Swooning over Switzerland
I’m not sure about everyone else, but before we moved to Europe I would see pictures of Switzerland and just swoon. My mouth would drop open in amazement and I would swoon over every image. I am happy to report, after visiting several parts of this country, it lived up to my dreams and then some. Switzerland is so picturesque it’s hard to take it in sometimes.
Our first visit to Switzerland we stayed in a very small village not far from Lucerne and Zurich. It was the perfect little get away for our family. This happened to be the first time we observed such massive mountains. Also, fun fact…this was only the second time our children had actually played in snow.
We took full advantage of all of the hiking trails during this visit, and man they produced some of the most amazing views I have ever seen! With every turn, a new view…it was spectacular!
We took a ski lift way into the clouds to hike IN the Swiss Alps! How cool is that?!?! Our children did amazing on these hikes, and loved finding all of the different colored markers and learning what each meant. Also, there were tons of snowball fights during this trip.
It was such a wild experience to witness the drastic change in temperature once the clouds moved out. I had never witnessed a temperature drop whenever the sun came OUT. Turns out, that cloud coverage kept the cool air away and I missed those clouds shortly after they left.
Remember I said our home was in this super small village…I’m so glad it was…because it led me to be able to take this photograph! Switzerland is known for their cowbells (among other things) and to be able to capture this was so fun! These cows are not fazed by people at all, and posed for me for several minutes.
Christmas 2021 was our second trip to Switzerland…and man oh man was it the trip of a lifetime! We chose to stay near Lauterbrunnen and Interlaken this time…which was such a good choice. If you google those towns, you’ll see the most stunning images pop up in your search. Spoiler alert! It’s just as magical in person!
Being that it was December, it was COLD (shocker)…but it did not stop us from having the most epic adventures while wearing multiple layers of clothing.
The first place that we visited on this trip was Jungfrau. This is the “Top of Europe” …and boy oh boy it was breathtaking! We rode several cable cars and trains to get to the final destination, but it was so worth it. Jungfrau has many attractions within itself: the ice palace, many lookout points, an outdoor observatory, places to ski, oh…and who can forget the Swiss chocolate!!!
Can you believe we walked on this walkway that’s built into the mountain?
Jungfrau’s views were unlike anything we had ever seen.
We also had the pleasure of going up on the Schilthorn, which is where Bond World 007 was filmed. This adventure all put us on several cable cars, most of which were going STRAIGHT up at times. Although that was a little nerve wracking for me, it was totally worth it.
As we descended back down the mountain, we stopped in the cutest little village of Gimmelwald. It was right out of a Hallmark movie. Just look how adorable these homes are. Some are bed and breakfasts, which makes total sense when you have this scenery to gaze out daily.
Our last full day we visited Brienz, and I have very few words about this little town. The only thing I want to do is say…just look at that water!
The original reason we decided to make this short drive was to visit a little wood carving shop that my parents had been in years ago. Brienz is known for its carving and we wanted to experience it first-hand. Every item in their store is a one of a kind, and so incredible. I didn’t take any pictures inside of their store out of respect, but here are a few from Google just to show the caliber of work featured here.
Here is their site if you’d like more information.
Overall, both of our visits to Switzerland were phenomenal and I would go back in an instant. I highly recommend seeing this gorgeous place for yourself.
If you want to see more of my work, please visit my main website HERE.
