Murren, Switzerland

We LOVED Switzerland and will be coming back. The skiing here must be outrageous. We planned to stay a few days in the mountains and stayed 5. It started snowing (May 23!) and we had to stay to see the views when things cleared. We are here to see the famed Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau.

On the right side is a huge rock that drops sharply into the valley. On top of that on the far right is some snow - that's Murren. To get there you take a gondola! Thats where we stayed for 4 nights.



The valley down below was just as dramatic and picturesque as the top.







This is what we came to see. This is the view from out hotel room. Payed for the view, one which we'd not have for the next 3 days.



We awoke the first night to this. 2 feet of snow. Hardly what we expected or were prepared for. I've got a light jacket and no boots. Tara has less.



The cog train to take you to the top of the Jungfraujoch. It's takes you to the highest train station in Europe. Top of the world.



Well we made it with clear skies. We got really lucky, one day later it was raining. I'm standing in the saddle between the Jungfrau and Monch. To climb higher you'd need mountain gear and brass balls.



It was -10°C at the top. About an hour later all this had melted off.



The view down the valley (glacier) with the visitor center on the left.



That's the top of the Jungfrau behind us (4158m, 13642ft).



These last shots are of a tiny town called Gimmelwald. This is a slice of heaven. 130 locals, no hotels, no cars, no stores. Just a little farming community way above the valley floor and well outside the modern world. It's some kind of magical land and the locals fight to keep it that way.