“Climb the mountains & get their good tidings.” -John Muir

Well we are back in the full swing of summer/please-don’t-tell-me-it’s-time-to-think-about-school-already(!). It has been an INSANE 6 weeks home so I’d vote that it’s about time I share more about the beginning of our summer, being abroad for 20 days with some of the best people in this world.

Like I shared in my last post, this summer trip couldn’t have come at a better time. With the craziness of buying & fixing up a new home & selling our first one, going to Europe would definitely seem to not be an option. Unless you already planned it, bought plane tickets & booked places to stay, which thankfully, we had already done. No backing out! To say the least, our trip was phenomenal. It was great for so many reasons, but ultimately it was full of peace & excitement, rest & adventure, and getting to travel with my parents & our girls was a gift; it was a trip I will carry in my heart for a long time.

Getting to reflect back on those weeks throughout the rest of this summer has been a foundational place of thanksgiving for me. When I start to feel the stress of our chaos I can simply choose to mentally go back to the beautiful valleys, mountain peaks, cobblestoned streets & tasty gelato. Thank you Jesus. I am so so grateful.

I am choosing to break this into a series of posts based off of each place we visited, so as to give myself more time walking down memory lane & more space to share photos from our time in each location. This post is about the beauty of SWITZERLAND. One of the places on this earth that sings the praises of our Creator in an awe-inspiring tune. It is, simply, stunning. So grab some tea, some swiss chocolate if you have some & enjoy walking down through the valleys & high up in the hills of Switzerland with me.

“Study how water flows in a valley stream, smoothly & freely between the rocks. Also learn from holy books & wise people. Everything – even mountains, rivers, plants & trees – should be your teacher.” -Morihei Ueshiba

So we begin.

We flew out on a non-stop red-eye (which is a WONDERFUL thing if you are traveling with wee ones) from LAX to London. From there we met up with my Madre who flew in on a different flight & made our way on a much smaller plane to Zurich, Switzerland. We eventually found our rooms for the night & crashed out.

The next day we took the train through the beautiful Swiss countryside & arrived in one of my absolute FAVORITE places on earth, the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Let’s just say that Tolkien based Rivendell off of this spectacular place with its 72 waterfalls & gondolas reaching the cliffsides through the low hanging clouds. It’s a dream. I find myself going there when I randomly daydream because it feels like a completely different planet. I. Love. It. It is stunning, peaceful & remarkably, not overrun. It is, however, a destination for those who choose to base-jump, or go wingsuit flying. (Picture in your head if you will, a man wearing a bright orange squirrel suit, soaring through the air on the wind hugging the side of a mountain cliff. Like a bullet.)

Getting to sit on our deck & watch parachutes open up consistently throughout the course of the day & flutter down in the valley was really amazing. It was also encouraging seeing the success of these experiences! Maybe one day I will base jump in the swiss alps, but for now I will drink my tea & watch those other crazy cats have the time of their lives. Win. Win.

We stayed for 3 more nights there & filled out days with a mixture of rest, walking through the rain, exploring the surrounding villages (all accessed by gondola or cogwheel train), going to the Jungfrau & Shilthorn peaks, playing at parks, eating delicious root stews & schnitzels & taking naps. The girls adjusted to the time change fairly easily & that, my friends, is a HUGE win. It makes the world go ’round in a much smoother way.

One of my highlights was getting to eat dinner at the only hostel in a teeny tiny town called Gimmelwald. It is a fantastic little strip of swiss farms, wildflowers, cows & views that seem to be a Hollywood backdrop. We have made it a point both times Noah & I have been to this area of Switzerland to go & buy some local cheese. We walk into the back of someone’s home where they have a self-serve fridge section & you leave your money in a basket. It’s wonderful! The cheese is tangy, hard & FULL of real flavor. Not for the faint of heart with its stray pieces of hair. 😉 Ok, back to our dinner. We ate outside of the hostel, watching the sun set behind the mountains as we drank Swiss made hard apple cider in all of its deliciousness. It was wonderful. I had root soup & crusty bread & we watched the last light hit the waterfalls before it fell into another dark night. It was one of those moments in time where you take some deep, slow, methodical breaths & just take. it. all. in. I love Switzerland. From there we walked down to take a gondola back to the valley floor & I got to snap a few pictures of my little peanut Cora surrounded by thousands of wildflowers. That was my one goal for capturing the Swiss landscape with my little one & luckily she didn’t freak out. 2 summers ago when I attempted the same thing with Eliana, she freaked. Wasn’t into the way they tickled her face I guess. But Cora humored me & it was perfect.

After our stay in the Swiss alps, we moved on. We took the train to the border station Domodossola, in northern Italy & that is where our our Swiss journey came to an end. So that is where I will leave it until next time. I hope you had enough time to finish your amazing cup of cocoa, & if not, please continue in peace! Maybe start planning your own trip to the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland, ya? You totally should. Go for it.

“Come fairies, take me out of this dull world, for I would ride with you upon the wind & dance upon the mountains like a flame!” -William Butler Yeats

 

Cheers,

Katie.