Trip to Grindelwald with Friends!

We had our first visitors from the US! A welcome sight, fresh, familiar faces staying with us for almost two weeks. And what do you do when friends and family visit from the States…you take them to the most epic, beautiful locations in Switzerland, to not only impress them, but to constantly remind yourself how incredible this country truly is. (Plus you cannot come to Switzerland without visiting the Alps) We chose Grindelwald, a small, village in the center of the country, which at times can be overcrowded with tourists, but we chose a Berghaus high above the maddening crowds, which were almost non-existent during this time of year. The train ride alone would have been enough, you take in panoramic views of spectacular mountains, ride right along the base of the Thunersee and almost feel as you can touch the snow covered mountains, but we had more in store for our guests. Once we arrived in Grindelwald we took a few photos (OK, for Robert, more like 478), but each photo captures a unique image of incredibly picturesque mountains. (Robert Here... All the excellent photos on our blog are the result of sorting through a lot of decent images, like 415 images) We were quickly swept high above the tree line by a gondola and arrived at Berghaus Bort. Now, Robert and I took a chance with this place – we had never been to Grindelwald before, nor did we receive any recommendations for the area. The views from the Berghaus were magnificent (sometimes I feel like I am running out of adjectives to describe the beauty of this country), the rooms, were cozy and sweet and Dom and Becky got super lucky and landed themselves the honeymoon, Berghaus suite! From their bed, they could see the mountains, snow covered and majestic!

Each night, dinner was a three - course affair, a wonderful gastronomic event! And to top it off, we had a true Swiss experience…we were able to listen to the beautiful sounds of the alpine horn over dinner. Robert joked that he would see what he could do about bringing some fresh snow for our friends, and the next morning, we are happy to report, we woke up to snow! So, here we are in the most wonderful accommodations filled with incredible views, bellies full from the night before and now frolicking among the snow…who could have asked for anything more?

Once the snow stopped and the fog burned off, we thought what better way to christen Dom into the real alpine experience than to take him on an epic 5.5 hour hike (mostly uphill) through treacherous winds, freezing weather, but all with remarkable views! Our destination was Bachalspsee, a beautiful lake, at the base of the Alps, shimmering with sunlight. At the lake, we burnt through another zillion photos and made our way back to the Berghaus. With weary, cold, blister ridden bodies, we felt like we were staying in the Four Seasons when we indulged in warm showers and relaxed before another great meal.

Overall, the experience was fabulous! What made the weekend that much sweeter was that we were able to share our love for Switzerland with great friends! Dom and Becky, we hope the memories stay with you for a lifetime!

Hike above Berghaus Bort

Berghaus Bort

Dom and Becky from the Honeymoon Suite

Above Grindelwald

It's Snowing!
The Fog lifts, and the snow stops
Dom Hiking his first Alpine Trail

Don't even mess with us... (Man, is it cold...)
We made it to the lake... (I mean, it really is cold...)
Mountains...

On our Hike Down... =o(
Nice Mossy Tree...

Don't Mess With this guy...
Church in Grindelwald

From the train on the way down the valley
On The Train (Again..)

Day 1 - Above Grindelwald

Day 2 - A view from First (top ski lift)

Day 2 - Hike towards the lake

Day 2 - Bachalpsee (aka "The Lake")

Day 2 - This lake is so clear and inviting...

Day 2 - More Lake (Definately worth freezing your butt off for 5 1/2 hours or 9.5 miles)

My Boy Can Ride

Robert Bikes!

For all of those of you who wondered...will Robert ever bike again,? Yeah, the countless photos of him hiking through the Swiss Alps got old - so today, he got back on the two wheels and rode through the misty, fall morning.

Frank, Dom, Lou, Matt I hope you are all smiling...

A true live shot of Robert on a bike in Switzerland. Trip report from the wife's perspective -Robert needs to ride, he loves his bike - and the Swiss trails - now that he is back on the bike - there will be more stories to come!

And of course, another blog from Schoutens' perspective...

The Boy Can Ride... (a self portrait)

A Day in Colmar, France

A Day in Colmar, France (Dom & Becky don't look!)

Saturday we decided that we would take a day trip into the town of Colmar. The train ride was a short 40 minutes and once in France, we walked through a beautiful park and within ten minutes were in the cute downtown region of Colmar. This town is storybook cute...small canals, amazing flowers, beautiful churches, a enough charm to last the entire weekend.

Little Venice

Little Venice
Old Farm House Down A Small Side Street

Robert in Little Venice

Precious Little Shop - Is this from a storybook?

Cool Vintage Motorcycle

Saint Matthew's Church
Saint Matthew's Church - Beautiful Light

Flowers!

Berghaus Hike in 3D

This is what you can do with websites like mapmyride.com, and Google Earth!

(Now you know why Google stock is over $580 per share!!!)