from Gimmelwald to Murren and then a vertical cable car from Murren to the summit. Visibility was limited because we were literally in the clouds. It's definitely not something one who has a fear of heights should try. :) There was a huge multilevel structure that looked like something out of a sci fi movie and on one level was a rotating restaurant where ... read more

Wow, amazing scenery in this area of the world. Arrived in Interlaken to be treated with a beautiful , clear, hot day and decided to take the journey to the top or Europe- Jungfrau. A two hour journey beginning in hot 30 degrees in Interlaken and 5 degrees by the time I reached the top. Snow galore- amazing views and many photos to be taken. Very exciting! Had to take 45 minutes out when I arrived at the top as I had altitude sickness as we were at above 3000m. A very expensive meal later, after getting some sugar into me I explored the top. The ice palace was very cool with many ice sculptures even the floors were made from ice so it was the closest I will ever get to ice skating. A few ... read more

Picking up where we left off, canyoning was a lot of fun although we had to cut the day short (it was supposed to be 8 hrs total) as it was raining and the water levels were getting too high (we only got about 5hrs total). It was still pouring when we arrived back at Balmers, completely exhausted, where we had to make arrangements in order to reach our night's lodging in a town called Gimmelwald. After taking a bus, train, and a crazy ass moutain lift we arrived at "the Mountain Hostel", 4500 ft above sea leavel, at around 6pm. Surprisingly, the place was packed...mostly young people but there were some older rick steves worshippers too. Due to the fact that our views were blocked by fog we just hung out at the hostel (in ... read more

Everyone get your passports organised because you will want to go to this place!! I decided to do a blog just on this small town off 200 odd people just because it is simply amazing! Most of you would know that I was coming here after stumbling across it over a year ago on the net and then and there I decided I was heading to this remote village.Getting here is quite difficult as there are no cars allowed and either hiking or using the cable car is the only means of transport. The town is on a cliff face over looking a massive valley and with snow capped mountains on the other side it is just amazing.Think this place would be full of touirsts... think again... The goverment put a hold on building, saying that ... read more