The Swiss Adventure...: Apline Culture

Apline Culture - Part II

So after some heart pumping hiking, we made our way to Schafler…another

“Are you kidding moment!”

The views were spectacular and worth every moment of the hike. The entire way up the mountain we kept saying…"Wow, glad there is a gondola to take us down this, who would want to hike back down that mountain?” Keep this sentence in mind for following day.

The tiny little speck on top of the mountain is where we stayed...

Schafler...on top of the mountain...

To our room….we had an end room with two windows, two windows to witness two incredible views. So once on top of the mountain, there isn’t much hiking to be had – more like cliff jumping – of which we weren’t too interested in partaking. So instead, we decided to have that alpine beer (not the green plate of carbs as experienced the night before) and take in the views. That night we had great Swiss style dinner, for Robert a huge plate of bratwurst and rosti …oh rosti is delicious and can certainly be enjoyed after an intense hike.

Then upstairs to get some rest in before the hike down.

Check out the down comforters on these beds!

The next morning we woke early to catch the sun rising above the mountains. Now here is a view that you just wish you could bottle and whenever you are stressed, simply untwist the cap and let the sunshine in. Beautiful! The amazing thing about the Swiss is that they take the time to enjoy their country. We were surrounded by hikers all sitting outside in the cool, crisp air, watching the sun come up, as if it was the first time we had ever witnessed such a sight. Taking the time to watch nature in action…simply underestimated and not appreciated nearly enough. We marveled at the sight, took loads of pictures and somehow felt incredible after the experience.

Now with the sun up, we packed our sacks (sacks just makes them sound smaller…doesn’t it?) and headed down the mountain to take the chairlift down. On our way down the mountain, we once again witnessed Swiss culture is action. Picture this…no really, I mean it, close your eyes and picture a mystical place, something like you see in Lord of the Rings – (minus the scary troll dude) and all of a sudden you hear the most beautiful noise resonating off the mountains. When you first hear this, you think, maybe I fell off the trail and this is heaven and then quickly realize your feet are still planted, firmly on the ground and you are hearing alpine horns. Alpine horns sound rather ridiculous and even look more ridiculous (I mean, look at what those dudes are carrying); however, the noise they make is absolutely peaceful and quite heavenly. I almost cried…I really almost cried, it was that beautiful.

Moving down mountains is actually harder them coming up them. You really have to pay attention, focus on each step and know where you are going. Once we reached the plateau where we were “going to board the gondola and take the scenic, easy way down,” (as we had mentioned the day before, “who would want to hike down this mountain?) we read the price of the 5-minute ride, looked at each other and said, “let’s save the cash and walk down.” So we hiked down and once again on the decent, we witnessed culture only the Swiss can master. Once we turned the corner after emerging from the cave, we saw a church, built into the side of a mountain completely full, standing room only, praying in the fresh Alpine air. Incredible, a church, built into the side of a mountain, full of hikers, praying on a beautiful Sunday. Once again…I almost cried. I felt like I had just opened an issue of National Geographic magazine profiling European cultures. Sometime you have to wonder – is this for real?

Well, the real beauty of it is, is that it is real and we are doing everything we can to soak up the glory of living in such a beautiful country! Another incredible weekend in the Alps!