Switzerland

The awesome Swiss Alps have lived up to their reputation. We have been amazed at how shear they are and how high they reach. For two days we couldnt see the tops of most of the mountains, but today has been amazing weather. These are shots from Interlaken and the surrounding area.

This is where we spent very little time awake, and saw it rarely in daylight. When we woke up in the morning we could see the lake next to our little town of Iseltwald, and the towering mountains on the other side.
This is our "hostel", but dont worry, the term is counter intuitive. Every one is very friendly, maybe a little too much, seeing as how our new friend Mitchell decided to cuddle with Tommy (my old mission companion). Okay, so they didnt cuddle, but we kept teasing Tommy that he would. There were 10 people in this cozy room, and we slept quite well. Maybe that was just because we were so tired. It was definately a new experience for everyone there. Unfortunately it smelled like 10 people slept in the room when we woke up in the morning even with the window open all night long.
A huge waterfall system had cut out the rock (sound familiar?). So much of the rock had been worn away and carried into the stream, the water was gray. Several thousand tons of sediment is carried into the lakes from erosion.
Ba was having a great time with the goats. It was fun to hear them run accross beautiful grassy green fields with flowers, and all their bells jingling. We were going to try and milk them, but our better judgment (the wives) convinced us that would be unwise.
I had to get to the very top of Schynige Platte. It wasnt too hard, just a quick bolder move, and I was there. The sandwich tasted really good, but I am so sick of them. We get sandwiches for breakfast and lunch, and pasta for dinner. Im excited to go out to dinner tonight for our last meal and get some really good food. PS.. We went to a Tia restaurant, and it was amazing food.
Ba sure does know how to pick a good napping spot. She was basking in the sun while the boys were off climbing some rocks. She is just so patient, and she got a little sun burnt. There was this huge restaurant near the peak with out-of-shape people. It was bothersome to me because I am used to a National Parks system where you dont get to see the top unless you get there by yourself. We made sure to try and throw rocks at the cog train whenever it was nearby;)
We took a gondola today because we were so tired from our 9 hour hike yesterday. The little dwarf villiages along the way made it very fun. Sure it was for little kids, but I guess we are kids at heart. I could get into the house just fine if I crawled and squoze my shoulders close together.

The wind was blowing snow off the peaks, and the cows were walking all over the trail. I guess this is why people have these images of the Swiss Alps, because that is how it really is. No Hollywood glorification here.