It rains in the Alps and snows in Placerville...go figure!

In honor of 100 years
of snow sports

The Eiger mountain

This was our day to strike out on our own and we left our group at the train station in Lucerne to board the train to Interlaken and ultimately, Grindelwald.  Picturesque Grindelwald is at the heart of a sensational skiing region and it's surrounded by impressive 4000 meter (13,125 foot) peaks, which include the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau.  We walked through the town (although we wish we had been able to have the time to ski!) and had lunch at a little bistro.  As it was Sunday, not many of the touristy resort places were open, but the views of the peaks made up for it.



Kathy learns to play
the alpenhorn



As we caught the train to head back down to Interlaken, the rain that had been threatening finally began.  Interlaken is the tourist capital of the Bernese region - and we actually saw several Bernese dogs in the area.  This is the kind of weather that they seem to really enjoy!  Interlaken is named because of its location between the two lakes of Thun and Brienz and is most popular because of its reputation as an summer adventure sports destination.  Unfortunately, after walking through town, we eventually returned to hop on the train because the rain had really increased.



Scenes from a train



The train trip to and from these beautiful Alpen towns  was worth the price of admission.  However, the most difficult part of our day was figuring out how to get from Lucerne back to our hotel in tiny Emmetten.  After several frustrating attempts purchase our tickets and then to find the correct bus to take us back (all done in the pouring rain), we found that we also needed to start our trip on the train, then transfer to the 2 buses that would eventually land us at the good Hotel Engel.  Needless to say, we are back and have stories to tell.  Also when we returned, we heard via email and from others in our group that it had snowed in Placerville today...what a surprise for the middle of May.

We also will probably not be making our much anticipated trip down to Frasco, where my original Swiss relatives lived.  After today we realize that the trip will take us much longer than we have time to spend there and return a rental car, so we will sadly have to postpone it until we return to Switzerland - but we know we will return!

Guten nacht, alles!