Spiez

It’s crazy that is has been almost one year since my mom and I took off on our mother-daughter European adventure. It’s even crazier that I have yet to finish recapping our epic vacation. It truly was one of the best trips of my life.

Our second full day in Switzerland took us to new heights, literally. After staring at the immense peak of Mt. Niesen, a.k.a the Swiss Pyramid, from our hotel window the past couple of days, we decided to just, um, go to the tippy top! This was actually recommended to us from the friendly Swiss family we met on the train traveling in to Switzerland. You can hike up the beast of a mountain, or you can take a train that takes you up the mountain in about 20-30 minutes — a vertical shot to the top.

The itty bitty (but adorable bright red train) was a test to my anxious-self, but when we made it to the top, the 360 degree views were worth the shaky ride. At 7,749 in elevation, the beauty of the white-capped Swiss alps and lush green valleys is unbelievable and can hardly be captured in a camera lens. Standing on the top of a mountain in Europe that I will most likely never stand on again, with sunshine peaking through my sunglasses, and crisp, early October air nipping at my nose, a wave a gratitude rushed over me for this day, this once-in-a-lifetime experience… this oh so wonderful life.

Fun facts via Wikipedia:

The summit of the mountain can be reached easily by using the Niesenbahn funicular from Mülenen (near Reichenbach). The construction of the funicular was completed in 1910. Alongside the path of the Niesenbahn is the longest stairway in the world with 11,674 steps. It is open only once a year to the public for a stair run.

photo courtesy of Mom

Once we descended the mountain and returned to sleepy Spiez, we decided to tour Spiez Castle which was right across the street from our hotel. It is pretty neat to be able to stand in, and climb the creaky stairs, an ancient castle that dates back to the 12th century.

Switzerland took my breath away, encouraged me to venture outside of my comfort zone, and gave me the travel itch to see more of this beautiful Earth that we live on.

If I have the chance to visit this picturesque country again, I would in a heart beat.

photo courtesy of Mom

Mt. Niesen from inside Spiez Castle

Switzerland Adventures Take II #spiez #swisspyramid

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Europe Posts

Europe Diary 2015 // Switzerland (Part 1)

Europe Diary 2015 // Cinque Terre, Italy (Part 2)

Europe Diary 2015 // Cinque Terre, Italy (Part 1)

Europe Diary 2015 // The Calanques (Marseille, France)

Europe Diary 2015 // Aix-en-Provence, France

Europe Diary 2015 // Paris, Day 3

Europe Diary 2015 // Paris, Day 2

Europe Diary 2015 // Paris, Day 1

Paris // Where We Stayed

Paris Bucket List

Our Europe Itinerary

That was what I needed: an entire weekend of 1:1 time with mama. Between our weekending of SUPing and bike riding, farmer’s marketing, shopping and baking blueberry peach crisp, she gently reminded me that I have not finished recapping our Europe vacation. How could I not finish this post series!?

Where did we leave off? Yes, that’s right… Italy, where Cinque Terre stole our hearts.

We reluctantly left sweet Sarah and her B&B and headed due north into Switzerland. It was yet another very long day of train travel, but the people we met in the train cars left lasting impressions, especially a pair of middle-aged Australian women with boisterous personalities. One of the two was on a several months-long European adventure, collecting rubber duckies (yes, yellow bathtub rubber duckies) from each city she visited for a nephew back home. Oh, was she a hoot!

A few train stations and many miles (kilometers) later, we arrived in Spiez, Switzerland: a small town on the shore of Lake Thun in the Berner Oberland region. We hadn’t heard much about Spiez prior to our trip, but we chose it for its proximity to Murren and Gimmelwald — which were high on our bucket list.

Switzerland is as fairytale-like as it is made up to be. For the three nights and two full days we were there, we must have pinched ourselves a dozen times each. Is this real life? Green hills, grazing cows, towering white-capped mountains, cheerful flower boxes, garden gnomes and red window shutters. This is real life!

After a simple dinner at our hotel’s restaurant, we got a good night’s sleep before we ventured to the touristy villages in the Swiss Alps.

After a cold breakfast of Swiss muesli and yogurt (of course!), we caught the train (of course!) towards Interlaken. From Interlaken, we caught a bus to Lauterbrunen, and from there, we rode an aerial tram (cable car) up, up, and up to Murren (which is unreachable by public road). Can I toot our own horn for mastering international public transportation?

Murren was a lot sleepier than I had expected. A few tourists here and there, but the single main street was not lively in the slightest. Some restaurants appeared open, though there wasn’t a lot of action per say. High among the iconic alps, you didn’t need anything else but wide eyes and a gracious heart. After all, the views are what you are there for. They are beyond breathtaking.

On the way up in the crammed tram, there were a few daring individuals with large packs of hang gliding gear. We learned that this was a popular place to do such, so as we sauntered through the quiet mountain villages, we watched for little parachutes against the piercing blue sky.

After moseying around Murren, we took the “hike” (a walk on a paved road) down to Gimmelwald, which we had read about in a Rick Steve’s travel guide. After admiring the petite (also traffic-free) village that is Gimmelwald, we caught the cable car back to Lauterbrunnen. We stopped at Airtime internet cafe for a bite to eat, which turned out to be gem with nutritious, mouth-watering options like the roasted butternut and apple sandwich that Mom and I devoured.

Fueled up with “good mood food”, we rode the bus and then the train back to Spiez where we wandered around town for a bit; a low-key evening and some down time was needed before Day 2 of our Swiss adventures — stay tuned!