Out Of The Shadows Into The Sun

In Interlaken, about 2 hours from Lucerne, I hiked to the Trummelbach water falls.  The hike was along the  Lutschine river that was silt grey in color and reminded me of the Athabasca river near Jasper. 

Geared up for a wet hike.

Lutschine river.

There were Swiss chalets and dairy cows along the hike. There is so much mist and fog in the mountains that all Swiss cows wear cowbells so the farmers can hear them as they certainly aren't able to see them.

The Trummelbach falls are a thunderous expression of Mother Nature's power and strength.  You can hear the roar of the water from hundreds of meters away.  There are 10 glaciers that feed 20,000 liters of water a second into a huge gorge carved into the mountain.  How did they even measure that? 

Canyon carved in the mountain.

An elevator takes you deep into the rock where there are lights and caves that allow you to see and hear the waterfalls up close.  I got very wet, both from the rain and the waterfalls.  I guess if one is going to get soaked hiking in the rain, you may as well enjoy getting wet from the waterfalls too.

Cave and corridor inside the mountain.

It gushes and it thunders!

My second day in Interlaken, I hiked from Iseltwald to Bonigen.  This made for a nice afternoon hike up a very steep climb to be rewarded with gorgeous views of Lake Brienz. 

View of Lake Brienz from the start of my hike in Iseltwald.

It was a steep climb!

Again I was blessed with the trail to myself, and a quiet, thought provoking hike.  I found a small waterfall and was able to appreciate it's beauty without sharing it with anyone. My solitude in the presence of the waterfall was a gift from Mother Nature for which I thank her deeply.

Beautifully simple waterfall near Bonigen.

An expression of gratitude for all I am thankful for.

Mother Nature's gifts are plentiful in Switzerland.  After having rain for days on end, the sky cleared on the third day and the sun came out.  I woke at 5:30 am to take the Early Bird train to the "Top of Europe", the Jungfraujoch, on the Jungfrau mountain. 

Eiger peak on the left, Jungfrau peak on the right.

In the middle of summer, we traveled 2.5 hours by train, popped our ears, and stepped out onto a huge glacier.  Just like that, we went from summer to a winter wonderland!

View from the glacier at Jungfraujoch.

Lindsay and Kerry enjoying a seat at the glacier bar.

Gorgeous and glamorous glacier girls:  Lindsay, Kerry, Joan and Zanner.

I ventured onto the Sphinx viewing platform and onto the Plateau.  I had to walk really slow due to the lack of oxygen at such a high altitude.  I saw breathtaking views, literally!   



On the Sphinx viewing platform.



It was a treat to see the Alps in the sun by looking down, instead of always looking up in the rain.

Top of the Alps.



Above the clouds.