May 17 Lauterbrunnen
DING DING DING!! I have found heaven on Earth.. it exists here in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland.
Good morning SWITZERLAND!
We woke up super early and ate breakfast. The group excursion today was to take a train to the mountain called Jungfrau and see snow, then take the train back down. It seemed really pricey (110 euro) just to sit on another train to see snow. We get plenty of that in Utah! So we decided to pass on that and do our own thing. My sister and I discussed what we wanted to do today, and decided that we both really wanted to get some intense hiking in for some physical activity. Therefore, I found it very funny when first thing after breakfast, my sister went straight to her bed and fell asleep. Ha! Oh well, she needed the sleep. I went outside and walked around, I also used the Internet for a bit. They don’t use the internet much in Europe. In order for us to use it, we have to pay. I had to pay 3 Swiss Francs for 15 minutes… :/ it’s okay though cause I hear we get free wifi in Paris, where we will be tomorrow.
When Erica finally woke up she took a while to gather her things, and we finally got out of our room. On second thought, it was actually really nice for me to have a morning to myself… doing whatever I wanted and enjoying the sights, not having to talk to anybody. I enjoyed it. Anyhow we were leaving our room to go hike I saw one of the Australians just hangin' out by his room. I told him our plans and asked if he wanted to come along. I was kind of surprised when he said yes! So we set out to explore the town and then hike an alp.
We got to town and looked at a few souvenir shops. I got a hat that says Switzerland on it. It’s not amazing, but I need to use up some Swiss Francs… haha. Then we went to the grocery store and picked up some snacks for our hike.
After walking around for a bit we found a hike up to a town called Wengen. Our tour guide told us about this hike, and that it would be a bit of a challenge, but it would be fun, so we decided to do it. I thought it would be cold so I wore 2 shirts and 2 jackets along with 2 layers of spandex and some exercise pants. Well... it was immediately hot, so I took off my jackets and a layer of pants and shoved them in my backpack. I also had my purse and other unnecessary items in there. My bag was pretty heavy, but I decided that that would just add to the challenge! I love a good challenge! The hike was very steep, so it was a good calf workout. It took about an hour and a half. Thank goodness the Australian came along with us to provide some differing conversation; he was very good company. I kept asking him to say ‘outback'.. for some reason this was hilarious to me. Maybe because it just fits the stereotype. Ha-ha. Anyhow we finally reached the top and realized the time. We also really wanted to see this waterfall park that our tour guide mentioned as well. It was on the opposite side of camp from where we were. We decided to try to get back to camp, drop off our extra clothes, and head to the waterfalls.
We did just that! It was a little more walking than I anticipated, and I didn’t wear the best shoes, but I’m not going to complain. I had a great time, and finally got some exercise in! We got to camp and I dropped off all my extra clothes except my rain jacket. When we got to the waterfalls, it took us into the mountain which was way cool… literally and figuratively. ;) ...but I had dropped off all my extra clothes at camp, and the waterfalls were quite cold and wet, but it was still fun. Kinda funny that I had so many clothes when it was hot, then got rid of them when it was cold. :/ The waterfalls were very cool, especially seeing them inside the mountain. They were intense and loud, hitting the sides with a lot of pressure. I kept thinking how bad it would suck if you got caught in one... you’d die for sure.
We walked back to the campsite, while we walked it started raining. I felt bad for Daniel because he didn’t have a jacket, and was only wearing a t-shirt and shorts (Australians...). So I let (more like told) him to use my umbrella. Haha. Boys are always so weird about using an umbrella, cause it looks feminine. It kind of does, but it was cute, so I snapped a picture, ;) Haha.
When we got back we took showers, then I laid on my bed and fell right asleep. I woke up just in time for dinner. We had yummy fondue! Bread dipped in cheese, it reminded me of when mom used to make it.. Which I thought was really cool that my mom keeps a Swiss tradition. I want to learn how to make fondue so I can make it for my future family and keep the tradition alive. After dinner we just went back to our room, talked to our roommates, I read a little, then fell asleep. I really wanted to watch a movie or something low key. It's a little embarrassing, but I need to make a confession. I kinda miss TV, and I really miss the Internet. :O
Good morning SWITZERLAND!
We woke up super early and ate breakfast. The group excursion today was to take a train to the mountain called Jungfrau and see snow, then take the train back down. It seemed really pricey (110 euro) just to sit on another train to see snow. We get plenty of that in Utah! So we decided to pass on that and do our own thing. My sister and I discussed what we wanted to do today, and decided that we both really wanted to get some intense hiking in for some physical activity. Therefore, I found it very funny when first thing after breakfast, my sister went straight to her bed and fell asleep. Ha! Oh well, she needed the sleep. I went outside and walked around, I also used the Internet for a bit. They don’t use the internet much in Europe. In order for us to use it, we have to pay. I had to pay 3 Swiss Francs for 15 minutes… :/ it’s okay though cause I hear we get free wifi in Paris, where we will be tomorrow.
When Erica finally woke up she took a while to gather her things, and we finally got out of our room. On second thought, it was actually really nice for me to have a morning to myself… doing whatever I wanted and enjoying the sights, not having to talk to anybody. I enjoyed it. Anyhow we were leaving our room to go hike I saw one of the Australians just hangin' out by his room. I told him our plans and asked if he wanted to come along. I was kind of surprised when he said yes! So we set out to explore the town and then hike an alp.
We got to town and looked at a few souvenir shops. I got a hat that says Switzerland on it. It’s not amazing, but I need to use up some Swiss Francs… haha. Then we went to the grocery store and picked up some snacks for our hike.
After walking around for a bit we found a hike up to a town called Wengen. Our tour guide told us about this hike, and that it would be a bit of a challenge, but it would be fun, so we decided to do it. I thought it would be cold so I wore 2 shirts and 2 jackets along with 2 layers of spandex and some exercise pants. Well... it was immediately hot, so I took off my jackets and a layer of pants and shoved them in my backpack. I also had my purse and other unnecessary items in there. My bag was pretty heavy, but I decided that that would just add to the challenge! I love a good challenge! The hike was very steep, so it was a good calf workout. It took about an hour and a half. Thank goodness the Australian came along with us to provide some differing conversation; he was very good company. I kept asking him to say ‘outback'.. for some reason this was hilarious to me. Maybe because it just fits the stereotype. Ha-ha. Anyhow we finally reached the top and realized the time. We also really wanted to see this waterfall park that our tour guide mentioned as well. It was on the opposite side of camp from where we were. We decided to try to get back to camp, drop off our extra clothes, and head to the waterfalls.
We did just that! It was a little more walking than I anticipated, and I didn’t wear the best shoes, but I’m not going to complain. I had a great time, and finally got some exercise in! We got to camp and I dropped off all my extra clothes except my rain jacket. When we got to the waterfalls, it took us into the mountain which was way cool… literally and figuratively. ;) ...but I had dropped off all my extra clothes at camp, and the waterfalls were quite cold and wet, but it was still fun. Kinda funny that I had so many clothes when it was hot, then got rid of them when it was cold. :/ The waterfalls were very cool, especially seeing them inside the mountain. They were intense and loud, hitting the sides with a lot of pressure. I kept thinking how bad it would suck if you got caught in one... you’d die for sure.
We walked back to the campsite, while we walked it started raining. I felt bad for Daniel because he didn’t have a jacket, and was only wearing a t-shirt and shorts (Australians...). So I let (more like told) him to use my umbrella. Haha. Boys are always so weird about using an umbrella, cause it looks feminine. It kind of does, but it was cute, so I snapped a picture, ;) Haha.
When we got back we took showers, then I laid on my bed and fell right asleep. I woke up just in time for dinner. We had yummy fondue! Bread dipped in cheese, it reminded me of when mom used to make it.. Which I thought was really cool that my mom keeps a Swiss tradition. I want to learn how to make fondue so I can make it for my future family and keep the tradition alive. After dinner we just went back to our room, talked to our roommates, I read a little, then fell asleep. I really wanted to watch a movie or something low key. It's a little embarrassing, but I need to make a confession. I kinda miss TV, and I really miss the Internet. :O