Day 10: Flying High on Vacation

Our last hoorah of the trip: paragliding!  We had watched the weather closely for days, wondering if we should book it or not.  In the end, we went for it despite the 50% chance of rain and significant cloud cover.  Kate and Owen were DYING to go, and the truth is that so was I.  After I had booked, I double checked with Zachary and Brady, who both decided to go.  We reserved places for them and then hoped for the best.

Brady had nightmares all night about it.  So did Zachary.  I was so excited, I woke up at 4am and could not go back to sleep.  Owen woke up super early, too.  Zachary bailed in the morning and said he just could not jump off a cliff.  We did not feel that jumping off a mountain with a parachute was something we could push on him.

Owen was so animated and hopeful all the way to the meeting point.  He wondered about the weather and could not wait.

Stoked!

Kate wanted to go first.  Her biggest fear with her instructor is that he would "go easy" on her.  She wanted a thrill.

Kate and Owen in the air!

I loved the experience so much and was laughing and happy the whole way down.  My guide was apparently charmed by this and gave me the pictures for free because he "didn't want me to ever forget the joy." He asked me to pay the joy forward.  When I got pictures, Kate and Owen had FOMO and promised to pay half for theirs, too.  So Brady is the only one completely unrepresented here!

The whole experience was lovely.  We were all surprised that our tummies didn't flip as we descended to the first cliffs, but as soon as we took control of the parachutes, we were swooping through the air.  The guides all did acrobatics and swirls and flips with us, and that was some g-force and excitement!  The landing was "fit for a princess" as my guide said, and much more gentle than sky diving landings.  

We also gifted Zachary's pass to a college student who was up at the cliff supporting her friend.  She was so happy and nervous--she had been telling herself she would do it next time when she had the funds, but was also a little spooked.  We saw her a few times after the glide and she was delighted.

We packed up from our very favorite chalet and headed down Murren one last time.  I was surprised not to feel sad but instead hopeful that I would be there again sometime.  Being there with kids was a gift.  Owen always begs to replicate our family trip to Alaska, and I think this will be the trip I hope to replicate.  (To be fair, I was in dire straights with an infection in Alaska!)

Last meeting up with Clarks: heading to Grindelwald via Pfingstegg lift.  Owen's adrenaline rush wore off and we dealt with a pretty significant set of emotions on the way there.  We initially hoped to do the Alpine Carts, but miscommunicated with Clarks so alpine coaster was our destination instead.  It was so much faster and scenic than Park City and also 8 CHF instead of $30 USD, so it felt like a bargain.  We ended up coasting twice.

Adieu, dear friends.  Until next time!

We made the trains to Zurich, enjoyed our first hotel with A/C, watched Argentina get whooped by Spain (I love you, Messi, but your teammates are hotheads), and ate red curry and Pad Thai.  Our flight home was the least eventful experience of all international flights and I love Delta and I love the Delta lounge, where we killed 4 hours and got our 10,000 steps.

 We are flying high from vacation and so tired at 9pm, you'd think it was 3am!  We're experiencing the grateful, loving feels about spending this time all together, and also glad to be home and have fresh laundry!

Day 9: North Face Cliffs

 Kate wanted to hang out with Shay, so we took her to the lift.  Our sometimes dependent girl walked straight on and didn't even look back!  She and Shay traveled to Interlaken, went to the restaurant Kate recommended, watched hang gliders, walked along the lake, and traveled back.  It involved trains, busses and cable cars and our girl navigated it all flawlessly.  We were so happy to be in a place that it felt safe to let them wander and also that they wanted to!

When the morning rain passed, Brady walked out the chalet door and saw a girl who asked if we were American.  We discovered quickly that we live about a mile apart!  The man walked out the door and pointed to Brady, exclaiming, "You are Cory Edwards' brother!"  It felt like a wild coincidence, but Cory had told them to visit Murren and we ended up neighbors.  

Owen was absolutely exhausted from the long day before, so we let him stay back with Zachary and watch a movie.  We made it through rain showers which passed and opened to vivid green fields below gray and blue-smattered skies as we made the quick assent up the North Face trail.

Cow pies smattered the landscape but oh, we were charmed.  The cows in this area are used for dairy rather than beef.

I was so happy to be relatively pain-free after what felt like severe knee pain the day before.  So lucky, so grateful to be on the trail.

This cliff face was my favorite spot in Murren.  We were awarded grandiose views of Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau as we passed from Murren to Gimmelwald.

Shortly after this photo, we took a turn leading through the forest.  Aside from the 30 min assent (Switerland labels all their hikes with minutes rather than distance), the trail was very easy.  All the trails to this point were very well marked and maintained.  We had just passed two older women with hiking poles, and the further we descended and slipped down the path, the more surprised we were by their athleticism.  Lower and lower we followed the small trail, shocked by the steepness and by now, convinced we were not on the correct path, the older women had not done this segment, and that although we were on the wrong route we would eventually meet up with a real trail.  We reached a point that looked incredibly steep, looked over, and saw we were on a cliff face--the same one Nic and Heidi were rock climbing (although we couldn't see them). We hauled back up the cliff to find we had missed the world's biggest painted arrow pointing the correct direction and trail.

Shortly after our misadventure, we walked right under the Sprutz waterfall.  I wished we could have convinced Zachary to come--he had asked to hike to a waterfall at some point and knew he would love it.

The falls right behind us, with all the fresh rainfall feeding them.

Gimmewald!  Population 130 with two places to eat, preserved chalets, and dairy farming.  Oh, and alpine views gaping at the 72 waterfalls leading to Lautterbrunen.  

Brady was struck by a strange virus which he started feeling the day before, but really came on strong as we descended into the village.  He was walking sloppy and clearly needed to eat and rest.  We arranged for the boys to meet us for lunch, which required 11 phone calls and 15 texts before we met up at the Mountain Resort, a popular spot with backpackers.  It was packed, so we headed back to the Coop for a quick sandwich instead.

The shared playground/park facilities in Murren included a trampoline, skate park, and soccer field (converted to ice skating in winter).  Owen cannot see a trampoline without the pressing need to do a few backflips.  

Eating lunch on our deck and watching Owen do Spiderman tricks out the window.

It's pretty obvious what movie he watched while we hiked...

 We also "finally" swam with him in the indoor pool, which is maybe the last thing we'd pick to do in the Alps but we are not 10.  The pool had swim lanes and platforms and we giggled watching kids belly flop again and again into the water. Owen and I also had races while Brady pushed through achy and trooped it out with us.

That afternoon, we met up with Clarks, intending to see Trummelbach Falls.  By the time we connected, the girls got back from their tour of Interlaken, and the Clarks were showered, it was past closing. Instead, we packed into their 5 passenger BMW and traveled the short distance to Lautterbrunen, capturing this iconic photo of the church with Staubbach Falls in the background.  This Protestant Parish Church dates to the 15th century and has bells that ring every 15 minutes.  We were lucky to pass at 7pm and were gifted 5 minutes of ringing, which was second place in sound only to the ringing of cow bells on Schynige Platte days before.

We also ran into our neighbors there and Kate was able to say hello to her (very cute) friend, and they captured a family photo plus Shay and Tate for us.

Staubbach Falls is 297 meters, making it the tallest waterfall in Switzerland.

Vending machine milk and Swiss cheese!  Owen was shocked I would try the milk (not something I enjoy), and by my pleased reaction.  It was rich and creamy and cold.  The cheese was even better.

I cannot stop laughing at this picture.

We often catch Zac drinking milk directly from the jug and he drinks gallons a week, but Swiss milk was a no-go for him.  He said it had a stale aftertaste.  

Our last traditional Swiss meal at Restaurant Weidstubli.  Our server was charmed by Brady and kept calling him "young man."  She convinced him to order beetroot soup for the table and brought us 10 spoons so we could all sample.  We ordered burgers covered in Swiss cheese, pasta, and the Pizza Silberhorn, which came covered in raclette, pickles, and sautéed onions.  Such a fun culinary experience.

The gondolas up to Murren ran every hour, so we finished the night at Clarks playing fussball, outdoor ping pong, and darts.  It felt like old times.