Swiss Alps: Gimmelwald

What absolutely amazing weekend!  I LOVE the alps.  I am pretty sure that is why I came to Switzerland in the first place.  Everything about the Swiss Alps is perfect; the adventure, the peacefulness, the beauty, the sounds, and the people.  Part of me wishes my school was located somewhere high up on a mountain, because being surrounded by the alps is a dream come true!

Views from the train, such a gorgeous trip!

This weekend five other study abroad girls and I went on a Swiss Alps adventure.  Even though it was our first free weekend in Lugano, we were anxious to get out and see more of Switzerland.  On Friday afternoon we left Lugano on a train for Interlaken (yes that means between two lakes...)! One stop, two trains, and a walk through town later we made it to our hostel in Interlaken! This was the first hostel I have ever stayed at and it was very interesting.   It was huge, with a club, bar, restaurant, tons of rooms, and a property if you want to stay in tents.  The six of us had a private room together, which was really nice for a hostel.  After dinner and a walk around town we went to bed, ready for our 6am wake up call!

 

                          At the Interlaken Hostel                       Walking around Interlaken

Bright and early we had our backpacks on and were excited to start exploring up the alps.  We took a train from Interlaken to a small town called Lauterbrunnen.  From Lauterbrunnen we took a bus to near the end of the valley, where we hoped on the Gondola to our hostel in Gimmelwald! 

             Lauterbrunnen                    Overlooking waterfalls                   

We got to our hostel by 9am and by 9:30am we were off hiking.  We took this gorgeous trail that led us through another town, past fields of cows and freezing cold rivers, around and up a mountain to a beautiful panoramic view of the Alps.  After a delicious lunch and long talks with people from England, 5 hours later we were back in town and on our way to our hostel in Gimmelwald.  I couldn't of asked for a more beautiful day in the alps!

The weather was perfect and the views were incredible!

The next day was very rainy and cloudy.  We walked into town and read for a couple hours and then headed back down the mountain hoping to escape the rain.  Unfortunately it was even more rainy in Interlaken, but that was okay because we still enjoyed our time exploring the cute town.  I hope to eventually go back to Interlaken and the surrounding area for more hikes and to do some adventures sports! At 7pm we hoped on a train back to Lugano and got there just in time to get some sleep before class in the morning.  This was the perfect first trip in Switzerland, I can't wait for many more adventures to come!

XOXO