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Wengen:  The Swiss Alps

Switzerland is a dream for anyone who likes to take pictures.  No matter where you turn, the view is spectacular.  We stayed at the Belvedere Hotel in Wengen, a quaint, old hotel with a two-man elevator and breathtaking views of the Alps.  Our room had a little balcony with a couple wooden chairs where, in the evenings, we put our feet up, sipped hot chocolate, and did nothing but absorb the incredibly fresh air.  Wengen is perched high above the valley floor, and we travelled easily around by train, cable car, and bus.  Our second day, we hiked from Murren to Gimmelwald.  The weather was perfect, and we stopped to watch a pair of striped parasails swoop gracefully to the valley floor.  Our path wound gracefully between the two villages, and we marvelled at the untouched mounds of wild flowers gracing the trail with their shades of red, yellow, and purple.  Every so often we spotted someone, in the Swiss tradition, quietly tending a well-groomed garden of lettuce, cabbage, or squash and gathering its produce.   Gimmelwald was as perfect as Rick promised, and it was almost impossible to leave.

Trummelbach Falls cuts through the mountain and carries the melt from the top at a rate of 5,200 gallons a second.  The power of the water is thunderous as it swirls through the caves and waterways it has created. We walked to the top of the falls and were fascinated by the color changes in the rock walls as we progressed downward.

Nature in All Its Glory

The Honesty Shop

Where else but Switzerland will you find an honesty shop?  Here it is.  Yes,  you can shop for anything you want and leave your money in the box.  No one will question you.  In the  back is a patio overlooking the valley where you can buy ice cream or a sandwich.  Some hikers took a break to play a hand of cards.  Inside, the decore is  pure grandma's-house kitsch.

Two Things I Learned While Travelling in Wengen

1.  Never try to wash a pair of jeans in a bathroom sink.  I thought I was going to do everything economically in Europe, saving my spare change for gifts for our grandkids.  Until Switzerland I was very successful, washing anything I needed in a large plastic bag - just slip a T shirt or pair of socks into the bag, add a dash of detergent, zip it shut, and shake vigorously.  No problem.  By Wengen, I was in need of clean jeans and assumed the system would work.  It didn't.  By the time I realized heavy clothing will never dry, even on a balcony, I was trapped with a soggy pair of jeans I had to drag around until our next stop, where I could find a laundromat.

2.  Even if you're not an extrovert, talk to everyone.  Nabil is by nature gregarious and has been known to strike up a conversation with anyone who will listen.  I'm not.  I quickly learned if you want to find your way, you have to adjust and ask questions.  By chance, we met a young lady on the Wengen train, talked to her about her trip, and she gave us a lead on one of the best restaurant we of our trip.

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