Month: June 2022

Our Switzerland adventure has come to a close. We arrived back in Chicago at 6pm CST, which felt to us like 1am. We watched part of the NBA Draft, and I think we were all asleep a little after 8pm, which means that I’ve been up since before 4am! I’m currently in the lobby of the Hyatt Place where we’re staying, and me and a few other guys are eagerly awaiting the coffee to finish brewing!

Being up means that I can write my last blog post. We only had one full day in Zurich, but I think we really made the most of it.

After breakfast we visited the FIFA Museum. It’s such a well done museum. We all really enjoyed our time there.

After that we ate lunch and then went to the Lindt Home of Chocolate. Oh my.

We purchased our tickets online, and we had a set time to enter. Once we entered we went through different exhibits on how chocolate is made, and specifically the Swiss connection to chocolate. After that you come to a room where you get to sample liquid and solid chocolates. A second room has various Lindt chocolates you can sample.

You can tell by this last photo that Micah really loves chocolate.

We got to walk off our chocolate calories in Old Town after this.

We ended our day by visiting Fraumünster, a church that was founded in 853. During the Reformation Zwingli often preached in this church. Today the church is famous for its Chagall stained glass. I was afraid that the boys would be sick of museums, but they enjoyed the audio tour.

In closing, I’m really grateful that we could spend this much time in one country. Traveling in a foreign country has its share of challenges, and there were times that we were tired and lacked patience with each other, but I’m grateful for the memories that were made!

Over the last few days we’ve been listening to quite a bit of Queen. Why is that? Well, it’s because we spent two days in Montreux. In the center of town is a statue of Freddie Mercury. Montreux was his second home, and it was where the band recorded seven of their albums.

Montreux is a charming town on Lake Geneva. Whereas Zurich, Lucerne and the towns in the Lauterbrunnen Valley are German in language and culture, Montreux is French. I’m pretty amazed by the Swiss people, most of whom speak at least two languages. Key words there are “most” and “at least.”

As I write this, Memphis is experiencing much hotter than normal weather. But when I write that it was really hot in Montreux, understand that this is a hot without central AC. We stayed at Hotel Splendid. I had requested a lake view room, and boy did we have that. But we checked in around 4pm, and the blinds had been left up so that we could see the amazing view. This also meant that the sun had beating down on the room for the past few hours. For our close to 40 hours there that room felt more like a sauna than a comfortable hotel room.

That’s all of my complaining. We did have a fun time in Montreux despite the heat. Highlights included eating gelato several times, going to the Queen Studio Experience, swimming in Lake Geneva, and visiting Chateau de Chillon. Here are some photos!

We had a few hours to kill between checkout in Wengwald and check-in in Mürren, so we took the train to Lauterbrunnen, left our luggage at the train station, and then took a train to Brienz. From there we took a ferry across Lake Brienz to Hotel Geissbach. Geissbach Falls is there.

Four years ago we did the ferry cruise and saw the bottom of the water fall. We didn’t realize that there was a hotel until we saw it on the Amazing Race. This time we took a funicular up the mountain and saw the hotel plus more of the water fall. Both are impressive.

We checked into our apartment in Mürren. After getting settled, I went to get a few groceries from the Coop. We had some sausage and cheese, so I bought some fresh bread, and we had a nice little picnic dinner.

On our first full day in Mürren  we did the flower trail. This was a favorite from last time we were there. Unfortunately the hidden playground was closed. That evening we hiked down to Gimmelwald and had pizza at the local hostel. We then took the gondola back up to Mürren.

The next day was a highlight for me. I took the train and then cable car down to Lauterbrunnen, where I rented an electric bike for the morning. My plan was to ride through Lauterbrunnen, then ride up the mountain to Mürren. After riding awhile in the mountains, I would ride to Grutschalp and take the cable car back down to Lauterbrunnen. Unfortunately, once I was ready to start going up the mountain, my directions led to a trail with lots of stairs. I couldn’t figure out where to go, so I improvised.

I biked back through Lauterbrunnen, and then kept going to Interlaken. I met others who were doing the same ride, so we helped each other navigate from time to time. The trail is next to the train track and the river, so the entire ride was beautiful. Interlaken is around 800 feet below Lauterbrunnen, so that made the ride tons of fun. It’s also why I decided to take the train back to Lauterbrunnen.

Once I got back Adam decided he wanted to do the North Face trail by himself. He did it much faster than when we all did it. Then we went out for dinner at the Eiger Guesthouse. They had great pizza and pasta.

Next up is Montreux.

We are a little over halfway finished with our Switzerland trip. We spent five nights in Wengwald, in the same chalet where we stayed four years ago. The photo above is from this spot steps from our door that we just can’t get enough of.

On our first full day we met up with Josh, Ginger and Patrick Spickler to hike what is probably my favorite hike. We met up in Wengen, took the cable car to Männlichen, and hiked to Kleine Scheidegg. Here are a few photos.

That evening, Mandy and I took the train to Wengen to celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary over some yummy fondue.

The next day was a rainy day, but we did make it down to Lauterbrunnen, where we took in lots of great waterfalls, including Trümmelbach Falls. That evening we hiked up to our favorite spot and the boys built a fire. We also got to celebrate Adam’s 17th birthday. It feels so weird to even type that.

On Wednesday morning we took the train down to Lauterbrunnen, then rode a cable car up to Grütschalp, followed by a train to Mürren. We took a funicular up to Allmendhubel, where there’s a fun view and awesome views. From there we set out on the North Face trail. It was a tough but rewarding hike. At one stop we purchased some amazing cheese and sausage.

It was unfortunately a little rainy our last full day in Wengwald. I decided to do a solo hike from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg, but once I got up there I found out that the trail was closed. So I camped out at what is now my favorite coffee shop and caught up on some reading. The boys hung out in their room. No matter where you find yourself, the views are inspiring.

After five nights in Wengwald, it’s time to move on. You can tell by this photo that Micah is sad that we’re leaving Wengwald. It’s ok Micah. We’re heading to Mürren next!

As we were planning this trip we were looking for somewhere to go in between the Zurich airport and the Jungfrau region. We had a few options, with Lucerne being one of them. We went with Lucerne, but it was mostly just a precursor for what was to come. I have to say that my expectations were much too low. This is my kind of city. As much as I love where we’re heading today, I don’t think I could live in a carless village for the rest of my life. But a city like Lucerne totally fits me. The population is around 80,000. At the center of the city is a beautiful train station. And from there hybrid buses can take you anywhere you want to go. I may not be up for a carless village, but perhaps a carless city! There’s also a river running through the city, complete with wooden bridges dating back almost 700 years.

It’s 8am, and I’m sitting on the rooftop terrace of our apartment. The photo above is my view. The only sounds I hear are birds chirping and church bells ringing. It’s wonderful.

Here are a few photos from this part of our trip. In a few hours we board a train for Interlaken.

Today is post #1 on our epic summer adventure. Our trip will take us to Chicago and then on to Switzerland. In Switzerland we’ll spend time in Lucerne, Wengwald, Murren, Montreux, and Zurich. If you want to know more about the planning of this trip, check out this post.

We began our vacation with a quick trip to Chicago. Here are our smiling faces as we were getting ready to leave Memphis International Airport, which, by the way, has undergone a fantastic renovation. Top notch!

While in Chicago we did some of our favorite things. We ate at Quartino.

We went to Navy Pier to ride the 200 ft Centennial Wheel.

And we went to Millenium Park to see the Bean.

On Wednesday night we took the train to O’Hare for an overnight flight to Copenhagen, and then, after a quick layover, a second flight to Zurich. I don’t like overnight flights. As much as I’d like to sleep, I just can’t do it. The boys on the other hand did quite well.

What you see there is a pillow, then Adam’s head, then another pillow, and then Micah’s head. Aren’t they sweet.

We are currently in Lucerne, about to go out for the evening. My next post will feature this awesome city.