Grindelwald, Switzerland

After posting about Bern, I feel I must post about its neighboring town of Grindelwald.

Grindelwald is a perfectly quaint mountain town in Switzerland. Just an hour or so train ride from Bern, it hosts amazing hiking and skiing routes all year long. The downtown is adorable, with many small shops for outdoor apparel and family run restaurants. We stayed at Gletschergarten hotel, it was also a family run business nestled at the top of a hill above the city center but below the gorgeous peaks of the alps. The couple who ran it were super helpful and friendly. The above picture was from our balcony - everywhere you looked it was absurdly picturesque. Having a glass of wine, sitting in Adirondack chairs and looking out to these mountains was a life highlight - that and getting licked by a grazing cow on our hike up to Faulhorn Mountain.

We had just one full day to hike so we tried to make the most of it. We took a Gondola up to First and hiked to Faulhorn Mountain. It is steep, but hugely worthwhile trek. You pass by several lakes, mountain goats and grazing cows. Each of the cows has a bell on its neck according to its size (babies have little baby bells!) watching several walk together was the sweetest chorus.

I seriously think this place is cow heaven. So beautiful.  And, when you get to the top and feel a little melty at the thought of trekking back down, you can stop at the Faulhorn hotel for a drink! We enjoyed a nice glass of  wine and local mountain cheese (bergkase) plate, courtesy of the beautiful cows we passed en route. The trek down was equally as beautiful through wild flower fields. We got home just as the sun was setting - a long, beautiful, exciting, exhausting day!