Oh-Duh-Lay-He-Whooooooo

Switzerland - The land of chocolate, cheese, cows (and cowbells), the Alps, rules, and precision timing.

Day 1, Basel: We arrived in Basel at around 6pm and our friend, Martin Telko, was there to meet us at the train station. We drop off our bags at his apartment and take a walk through the town to the tallest building in the city. It has 32 floors. That doesn't sound too impressive until you realize none of the other buildings in Basel go beyond 4 or 5 floors, so in comparison this building seems huge. We headed to Bar Rouge on the top floor for a quick drink and a great view of Basel, France, and Germany (we were also treated to a beautiful rainbow welcoming us). The city is located in the corner of Switzerland where all three countries meet.

As a side note, Basel is near the Alsace Lorraine territory that has changed hands many times over the years (from France to Germany and back again several times) and is also where the Doudt ancestors are from.

After a wonderful dinner prepared by Martin of fresh bread, cheese, pickles, asparagus, lychee (a Chinese tropical fruit that was really good), tomatoes, and black forest ham we met up with his friend, Marcus, and headed out for a night on the town. We met up with several others and it turned into a version of the UN...two people were from Poland, one from Germany, one from Belgium, two Americans, and we were surrounded by the Swiss. We bar hopped getting a feel for different places and the Basel late-night scene and then ended the night at Paddy's, an Irish dance club that felt very American. It reminded us of a college atmosphere. It was a great night but we had to get home to get our rest as the next day we were planning to head to the middle of the country for some hiking in the Alps!

Day 2, Grindelwald (the Alps) and Bern: After a quick trip to Germany (on the other side of the Rhine river) for a car wash, Martin drove us South through the beautiful countryside and under the Jura mountain range. In about an hour and a half we arrived in Grindelwald which is close to Interlaken, the two lakes Thunersee and Brienzersee, and of course the Alps. Our great luck with the weather continued, it was a beautiful warm day with very few clouds.

From Grindelwald, with an elevation of 1050m (3444 ft), we took a ski-lift cable car to First, with an elevation of 2168m (7112 ft). The air was much cooler at this elevation. We then set out on an hour hike to Bachalpsee where there is a beautiful little lake. The hike was only moderately steep; however, Sara and I were not used to the elevation and our breathing quickly became labored and audible. It almost seemed like we were hyperventilating. We had to stop a couple times to catch our breath but then we passed a grandma coming down the mountain and thought if she can do it we certainly can. We hope. We then passed a couple going up the mountain with the woman wearing heels. Crazy! By this time our bodies had adjusted somewhat to the elevation and we were making better progress. We then arrived at Bachalpsee, with an elevation of 2265m (7431 ft). The view was spectacular. The pictures simply do not do it justice. The lake reflecting the blue sky and snow capped Schreckhorn mountain was amazing. It was breathtaking (or was that due to the elevation?).

We took many pictures, ate a snack of Gummy Bears (so good) and chocolate (also good), and then decided to head down the mountain on a different path. Martin had not taken this path before but it did point the way to Bort which is where we needed to be so we gave it try. A few minutes into the hike we become a little concerned for two reasons:

1. We weren't sure how long the hike would take and we needed to get to Bort before the cable cars stopped running or we would have to hike down all the way to Grindelwald (that would be a long hike). 
2. We weren't sure what kind of trail this was and if we would be encountering large streams, mud, or difficult rocky terrain (we were all wearing tennis shoes and not hiking boots).

Our minds weren't eased any when several German expert-looking hikers passed us going in the same direction all decked out in waterproof hiking gear walking right through streams and mud. One guy was practically running down the mountain. As we continued down picking our way along the trail, going around the mud when we could and hopping across rocks in the streams, we had some competing thoughts and feelings...The view was unbelievable, but you couldn't really look up too much as you needed to concentrate on where you were stepping. The hike was exhilarating and fun but also felt a little risky since we were unfamiliar with it and did not have the right gear. We kept going though. Finally we saw a sign that said we were still on the right trail for Bort, and even more comforting we heard the sounds of the cowbells. Sara and I loved the leisurely dinging of the bells from the distant cows wondering around the hillsides. It was somehow reassuring (we loved it so much we ended up buying a cowbell that now hangs on our front door). We could now see the cable car station but it was still well below us...looking much closer than reality. This is where the trail split - we could take the longer (1.5 hours) and easier descent path or we could take the shorter (40 minutes) and much steeper path. We took the shorter path and after 40 minutes of climbing down several hundred meters all of our legs were shaking and very tired. It ended up taking us 2.5 hours to hike down the 700 meters (2300 ft) in elevation. We made it just in time to grab one of the last cable cars down to Grindelwald where we enjoyed some great Swiss food and a round of "stungers" (a 25 cl of the house beer, pronounced "shtungga"). The hike ended up being a true highlight of our trip. Thanks to Martin for suggesting it and guiding us along the way!

Since it was on the way back to Basel, we decided to stop off for a brief tour of Bern. What a charming and beautiful little city (or as Marcus and Martin put it, "Bern is just so, awww cute."). They even have their own family of bears as city mascots. They live along the river's edge and seem quite content. Walking around the old city was a great way to keep the legs moving after the hike and learn more about Switzerland - Martin is an amazing tour guide, he's like a walking Wikipedia page. We only stayed in Bern for a couple hours but it was well worth it.

Day 3, Basel: First on the agenda was a long walking tour of the city. Again Martin played a wonderful guide full of knowledge. After a great lunch at a Turkish restaurant we then enjoyed a traditional warm Sunday Basel afternoon by hanging out on the banks of the Rhine and floating down the river to cool off. The Basel-ites will bring a specific bag where they will place all of their belongings, wrap it up, and then use the bag as a floatation device as they use the current to drift down the river. We didn't have those bags, so Sara and I walked up stream a ways, slowly made our way into the refreshing (read: Cold) waters and then drifted down the Rhine to where Martin had saved our spot. It was a lot of fun and felt nice after laying in the hot sun. It was a much needed relaxing afternoon and we felt like true Basel-ites!

Day 4, Luzern (Lucerne) and Zurich: Martin dropped us off at the train station in the morning to catch the 9:02 train to Luzern. And when the schedule says 9:02, that is precisely when the doors close and the train heads out, even if there is a family standing just beyond the doors and about to step on. The train waits for nobody.

Luzern is a beautiful old city situated on Lake Luzern near Mount Pilatus. Again we had a beautiful sunny day - we had such great luck with weather the entire trip. We walked around the city for several hours and enjoyed a nice lunch near the lakeside. We then hopped on a short boat tour around the lake. At one stop on the boat tour about 25 seven-year-olds piled onto the boat which made for an interesting rest of the trip. Once the boat docked, Sara and I headed for the train station and as luck would have it a train was leaving for Zurich in 3 minutes. We hustled to the correct track and got on just in time.

I had been to Zurich several years ago when I visited my friends Alan and Rhonda when they briefly lived there for a summer, and it was as beautiful and busy as I remembered. We walked the shopping district a bit and then went up to the top of the Grossmunster (large church). The views were amazing and since it was a clear day you could actually see the Alps way off in the distance (I'm not sure if you can quite make them out in the pictures). We then enjoyed quite the mixture of food within a couple hours - ice cream, parmesan cheese pretzel, sushi, and Mexican. We call that a "Lindsay Koriath" because one day last summer when hanging out with Lindsay we ate all sorts of food within a couple hours time...we food hopped from place to place eating a little something at each stop. It is outstanding! Once we were fully stuffed we got on a train back to Basel and made it to bed by midnight.

The final day of Switzerland and our vacation: We woke up bright and early and caught a 6:40am train to the Zurich airport. We were sad to leave but the trip was tiring and once we were home it was a nice feeling of comfort to be back in the great city of Chicago, and in our own bed. We slept well that night.