Show and Tell... Part 4

After we spent some time in Normandy, we spent an entire day traveling by train, bus and gondola to the Swiss Alps. We left Cherbourg, France at 7am and finally reached our destination (Murren, Switzerland) at 9pm. We actually caught the last gondola up to Murren and didn't know it. God totally had His hand on us during our trip many different times. (That picture is me standing guard with our backpacks in one of the many train stations we passed through.)

After a great dinner of melted cheese and potatoes, we walked around a bit before going to bed. The next day we went on our first hike. Holy Cow! Those Alps sure are steep! It was absolutely breathe taking! I have never seen anything like it. Not even in WA! here are some of the great views we encountered. Even though I have a great camera (thank you, Collin!), these pictures don't do it justice...

While we were hiking, we came across an playground. I would be pretty impressed if kids could hike up there and still have the energy to play. Well, *we* found it in us...

(our favorites were the rope swing and the zip line!)

After our hike, we headed back to Murren and packed up our backpacks. We adhere to Rick Steve's philosophy of "Traveling Light". For a three week trip, Collin and I each have a pack that we load up with 4-6 interchangeable outfits, comfortable shoes as well as a nicer pair (for when we go out at night), travel size toiletries (although we buy some when we are there), a make-shift clothesline and clothes pins (we do our laundry in our room), a lightweight jacket, and a vinyl tablecloth (essential for picnics!) We also each carry a day pack (This is the one I have. Collin's backpack has a day pack that detaches from it) We carry essentials like books (I read Last Call by Tim Powers), magic soap (hand sanitizer...can't have to much!), Kleenex (for those "emergency" bathroom stops), sunglasses, maps, camera, and lots of water! Oh, and don't forget to always carry your passport and money in a money belt! Anyhow, we then hiked down to the small village of Gimmelwald. I don't think anybody would know of this place if it wasn't for Rick. BUT the great thing about it is, people STILL don't visit. It's too remote I guess. We like places like that though.

The next part of Show and Tell will include our adventures from Gimmelwald. Stay tuned...