Five trains after we left Venice we officially arrived in the Interlaken Ost train station. Changing trains that many times went pretty smoothly surprisingly. On the train where we crossed the border we had to switch onto another train and the guy sitting across from me kept trying to tell me we had to switch trains but I didn’t understand. Thankfully Mackenzie picked up on it and we figured it out. We realized we loved Switzerland at the first Swiss train station we came to ... it had ramps! No longer did we have to struggle carrying our huge bags up and down stairs but instead we could simply roll them behind us. It was amazing. We continued to fall in love with Switzerland as we looked out the train windows at the gorgeous views. As Rick Steves said when asked by the guy on the train checking tickets where we were going and we said Gimmelwald he asked us if we meant Grindelwald and when we said no he said he hadn't heard of Gimmelwald. That shows you how small a place Gimmelwald really is. When we got to the station in Interlaken I knew we would have to take a train, a bus, and a gondola up to Gimmelwald and I had no idea how difficult it all would be. Thankfully Switzerland came through again! Instead of buying each ticket separately the man at the ticket counter gave me one ticket that worked for all three forms of transportation and he even gave me a timetable telling me when each thing left. We had an hour before our train left so we went into the grocery store next to the station to buy breakfast and of course Swiss chocolate. The chocolate was amazing and it took everything in me not to eat the whole bar right there.
Getting to Gimmelwald was extremely easy and the only trouble we had was trying to find the bus stop after we got off the train. We asked which way to go to get to the train station and were told left but we saw signs saying right so we decided to follow the signs. When we got to that side it was deserted so I decided to go check out the other side. Turns out the person who told us left was right so we had to rush with our bags to the bus stop to catch the bus which was definitely amusing but we made it. When we finally got on the gondola up to Gimmelwald we saw fireworks down in the village below. I doubt they were for the 4th of July but we could pretend.
We checked in to the Mountain Hostel (the only hostel in Gimmelwald) and even though it was dark we could tell that it was surrounded by breathtaking views. The hostel itself had a wood cabin look and the staff was very friendly. We had to pay for wifi and for showers but otherwise it wasn’t bad. The beds were all squeezed right next to each other but everyone was very friendly and the view from the window made up for it. I paid for the wifi and we sat in the common room to upload pics and our blogs from Venice. We noticed the flies right away. They were everywhere and were extremely annoying. You constantly had to swat them away. Thankfully they weren’t as bad in our room and we had no trouble going to sleep.
We woke up the next morning and ate the breakfast we had picked up at the grocery store the day before. Then we got ready for our big day of hiking. We started by taking pictures outside of the hostel and then one of the people who worked at the hostel asked us where we were going. We said we weren’t sure and he recommended a trail for us to take. We followed his instructions and walked along the trail. The houses in Gimmelwald were all really cute and we saw some goats. Also on our way out of Gimmelwald we saw two men leading a few cows down the road. One of the cows went down the hill instead of following the others down the road and we thought it was lost. However when the men took the other cows to the same place we realized it was actually the smart cow who found a short cut. We continued on our hike which was pretty strenuous but well worth it because every corner we turned was amazingly gorgeous. I had taken allergy medicine but my allergies were still really bad which kind of sucked but as I said the views were well worth my runny nose. We got to the end of our trail and saw two houses sitting there in the middle of nowhere. We wondered how they got groceries or other supplies and our question was later answered as we watched a helicopter drop off something to another house in the middle of nowhere. We decided to hike to Mürren next because we knew there was a grocery store there and we needed lunch for the next two days and breakfast for the next morning. The first part of the hike was easy and had breathtaking views of course and the trail went straight through a big group of cows. As we walked by them they didn’t move but just watched us. We decided to take pictures with them and I even petted one! After the cows we saw a man paragliding which looked really cool. He was insanely high up! I would love to do that one day but I would have to do it with someone else because I’d be too scared to do it by myself. The last part of the hike was rocky and downhill so we had to be really careful. Mackenzie twisted her ankle but thankfully she was able to walk it off.
When we got to Mürren we went in some souvenir shops and the grocery store. It was a cute town that was small but still bigger than Gimmelwald. I ended up buying a pack of rolls and turkey to make sandwiches for lunch. The walk back to Gimmelwald was very easy and on the way we found a bench with awesome views to eat lunch on. It was a perfect end to our day of hiking. When we got back to the hostel we put our groceries away and got online. We were planning on hiking a little more and there were some trails from Mürren so we started to walk back to Mürren. However on our way to Mürren we realized we were tired and our legs were aching so we made it to our lunch bench and took in the scenery from there instead.
Eventually we walked back to Gimmelwald and took showers for one swiss franc each. The showers only lasted 5 minutes so we had to be really quick even though after our day of hiking I really wanted a long shower. After we showered I went down to the restaurant at the hostel and ordered cheese fondue. Mom had told me the fondue in Switzerland was amazing and since we hadn’t eaten out at all in Switzerland I decided to treat myself to the fondue even though it was 18 francs. I had never had fondue before so I didn’t know how it tasted compared to other fondue but it was really good. It had a pretty strong flavor so I couldn’t finish it all (and I ran out of bread to dip in it) but it was definitely a delicious way to eat cheese from Switzerland.
We went to bed early since we were both exhausted and then woke up this morning around 7:15 so we could slowly get ready and catch the 9am gondola. We had to change our sheets which was different from other hostels but it wasn’t too difficult. We didn’t have any problems making it back down to Interlaken and we are now on our way to Munich. Our first train left at 11am this morning and after three trains we should get there around 5pm. We are now on the third train and haven’t had any trouble so far. One of the layovers was only 10 minutes but we made it with plenty of time. I think we can now officially call ourselves experienced train travelers. We are starting to figure out where to go to get a seat, where the best place to put our bags is, how to figure out which train to get on, and all sorts of other things that you need to know when traveling by train through Europe. The hostel in Munich is near the train station which is really convenient and apparently it is in a good location of the city too. I’m excited to be in Germany. Not only is it where I was born but it also has plenty of beer to try and pretzels to eat! I can’t believe I only have three cities left until I fly back home.
No comments:
Post a Comment