This weekend cannot be described in words. There are no pictures, no words, and no story telling that could justify everything that I saw. It was magical, breathtaking, and almost unreal. These pictures that I took look like fake backdrops on a green screen. It all started with the Trummelbach Waterfalls. Now I have seen American Water Falls but these were nothing in comparison. We got on our so called “bus” Saturday morning and headed to the Alps. However, we got screwed by the bus company and instead of giving us a big bus we got a 20 seat van/so-called bus and it was tiny and eh- very uncomfortable. Of course none of that mattered once we made it to the falls. We went up in what I called a mine lift that took us up and into the mountain. We went into crevasses in the mountain to see parts of the falls. We got extremely wet from all of the mist. There was cork-screw like falls and regular falls, all of which had such strong power behind them it was almost terrifying to watch. Like I said before I will try to put into words what I saw but honestly I can’t do these mountains, views, sceneries, and waterfalls justice.
After the waterfalls, we took a short bus/van ride to the base of our hike. From this little town we took a train to the actual start of our hike. This is where the real magic began. At times, it seemed like we were hiking the same part that is in the sound of music and at other times, it was as if we were in a part of the world where no one else existed. It was like we were alone out there- us, nature, and God. It was so peaceful and enjoyable even though the hiking was physically draining at times. The scenery made you forget all about it. We made it to the top where our hotel was and it was such a pretty view. There were cows on the mountain side and the noise they made was so amazing. They all wear these cowbells around their neck; in order for their owners know where they are in the mountains. Well when you opened your window to your room all you could hear was this music. It was equivalent to wind chimes but different and better in my opinion. I really can’t say much more to describe this trip besides the fact that we hiked up next to the Eiger Mountain which is to the left of two other mountains- The virgin and the monk. Together these three mountains make some fairy tale. That night, we all had dinner together- the saltiest food ever that I did not eat much of. I also had such a solid night of sleep from the 4 and half hours of hiking. All in all the first day of hiking was so much more than I could have ever expected.
Funny side note: a group of us would make up stories about Sally the Cow and how she made it up hills in the mountains to help motivate us before hiking really steep parts of the mountain. It was entertaining and actually a successful motivator!
Sunday morning came way too soon! I was extremely congested I think from the change in climate. It was 40 degrees when we woke up and it was raining. Not the perfect weather to hike down the Alps in. We had to layer up for the hike and pull out our ponchos for the first time. We grabbed some Swiss breakfast and came to the conclusion that the 4 hour hike down the opposite side of the mountain that we had planned would not be the best idea in the rain so we waited it out for an hour and took the way we came up instead. It ended up only being a 2 hour hike instead, which was a much better choice. We saddled up with our rain jackets on, back packs on top of that and our poncho on top of everything to prevent our clothes from getting wet. Even though it rained it was like it was okay. The clouds in the mountains were absolutely breath taking and made us all just very solemn. It would rain here and there and mist here and there but by the time we got down to the meeting town it had started to clear up. And before we hopped back on the bus to head into Munich we actually had the chance to soak up the sun and dry out our shoes and socks. Perfect planning God.
The view from our hotel!
The brutal part of Sunday came next: a seven hour bus ride from Switzerland to Munich, Germany. Let me just say fitting 19 people in a 20 passenger van is one of the most uncomfortable feelings ever. The window can be the perfect head rest for so long before you began to acquire the feeling of scoliosis. The best part was after we decided to stop at McDonalds to grab some food before finishing up the two hours that were left. Someone, yes one of the guys, decides to rip one in the back of the van- well the van being the lovely small size it was stunk up fast. And the worst part was the guy who disguised in smelling it second was actually the one who did the deed and fessed-up later on. Even I was disgusted at the horrendous smell and I have dealt with smelly car rides my entire life. I guess it makes for good stories, right? By seven we had finally made it to Munich. We unloaded as fast as possible considering we were stopped in the middle of the street and made it into the best hotel we have stayed in yet: the Carat Hotel. It has the nicest and biggest rooms I have ever seen in Europe. We all hung out for a bit then met back down in the lobby to go out for a beer and maybe some food. My McDonalds didn’t settle well of course so for me it was a time for me to try one beer and head back for bed. I sat a table with Toure, our guide, and Dr. Batista and it was so entertaining. I became much wiser during that one beer. Dr. Batista shared his life stories of family, law school, college, etc. and we learned a lot about Toure that we did not know. After our fun discussion a group of us headed back to shower and get a jump start on sleeping. We had finally arrived in our last destination of this life changing experience: Munich, Germany!
This is the sound of the cow bells outside our hotel window!
No comments:
Post a Comment