Magnificent is the only word that can describe this place. During a ten hour trip here, I barely read, hardly slept, and did nothing but stare out of the train window. Each bend in the track offered a more glorious view than before. Everything is so green and lush. Wildflowers are blooming everywhere! Buttercups, daisies, roses, and tulips adorn the hillsides. We made our way past two beautiful crystalline lakes at the foot of the mountains, and eventually followed a stream to our final train depot, where we boarded a cable car to the top of the mountain.
This afternoon after checking in at our bed and breakfast, we took a hike up the mountain to the next town and did some exploring. Mountain streams cascaded down sheer cliffs, eventually joining together towards the valley, joining that stream we followed earlier. The mountaintops are clothed with snow and tower over us, even at this altitude! We are looking forward to doing some serious hiking tomorrow.
The village of Gimmelwald is everything that is quaint and lovely. Being here, I feel like nothing much has changed in the past fifty years, and nothing much will. The houses are all made of wood and are currently surrounded by some of the most colorful gardens I have ever seen. A narrow winding road curves up the mountain to meet the town of Murren. There are exactly four sounds here: the wind, the birds, the rushing of the streams, and the clanging of cow bells and goat bells. Almost everyone owns cows and/or goats. Everything else is so quiet. I bet the entire village consists of less than 100 people. We hadn't been here an hour when Richard declared this to be his favorite place that we've been so far. I have to agree with him. The Na Pali coast wasn't even this beautiful.
We are off for an evening walk before it gets too dark. No promises but I might try to upload some pictures tomorrow. This is too beautiful not to be shared!
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