Relaxing Evening in Frankfurt

Jaren and I left Switzerland this morning. We LOVED the Swiss Alps! We still can't believe the beauty of the area! Switzerland was a definite highlight of our trip! Last night I couldn't even sleep- I kept thinking about how much I loved going paragliding! (It was the BEST!) I want to go again sometime for sure!

Today we drove to Frankfurt and dropped off our rental car. We leave tomorrow for Paris (by train). Tonight we are staying with Jaren's parents! It has been so nice and fun to see them again, relax, and share travel stories! This trip had gone by way too fast! I have loved every single day of this adventure! I'm glad we still have one week left!

Switzerland- Day 3 and PARAGLIDING

Today was amazing! Jaren and I went paragliding and it was incredible! I mentioned to Jaren yesterday when we passed by a paragliding advertisment that we should go! (It looked and sounded fun.) He agreed! So we decided to go! We made a reservation for today.

Before paragliding, we went back up to Gimmelwald because we loved that little town. (It's beautiful and reminds us of the Shire.) Then we hiked parts of the the Northface Trail again.

At 4 p.m. we met with our group to go paragliding. Jaren went with a guy from New Zealand and I went with a guy from Switzerland. My instructor (not sure what to call him), Marcel, asked Jaren and me if we were Mormons (we told him we were from Utah). He said he has a Book of Mormon at his house and has seen the Swiss temple. During my paragliding ride (it lasted about 25 minutes), Marcel told me that he went to Pakistan to paraglide and spoke with a girl there. He asked her if she was Muslim (he assumed she was) and she told him no. She said she was a Christian, a Mormon to be exact. He said he was surprised, there is a small community of Mormons in Pakistan and he met one. I thought that was so cool! Marcel was super nice, I enjoyed riding with him and talking about the church (briefly). We also talked about our National Parks and places to paraglide in the U.S. He thought it was cool that Jaren and I have been married for nearly 7 years!

Paragliding was an experience I will NEVER forget! I will definitely go again. It is amazing to be so high, soaring above the beautiful landscape! We passed a beautiful high cascading waterfall that cannot be accessed by hiking. We flew in the mountains and over the Lauterbrunnen valley. It was such an incredible experience, it didn't seem real! It was just unbelievable to see the beauty of the Swiss Alps while flying through the air! I got to drive for a little while and then we did crazy spiraling tricks in the air! (So fun and dizzying!) Once we landed I totally wanted to go again!

Me and my instructor, Marcel...

Jaren loved it too! He gets motion sick, though, and barfed in a bag while in the air! He felt fine after throwing up, though! We passed each other a few times while gliding! I'm glad Jaren and I like to do fun, adventurous things together (even if he gets sick)!

Jaren and his instructor, Dan...

Jaren and his barf bag...

Jaren and me!...

I. Loved. Paragliding!!!!!!!! I'm SO glad we did this! It was so adventurous, exciting, and new! We've never done anything like this before! It was a great way to end our time in the Swiss Alps.

More pictures from today...

You can see a paraglider in the sky...

Cows, they're everywhere! I love hearing their bells ring!...

Another paraglider...

We did this!!...

I loved it!!...

Gimmelwald...

Switzerland- Day 2

Today we hiked- all day! It was a sunny, beautiful day for hiking. We can't get enough of these Alps!

We rode the train and then took a lift up to Mannlichen. From there we hiked the "Mannlichen Royal Walk" which is basically a viewing point shaped like a crown with amazing views. Afterward we hiked to Kleine Scheidegg. From there we hiked all the way down the mountain to Lauterbrunnen, passing through Wengen. The views were spectacular! Switzerland is just beautiful!

The crown-shaped viewing point...

The amazing views throughout the day...

I love all the Swiss Chalets!

And I love this guy!

Switzerland Day 1

Today was magical! I cannot believe the beauty and tranquility of the Swiss Alps! Everything is so green and lovely! Plus, there are hardly any people here during this time of year. Hiking here is a dream come true... The trails are so organized and well-maintained with non-stop amazing views! Jaren wanted to spend 4 nights, 3 days here (more than anywhere else) and I am SO glad! We absolutely love it here.

We couldn't have asked for better weather today. Sunny skies all day long! Our day went like this... We started the day by riding a cable car up to Grutschalp. From there we hiked to Murren. From Murren we took a cable car to Allmendhubel and then hiked the Northface trail to Gimmelwald. From Gimmelwald we took a cable car to Stechelberg. From Stechelberg we hiked to Trummelbachfalle (a huge waterfall that has sliced through the mountain over the years). After Trummelbachfalle we hiked back to our home base, Lauterbrunnen.

Here's a map...

Murren...

Gimmelwald was our favorite town! It's small, and everyone has a beautiful garden or a farm. It reminded us of the Shire from Lord of the Rings. We felt like we were in Hobbiton!

Gimmelwald...

The Gimmelwald schoolhouse...

In Gimmelwald there was a store called "The Honesty Shop." You just go in and if you buy something you put money in a box. There was no attendant.

Also in Gimmelwald, there was a little self-serve dairy shop in someone's home. We went inside and bought us some alpine cheese (best cheese ever)! There was a box in the fridge where we left the money. We noticed there was a picture of the temple on the fridge! So cool!

We passed many cows on our hikes (cows are all over the place). We went through their pastures while hiking. I love it here because the cows wear bells so we could hear cowbells the whole day while hiking.

When we were almost back to Lauterbrunnen (where our hotel is), we got behind some young children who were herding the cows. They'd smack the cows bums with a stick when the cows would stop to eat grass. It was a brother and sister, so sometimes they'd smack each other as well. Too funny!

The whole day was filled with incredible views...

Trummelbachfalle, the huge waterfall made up of 10 different waterfalls that have cut through the mountain...

You can see the line down the mountain in this picture...

We love this beautiful place!