S'mores in Switzerland!

First of all, I would like to start this post by saying all of this traveling is quite surreal!  Daniel and I just cannot believe the opportunities we have had already, and we are just getting started!  We are incredibly grateful for the blessing of these experiences... we just hope we can make the most of them while we are here.  So far, so good :)

Our most recent expedition found us heading south toward the beautiful country of Switzerland.  The last time we were there together was back in 2002 during our European backpacking trip.  While I remember the countryside being absolutely gorgeous, I also remember the prices there being very high.  Therefore, camping seemed like a good alternative, and Labor Day weekend seemed like the perfect time.  A group of friends from here on the siedlung decided to join us, and after gathering all the necessary materials (including an insane amount of food :), we were all set to leave on the morning of Saturday, August 30th.

Eight of us piled into two cars and we started the trek down to Bern, which ended up being about a 5 hour drive, including stops.  Once we got there, we set up camp at a campground near the Aare River, which runs right through the capital city.  The campsite is actually quite close to downtown, so we decided to have dinner in the city and walk around there that night.  I know, it is not really "roughing it," but it was nice to see a little bit of the town and to enjoy some pretty good Italian food... we decided to save the fondue for our next trip to Switzerland.

Sunday is when the real fun began.  We headed further south toward a town called Kandersteg. This where we started our hike into the Alps.  We actually rode a gondola a few hundred meters up the side of the mountain; otherwise it would have taken all day just to get to the top. Here is a picture of our group right before we started the hike.  From left to right is Jamie, Alexis, Jane & Joe M., Daniel & me, and Heather & Matt O.  

And then we we were off!  The views on the way up to the summit pass were pretty awesome, as you can see.  Also, there were some very pretty alpine flowers, and the geology was so cool!  Some pretty crazy folding and faulting transformed the sedimentary rock layers up there in the past.  Yes, I really am a science nerd :)

 

After a while into the hike, I turned around and took this photo.  I think it does an excellent job displaying the beauty of the Alps!

Once we made it to the summit pass, we had lunch and enjoyed the view overlooking the alpine lake there.  Here is a photo of Daniel and I as well as one of our whole group at the top.  And no, Daniel and I didn't plan to match... sometimes these things just happen!

On the way back down, we had another good photo opportunity (top).  Also, here is the view from the base of the mountains, looking back toward the town of Kandersteg (bottom).

Once we got back to Bern after the hike, we decided to cool off in the Aare River, which was literally right next to our campsite.  When I say cool off, I really mean it because the river was a chilly 66 degrees F (but that was just a taste of what was to come during the white water rafting trip!).  The river has a very strong current, so it carried us a ways down river and then we had to walk back, but it was a lot of fun. 

We actually jumped off a bridge into the river (don't worry it was only about 12 feet above the water), and I am hoping to get some video of this from our friend, Jamie, so hopefully I will be able to post that on the blog soon.  On Saturday night, we enjoyed the normal camping fare, including roasted hot dogs, and of course, s'mores!  They definitely hit the spot after a full day.

On Monday, we headed toward Interlaken, which is considered the "adventure capital" of Switzerland.  This is where we got outfitted for our white water rafting trip.  In addition to the eight of us, there were two other "civilian" couples who went on the trip with us, for a total of 14, so we split into two rafts.  Our boat included our friends, Heather and Matt O.  Here is a pic of all of our raft members nice and dry... but not for long!

The river we rafted on is called the Lutschine, and it flows down from a glacier in the Alps. As I mentioned earlier, the Aare River in Bern felt pretty cold, but it didn't even come close to the Lutschine, which was a freezing 42 degrees F!  For some crazy reason, we actually jumped in the river for a swim toward the end of our trip... it was ridiculously cold, but it definitely made the experience a memorable one!  Following are a bunch of shots taken by one of the guides from the rafting company.  I think they show our experience pretty well... as you can tell, we had a blast!

 

After the white water rafting trip, it was time to head back to Frankfurt.  As all the pictures show, we had an awesome time in Switzerland!  We definitely look forward to going back there, and hopefully that will include going skiing in this Alps this winter... we will see.  Well, there is no rest for the "weary" and believe it or not, we have yet another trip just around the corner.  Daniel has a work conference in Limerick, Ireland, next week, and once again I will be joining him.  Needless to say, we are both looking forward to our first trip to Ireland!  As always, look for a post and pictures from the trip here on the blog in the next couple of weeks.  Until then... God bless!