We took another train ride on the second day this time with our large group. It dropped us off at this amazing playground for kids and this amazing view up above. We just sat there and said things like….how many American kids do you know that can say they played at playgrounds in the Swiss Alps during their childhood? It was a really neat day.
We went on a little nature “flower trail” where they had planted several mountain flowers native to the area. Lo and behold they actually had the EIDELWEISS FLOWER. This is such a part of the culture in Southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It’s a flower that only grows in high remote mountain areas. The story goes that when the young adult boys fall in love, they are supposed to hike up and find an Eidelweiss Flower to give to their sweetheart and then profess their love to her. The story also goes that several young adult boys have died trying to get these hard to find flowers high in the Alps…..so the tradition died out. But this flower is pictured on clothing, buildings, restaurants, and the like all over these countries, so it was really fun to see it in real life finally.
Jake found this awesome purple flower. Isn’t it sooo cool?
Along our hike there was a really fun zip line that we all stopped and took turns trying out…even the grown ups!
Our hike ended in one of the high in the mountain Swiss towns that are car free cities. It was so picturesque. Look at that flower garden up above! Apparently Josh’s smile is all worn out below.
Several of the small kids got tired and grumpy on the half mile hike back to our camp from the train station. Cole was one of those:
This cemetery is amazing!
We hopped in our cars and drove ten minutes to the Trummelbach Caved Falls. They are these water falls created by Glaciers melting that are crazy powerful and fast. YOU can not believe how fast the water flows. It has literally “cut” the rock as it has fallen over the years.
The Falls were a wonderful last adventure in the Swiss Alps! That night it rained so we all crowded in the game room and played card games. The little ones watched movies on ipads.
Sunday morning we hurried and packed up to head out. We were all feeling the pressure to get home, get unpacked, and get ready for BACK TO SCHOOL the very next morning. We passed this beautiful lake on our way home:
I’d like to say we are one of those families, that gets into a routine a week before going back to school, gets to bed on time, and stays home the last weekend so they can be ready for the big day. As it is however, we are the type that skid into the driveway the night before, have to unpack, squeeze in Father’s Blessings, shower, find something to wear, dump our backpacks of traveling treasures, throw in school supplies and rush off to bed. We like to party up the SuMMer until the last possible minute.
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