On our last day together, we decided to go up to Gimmelwald, a small village up the mountain from Interlaken with a population of only 300 people. It is listed as one of Rick Steve's favorite places in Swtizerland, quoted, "If heaven ain't what it's cracked up to be, send me to Gimmelwald!"
It took a train, a bus, and a gondola to get up to Gimmelwald, but it was totally worth it and not packed with tourists at all. There was one main road with wooden houses along, all with flower boxes hanging off of the windows. The town is made up of hill-ed farmland, with towering mountains surrounding. While walking along, you can hear the gentle dinging of cowbells in the distance, an actually quite delightful sound. It was so serene and cute, every spot more picturesque than the last. We happened to come across a lady who was selling homemade cheese and dried sausage in this little wooden hut. She gave us some yummy samples and we just had to buy some it was so good! We hiked up for a view from above the village, meadow-ed hills in between. I could have sat on this bench for hours just gazing out at the mountains and listening to the dinging cowbells. (of course, whenever I actually think of "cow bell" the snl skit comes to mind..."what we need is more cowbell..."). Of course the weather was sunny and about 70˚F, absolutely perfect. We hiked back down to the town and had lunch on the terrace of the only restaurant called "Pension Hotel and Restaurant," where we had deliciously fresh baguette sandwiches, tortilla chips, and salads (3 big beers, also!). My sandwich had brie, tomato, cucumber, and pesto on it. We hiked a little bit more after that, but it was nearing late in the afternoon and the beer was kicking in so we head back down the 3-way route to Interlaken.
Back in Interlaken, we all caught the 6:00pm train to Bern, then split ways, Matt & Allie to Zurich to fly home, and me to Geneva. I stayed in Geneva that night to break up my the long trip back to Clermont.
I had so much fun with brother and sis-in-law! It was a welcome break from Clermont life and great to see some family! I heart Switzerland!
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