New pics from Interlaken: http://picasaweb.google.com/111756067304857775012/InterlakenExcursions
If you are interested in reading more about what we did in Interlaken, I (McKayla) posted 2 new blogs today. Read below.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Interlaken to Grindelwald and beyond (50km)
Saturday, October 16
We woke up to more cold and dreary weather this morning, but that didn't stop any of us from wanting to explore more of what the Jungfrau region had to offer. Erin and Amie went hiking (they will fill you in later), and I decided to bike up to Grindelwald.
After bundling up in practically all of the clothes I packed, I headed up the mountain. The first half of the ride was pretty gradual, and I barely noticed the rain pouring down. Although the air temp was probably about 2 degrees Celsius, my body was working hard enough to stay warm. The road carried me alongside the beautiful glacial waters of the Lutschine river, and I occasionally crossed paths with the train tracks that lead up to Grindelwald. I reached the town at about 20k and proceeded to follow a narrow winding road beyond town. About 5k later, the rain turned to snow! I could see the snow accumulating on the hills above me, and I realized I better bike down into Grindelwald before I became hypothermic.
Back in town, I found a cafe where I warmed up with a few cups of hot tea and warm milk. After thawing my extremities and warming my belly for about 30 min., I headed out for the 20 km descent back to Interlaken. I had to constantly wiggle and blow on my fingers to keep them from freezing. I stood up and pumped as hard as I could on the relatively flat sections, so that my body could stay warm. The ride literally flew by (compared to riding up), but I would say the descent was much more of a challenge than the climb. I guess I'll have to come back here some day to do the ride when it's 65 F and sunny.
Once I made it safely to the hostel, I headed straight for a nice long warm shower! Erin and Amie had already returned from their hike, and we all spent the rest of the day relaxing, eating, and trying to stay warm.
As I mentioned in the last post, we are headed for Lutry today, and we will spend tomorrow planning the next few segments of our trip.
"My love for the bike remains as strong now as it was in the days when I first discovered it. I am convinced that long after I have stopped riding as a professional I will be riding my bicycle. I never want to abandon my bike. I see my grandfather, now in his seventies and riding around everywhere. To me that is beautiful. And the bike must always remain a part of my life." -Stephen Roche
I love this quote because I too hope to be riding my bike (and x-c skiing) around when I'm in my seventies just like my granddad :)
We woke up to more cold and dreary weather this morning, but that didn't stop any of us from wanting to explore more of what the Jungfrau region had to offer. Erin and Amie went hiking (they will fill you in later), and I decided to bike up to Grindelwald.
After bundling up in practically all of the clothes I packed, I headed up the mountain. The first half of the ride was pretty gradual, and I barely noticed the rain pouring down. Although the air temp was probably about 2 degrees Celsius, my body was working hard enough to stay warm. The road carried me alongside the beautiful glacial waters of the Lutschine river, and I occasionally crossed paths with the train tracks that lead up to Grindelwald. I reached the town at about 20k and proceeded to follow a narrow winding road beyond town. About 5k later, the rain turned to snow! I could see the snow accumulating on the hills above me, and I realized I better bike down into Grindelwald before I became hypothermic.
Back in town, I found a cafe where I warmed up with a few cups of hot tea and warm milk. After thawing my extremities and warming my belly for about 30 min., I headed out for the 20 km descent back to Interlaken. I had to constantly wiggle and blow on my fingers to keep them from freezing. I stood up and pumped as hard as I could on the relatively flat sections, so that my body could stay warm. The ride literally flew by (compared to riding up), but I would say the descent was much more of a challenge than the climb. I guess I'll have to come back here some day to do the ride when it's 65 F and sunny.
Once I made it safely to the hostel, I headed straight for a nice long warm shower! Erin and Amie had already returned from their hike, and we all spent the rest of the day relaxing, eating, and trying to stay warm.
As I mentioned in the last post, we are headed for Lutry today, and we will spend tomorrow planning the next few segments of our trip.
"My love for the bike remains as strong now as it was in the days when I first discovered it. I am convinced that long after I have stopped riding as a professional I will be riding my bicycle. I never want to abandon my bike. I see my grandfather, now in his seventies and riding around everywhere. To me that is beautiful. And the bike must always remain a part of my life." -Stephen Roche
I love this quote because I too hope to be riding my bike (and x-c skiing) around when I'm in my seventies just like my granddad :)
The Interlaken adventures continue...
Hi all, It's McKayla bloggin' today. Hope you are all staying warm wherever you are. It's been quite chilly up in these parts. Today (Sunday) is our last morning in Interlaken, and we will soon depart for Lutry.
Here is an update of what Erin and I did on Friday!
Yesterday (Friday) morning Erin and I started the day off with a bike ride up to Lauterburnnen, a small mountain town south of Interlaken. Amie woke up with a minor cold, so she decided to rest back at the hostel for the day. The route up to Lauterburnnen was fairly gradual, and we didn't have our panniers weighing us down, so we had an easier than expected climb up to the cute Swiss town. The Balmer's hostel receptionist, Celie, told us to ride all the way through town to the enormous waterfall, Staubbachfall. It was easy to spot from the main road as it poured a straight stream of water 297 meters down the cliff (see pics soon to come).
We had a fast ride back to Interlaken where we quickly transitioned into our paragliding attire...yep, you read that right, paragliding! The company picked us up at the hostel, and drove us up Beatenberg Mountain, 4400ft. Before we knew it, we were both soaring back and forth above Interlaken and Thunesse Lake. The ride was surprising very comfortable and both of felt like we were almost floating, rather than screaming through the sky. As we approached our landing field we got to experience a bit more turbulence when our paragliding guides picked up speed and whipped us in u-turns until we were about 200ft from the field. The actual landing was quite easy for us passengers. We simply had to straighten out our legs, and we smoothly landed on our feet. Although we didn't have crystal clear views of the alps (only the tip of Jungfrau stuck out of the clouds) the whole experience was still spectacular and unlike anything I've ever done before! I had my digital camera with me, and Erin bought pictures, so we will be posting them soon!
Here is an update of what Erin and I did on Friday!
Yesterday (Friday) morning Erin and I started the day off with a bike ride up to Lauterburnnen, a small mountain town south of Interlaken. Amie woke up with a minor cold, so she decided to rest back at the hostel for the day. The route up to Lauterburnnen was fairly gradual, and we didn't have our panniers weighing us down, so we had an easier than expected climb up to the cute Swiss town. The Balmer's hostel receptionist, Celie, told us to ride all the way through town to the enormous waterfall, Staubbachfall. It was easy to spot from the main road as it poured a straight stream of water 297 meters down the cliff (see pics soon to come).
We had a fast ride back to Interlaken where we quickly transitioned into our paragliding attire...yep, you read that right, paragliding! The company picked us up at the hostel, and drove us up Beatenberg Mountain, 4400ft. Before we knew it, we were both soaring back and forth above Interlaken and Thunesse Lake. The ride was surprising very comfortable and both of felt like we were almost floating, rather than screaming through the sky. As we approached our landing field we got to experience a bit more turbulence when our paragliding guides picked up speed and whipped us in u-turns until we were about 200ft from the field. The actual landing was quite easy for us passengers. We simply had to straighten out our legs, and we smoothly landed on our feet. Although we didn't have crystal clear views of the alps (only the tip of Jungfrau stuck out of the clouds) the whole experience was still spectacular and unlike anything I've ever done before! I had my digital camera with me, and Erin bought pictures, so we will be posting them soon!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Wanderweg
Wednesday, October 13
Hiking Adventure
Last night during McKayla's birthday celebration we met a fellow college junior from Idaho, TJ, and a British friend of Amie's from Oktoberfest, Steve. We made plans with them to go hiking this morning. We met the two guys at breakfast and then walked down the road to the train station, where we caught a train from Interlaken (576 m) partway up the mountain to Grindalwald (1034 m). It was cold and cloudy. From there we walked through town and then began climbing straight uphill through cattlefields on paved pathways/roads to Brandegg.
We then hit the true mountainside and followed a more traditional hiking trail upwards toward Eigergletscher. We crossed the couldline, could see blue skies, and the begining of many spectacular views. To our left (East) side was a large, snow covered cliff. Behind us and to the right (Northeast) were views of Grindalwald and more of the Swiss Alps. We hiked in hopes of getting past the cliff on our left and above the ridge, where the sun would be shining and where we would be able see the mountains in the South. As we walked, everytime we felt we were getting closer we also felt like the cliffside was getting longer and longer. While I (Erin) knew we could make it up past the cliff without a problem, I was worried as we hiked longer and longer that we would have a tough time getting back down the mountain (people don't die hiking up Everest, they die hiking down Everest... well some people die summiting Everest but you get the point). TJ and Steve were motivated to get past the cliff and were not phased by this thought, and so they pushed us onward.
I was glad they did so, I was very happy when we crossed over the ridge and could see the sun shining in front of us. We quickly walked into the sunlight and saw stunning views of the snow covered mountains to the East and South, as well of the town we walked up from. We were at an elevation of 2320 meters (1300 meters of elevation gain) and we think we walked about 6 miles. We enjoyed a late lunch in the sunshine, crisp fall air, and blue skies. While walking back down the mountain, the whole time we were all saying to each other, "wow, I can't believe how far up we walked." The hike was one of my favorite parts of the trip so far.
Dead tired, we rode the train back to Interlaken and stopped at COOP to pick up dinner food. Amie cooked up am amazing meal of sausages with onion, pepper, and potatoes. We fell asleep early and woke up today, Thursday, with extremely sore legs. The weather here is very cold and cloudy so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and then walked around town with Steve. Now we are catching up on our journals and chores while hanging out on the fantastic couches in the hostel, watching CNN with our friends.
Hiking Adventure
Last night during McKayla's birthday celebration we met a fellow college junior from Idaho, TJ, and a British friend of Amie's from Oktoberfest, Steve. We made plans with them to go hiking this morning. We met the two guys at breakfast and then walked down the road to the train station, where we caught a train from Interlaken (576 m) partway up the mountain to Grindalwald (1034 m). It was cold and cloudy. From there we walked through town and then began climbing straight uphill through cattlefields on paved pathways/roads to Brandegg.
We then hit the true mountainside and followed a more traditional hiking trail upwards toward Eigergletscher. We crossed the couldline, could see blue skies, and the begining of many spectacular views. To our left (East) side was a large, snow covered cliff. Behind us and to the right (Northeast) were views of Grindalwald and more of the Swiss Alps. We hiked in hopes of getting past the cliff on our left and above the ridge, where the sun would be shining and where we would be able see the mountains in the South. As we walked, everytime we felt we were getting closer we also felt like the cliffside was getting longer and longer. While I (Erin) knew we could make it up past the cliff without a problem, I was worried as we hiked longer and longer that we would have a tough time getting back down the mountain (people don't die hiking up Everest, they die hiking down Everest... well some people die summiting Everest but you get the point). TJ and Steve were motivated to get past the cliff and were not phased by this thought, and so they pushed us onward.
I was glad they did so, I was very happy when we crossed over the ridge and could see the sun shining in front of us. We quickly walked into the sunlight and saw stunning views of the snow covered mountains to the East and South, as well of the town we walked up from. We were at an elevation of 2320 meters (1300 meters of elevation gain) and we think we walked about 6 miles. We enjoyed a late lunch in the sunshine, crisp fall air, and blue skies. While walking back down the mountain, the whole time we were all saying to each other, "wow, I can't believe how far up we walked." The hike was one of my favorite parts of the trip so far.
Dead tired, we rode the train back to Interlaken and stopped at COOP to pick up dinner food. Amie cooked up am amazing meal of sausages with onion, pepper, and potatoes. We fell asleep early and woke up today, Thursday, with extremely sore legs. The weather here is very cold and cloudy so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and then walked around town with Steve. Now we are catching up on our journals and chores while hanging out on the fantastic couches in the hostel, watching CNN with our friends.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Lutry to Fribourg!! (57k)
So we posted our last blog on empty stomachs, waiting to head out to dinner in celebration of McKayla's 20th birthday (which is actually on Tuesday). McKayla's sociable grandparents already have many friends in Lutry, including the Schneider family (Ulla, Phillip, and their two little daughters Helena, 5, and Jessica, 3). The Schneiders are German but now live and work in Lutry, and speak perfect English, French and German. They have been exceptionally helpful to us in planning our route to Interlaken where they used to live. Ulla took us out to her favorite restaurant, Madame Lutz', which is an incredibly classy restaurant on the top of the hill surrounding Lake Geneva. We sat underneath grapevines, looking over the glittering lights of the lakeside towns. Words can't even describe how amazing dinner was, so I won't try, and we topped off the night with a "Tart au creme" decorated with Smarties (european m&ms) courtesy of Helena and Jessica.
Saturday we soaked up our last day of rest and relaxation with the grandparents before our schlep to Interlaken. We took care of our bikes (good for us!) and we planned our route and lodging for the week. Dinner at home was unbelievable as usual (it's going to be tough getting back into our one-pot routine and eating with sporks....).
That brings us to today. We took our time this morning, and finally left our beloved Lutry around 10:30. Turns out the first part of our "bike" was actually a hike... I'm pretty sure most of these Swiss roads came into existence before governments regulated their grades, because we walked our bikes a few kilometers up a vineyard-covered cliff. At one point, McKayla dared peddle sitting down.... which pulled her front wheel right off the pavement. Our slow morning gave way to rolling hills and adorable, almost cliche, swiss villes. The day was cold and foggy but the fall foliage is in full color right now!! We had lunch in Oron, but didn't stop much this ride because of the cold weather. We found the hostel in no time! We've gotten SO much better at that business... Currently we are Internetten... guess where... MacDonald!!!! Never before have we spent so much quality time in fast food establishments (granted, at a Swiss McDonalds you can buy a 12-dollar burger...it's much classier here). Pretty soon we'll check into our hostel, cook some dinner, and have a relaxing evening. We love and miss you all blog readers :)
Saturday we soaked up our last day of rest and relaxation with the grandparents before our schlep to Interlaken. We took care of our bikes (good for us!) and we planned our route and lodging for the week. Dinner at home was unbelievable as usual (it's going to be tough getting back into our one-pot routine and eating with sporks....).
That brings us to today. We took our time this morning, and finally left our beloved Lutry around 10:30. Turns out the first part of our "bike" was actually a hike... I'm pretty sure most of these Swiss roads came into existence before governments regulated their grades, because we walked our bikes a few kilometers up a vineyard-covered cliff. At one point, McKayla dared peddle sitting down.... which pulled her front wheel right off the pavement. Our slow morning gave way to rolling hills and adorable, almost cliche, swiss villes. The day was cold and foggy but the fall foliage is in full color right now!! We had lunch in Oron, but didn't stop much this ride because of the cold weather. We found the hostel in no time! We've gotten SO much better at that business... Currently we are Internetten... guess where... MacDonald!!!! Never before have we spent so much quality time in fast food establishments (granted, at a Swiss McDonalds you can buy a 12-dollar burger...it's much classier here). Pretty soon we'll check into our hostel, cook some dinner, and have a relaxing evening. We love and miss you all blog readers :)
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