The travels: part 6

Switzerland! We woke up in Interlaken. Here are a couple shots from our little balcony. 

Next was the part of the trip we were most excited for, I think. We were going to Trummelbach Falls! We had stopped at the falls on our last trip through Europe, but as chance would have it, it was the day before our camera got stolen. Our goal on this trip was to retake some of the awesome pictures we had previously taken so we could share one of our favorite places with everyone! Trummelbach Falls is just outside of Lauterbrunnen, on the way to the cable car that takes you up to Gimmelwald. It is in a breathtakingly beautiful valley. So, from Interlaken we took one of the private railways to Lauterbrunnen and from there we took the bus to the falls. (It is not cheap but it is worth it!)

This is after getting off the bus, on the trail towards the entrance to the falls.

Morning on the mountains

It was kind of like deja vu.. last time we were here there was a huge group of tourists from India. This time we got there just as two buses full of tourists showed up. I guess its a popular spot for tour groups from India!

...Don't throw your kids in the water...
The water that makes Trummelbach Falls is directly from the glaciers higher up on the mountain. To start the visit you get into an elevator that takes you almost straight up inside the mountain and then you work your way down and around from there. Last time we came, in the early part of June, there was so much water pouring down that there were times that I could not even breath! It was such an adrenaline rush! On some of the viewing platforms we didn't even dare walk all the way out because the water was just about coming over the rails. This time we were a little disappointed.. It was the end of April and I imagine it hadn't been warm enough to melt enough ice to create the thundering falls we saw last time. No adrenaline rush, but it was beautiful nonetheless. If you ever get the chance to visit these falls, definitely do it, especially in June! :)

The view from a part of the walkway looking out toward the valley.

Here are a couple panoramics. Its hard to capture just how amazing it all is. You are basically inside a mountain, with tons of water falling all around you! Its loud and damp and dark. A couple places you can see all the way to the top where the water comes in.

 

This is Kennan's favorite fall, the "corkscrew" (the 3 pictures around this)

The picture on the left is the view when you come out of the mountain. The rest of these are just pictures from the valley. So beautiful!! In late May and June the waterfalls coming down the mountain faces are also about 10 times the size they are in April.

..I couldn't decide which of these I liked better..

Good times! After the waterfall fun we hopped on a train that would take us to Chaumont, the city where my grandparents lived when they lived in France. We had a train change over in Mulhouse, France. Since its so close to the German border it has a lot of German influence. We went to the free city museum and then sat on a bench and ate German pretzels. :)

The travels: part 5

Annecy. What a picturesque little town! Utah State University does their French summer study abroad here every year and I can understand why! Its got everything you could hope to find in a little alpine French town. 

 Cathedral. The little obelisk is on the back of 4 turtles, who are smiling. haha

 A beautiful little river

 Quaint little bridges and roads

 Outdoor fresh produce market

 How would you like to have this view from your yard??

 Another cathedral

 A tower..

 A lake

 The castle and the dinner boats

 Kennan feeding the ducks. The little black ones we call torpedo ducks because they dive down and swim under the water. Their feet look like raptor feet...

 Tunnels! Logan should take note.. Imagine shopping in the winter. Instead of slipping and sliding, just walk under this handy tunnel we've built for you! 

Now, we had planned on seeing two major things this day. Mount Blanc and the Matterhorn. We took a bus from Annecy up to some tiny little town in the French Alps where we were planning on catching our train to Chamonix. (Where Mount Blanc is) Come to find out they are doing work on that rail line and the train would not be coming. With the rest of our day's schedule the only option was to skip Chamonix and head straight to the Matterhorn. We had to wait about an hour and a half for the next bus, and then wait for a half hour at the next city for a train that took us across the border to Geneva, Switzerland (about a 15 minute train ride is all) which dropped us off at the most run down, ghetto train station I have ever seen. I don't even think they have people working at that station. The building was all boarded up and grafitti..ed It was kind of scary. We had to walk all the way across town to catch our connecting train that would take us deep into the heart of the Swiss countryside. :) We were still exhausted from our run the day before. But we saw something.. up above the buildings that caught our attention. A  huge stream of water. We were quite curious as to what it could possibly be.. and why water would be shooting that high into the sky..

This is what we found. Its some sort of fountain. In the lake. I dont know why it is there, but it is the highest water shooting fountain that we have ever seen.

We were on the train for a few hours after that. It was a beautiful train ride. The alps never cease to amaze me. They are so amazingly large, and beautiful. The snow capped peaks and the green fields where the cows graze lower down. I love it. I didnt take any pictures from the train because they never do things justice, but take it from me, that train ride alone was worth the trip to Switzerland.

 This is the train station in Visp.

 From Visp you take a train to the Matterhorn. We got on the train and were just getting settled when the ticket collector came by. We gave him our train passes and he frowned and told us they were not valid on that railway. We would have to pay 51 euro (75 dollars)... Each! I told him we did not have any money and that we would need to get off at the next station. Ha ha! We did in fact get off at the next station and we waited for a half hour or so to ride down the mountain again and head to Interlaken for the night. That was two major fails in one day. I struggle at trip planning, but it was nice to relax on the train for a day.

 Here is the first stop of the Matterhorn train....(roll my eyes)

We made it to Interlaken that night. We stayed in a pretty cool hostel. (cool, other than we had to share a room with 8 other people.. all guys.. and all smelly. :S) However..

This is the view from the balcony of our hostel room. :)