Walking in a cloud

Off to Murren . . .

Inaccessible by car, you can only visit this Alpine village by taking a cable car and then a funicular (inclined railway), so we walked across Lauterbrunnen for the cable car station. After a day of hiking, the girls were now rather pleased that their mother insisted that each pack in only one carry-on piece of luggage :)

Our hotel overlooked the Lauterbrunnen valley 2000 feet below.

It was a sanctuary for paragliders that floated into oblivion outside our balcony.

It was a sanctuary of color like every other Alpine village.

It was supposed to be the Swiss sanctuary that we had hoped to see ten years ago --- but couldn't because of the clouds.

This (see map) was what we were supposed to see from the top of yet another funicular ride another thousand feet above Murren.

Oh, well. It's still beautiful.

We got a little dizzy walking through the white-out, but eventually the clouds lifted a little and the sun peaked through.

Although the girls prefer to do most of their hiking in the mall, they were good sports --- and probably liked our hikes more than they were willing to admit.

Sarah and her "European hiking bag."

Rae . . . just bein' Rae

At least we had a glimpse of what we came to see.

Just as I had hoped to reach the "Top of Europe" on the Jungfraujoch yesterday, I had hoped to reach the Schilthorn today. Although not quite as high, it still offers an exhillarating view at the Piz Gloria, a panoramic solar-powered revolving restaurant. The James Bond movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was set here.

Next time . . .