Top of the World

Okay, here comes the last pictures that I just could not resist sharing with you from our weekend in this magically beautiful alpine landscape. I am in total awe of all the spectacular views that we got to see and experience this past weekend. Breath taking has taken a whole new meaning for me. When ever I thought it possibly could not get more beautiful the next view right around the corner became even more stunning. I feel so lucky to have moved to such a beautiful country. 

 We talked to the manager of the hotel and she confirmed that spring indeed was delayed this year. However, that seemed to be to our advantage being here right now when most of the spring flowers were still in full bloom on the slopes. Lovely fields of bright Crocus flowers.

It is kind of funny to realize that I was skiing down these very slopes just a few months ago. This is what it looks like in summer. So different and so stunningly beautiful! I had never been in the alps neither in winter nor in summer before I moved to Switzerland. I must say that the beauty of nature in summer surprised me  a lot. To me it was even more beautiful in summer than in winter.

 Such an awesome weekend. Plenty of fresh alpine air, the sound of the cow bells in the distance as the cows slowly moved up and down the slopes, the cascading water of the waterfalls, patches of snow still melting in the sunshine and the flowers in full bloom.

 There was a wide selection of hiking trails. What better way to take in these spectacular views than to walk for a few hours each day. The waterfalls plummeting from the mountain. The sound of rushing water. 

 Impossible not to take like a million pictures. This is what both me and Sara looked like as we hiked the trails. 

 Quite a lot of snow left in certain areas. I was very happy about my new hiking boots that kept my feet dry as we crossed snow patches like this one.

 The views are so stunning. I could not imagine that the alps in summer would be so breathtaking. 

It's like stepping into Heidi world. You could expect her coming out of any of these small cute cottages on the mountain slopes.

 

I stopped keeping track of how many pictures I took during the weekend. I think I photographed the glacier wall of the Eiger a million times. I wanted to capture it in all angles and in all shades of light during the day. Actually the weather conditions around these very high peaks can change rapidly. We did see this. Sometimes the peaks were covered completely in dark clouds and in a few minutes those could could sweep away and give rise to soft  clouds and sunshine instead.

This is what it would look like as we were enjoying the spectacular view from S and F's balcony and having some snacks and wine before dinner. Me, C and S that are equally crazy about photography could just not stop taking one picture after another.

We saw a number of hang gliders. It looks awesome but still I know it is not for me. I am too scared of heights for this. One afternoon as we were returning from a hike there was a whole group that was ready to take off. They were doing tandem jumps. So cool to watch them take off one after another.

Here I am on top of the world in total bliss for all those spectacular views that mother nature kept giving us. It was great hiking here. We did a few hikes each for a few hours. The trails were marked very well. We had a map with all the trails as well and each trail was also marked with the approximate time it would take to complete it.

The cascading waterfalls would give rise to streams running down the slopes. We saw so many beautiful wild flowers in full bloom. 

Sunday both C and F actually joined us for a hike as well. It was very nice to do something all four together.

The weather. We just could not have been luckier. It turned from nice to super nice. I had packed way to many warm clothes that I never used. It was a lot warmer and sunnier than I had expected. What I had not packed and should have was sun block. My arms did get a little red.

I kept waking up very early both Saturday and Sunday morning. Sunday morning I woke up at 5 am and tried to go back to sleep but I was too eager to try to get a nice picture in the morning light to be able to fall back to sleep again. The room me and C had did not face the mountain peaks so I got dressed and sneaked out with my camera. The entire village of Murren was still fast asleep. I got the morning views all to myself.

Just soooo incredibly beautiful. I think I could never tire of these amazing views. I kept pinching my arm wondering if I was dreaming it all up.

This has been a fantastic mini-vacation. I will never forget these stunning views. I hope to be able to come back and enjoy more of this. Switzerland is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever been in that is for sure.