Gimmelwald & the Mountain Hostel

From Bern we took a train to Interlacken West, a train to Interlacken Ost (east), a bus to the Gondola, and a 5 minute ride on the Gondola/cable car to arrive in Gimmelwald. When we arrived it was 9 p.m. so we couldn't see much. We walked about 100 feet to the hostel where the lady who runs it told us "the conditions." The four of us slept 4 across in the top row of the bunk beds in the girls room. Other rooms were family, boys, couples, and the honey-moon suite. To use the shower cost 1 franc for 5 minutes of water time. However, we all forgot towels and the hostel had none. You may ask, what did I use?? I used the long sleeve t-shirt I had worn the entire day during Bern. You just got to make due and I did. Also, Gimmelwald is a town of 100 people and no grocery store. I brought apples and granola bars for breakfast, thankfully. I think those were all the conditions, but it made for a memorable and fun stay. I rose to the occasion with creativity to make it through the weekend. We all fell asleep early because we were tired from our long day of travel.

I woke up at 7:30 a.m. and looked out the hostel window. The snow-capped Swiss Alps were staring me in the face. Our hostel was literally carved into the side of the mountain and we were surrounded by green grass and mountains. I took my shower (remember everything I went through to get clean), made hot tea, and sat on the picnic tables outside to read my Bible and journal. Once everyone had eaten breakfast and gotten ready, we went on hike #1 of the day. We opted for the 'children's trail' and walked for over an hour down the mountain seeing farm animals, small creeks and waterfalls, paragliders, small cabins, and other hikers. We decided to turn back because we were hungry for lunch. When we got back to the hostel, we split 2 cheese pizzas for the 4 of us followed by sharing a Swiss Chocolate bar and a few games of cards.

Next, we hiked to Murren which is the larger town about 50 minutes away. We took picture breaks because it was some steep hiking at times. Once we made it to Murren, we walked through shops and took in the town. We contemplated what it was like growing up in this environment. Some favorites on the hike included seeing the Edelweiss Hotel (reminded me of the Sound of Music), buying an Edelweiss patch for my AOII jacket, and talking to 2 American men. These guys were about 50 and were brother-in-laws. They are vacationing for 2 weeks and they were desperate to watch some college football. I gave them our hiking map because it was much better and I knew the way back. We even took our picture with them. I've noticed whenever I hear someone speaking English I am almost compelled to speak to them. It makes me not miss home as much. We got back to the hostel around 4, but kept walking around Gimmelwald. I had seen signs a few times that day saying "ring bell for Alpkasse" (swiss cheese). I figured, what the heck, you only get fresh swiss cheese once in your life. So I buzzed this cabin, and a woman stuck her head out the 2nd floor window. She came down and walked us across the street to this building. When she opened the door, it was a small room with shelves filled with the most amount of cheese I have ever seen! We got a little to take back to the hostel and used it in the pasta we made for dinner. Jessica and I sat and talked on the picnic tables sipping hot chocolate until the sun went down. We all went to sleep early again because we woke up at 5 a.m. to come home.

When I woke up early to take my shower, I looked out the window and saw the most beautiful, starry night sky I had ever seen. With no city lights, the stars were like spot lights. I still haven't decided if I like Gimmelwald better at night or during the day. Then, we rode the Gondola down to the bus, got on a train and headed home. I slept a little on the train, read a book, and worked on homework. Visiting Switzerland will probably be a highlight of my trip studying abroad.

"His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth..." Psalm 48: 1-2