Europe Trip Recap: Hike from Gimmelwald to Mürren

Sunday, May 26, 2013: Our only full day in the mountains of Switzerland

We slept well in the mountains--until about 9 a.m.! I pulled the shades open and found snow on the ground! At that point, I wasn't even sure if it would be safe to hike to Mürren.

I spotted the orange kitty walking towards our house, so I opened up the window and called him over to our porch. He loved getting pets from me! He wouldn't go away and was meowing at the door constantly!

We got ready for the hike and I was so pleased to find a walking stick to borrow. It helped me feel more stable, in addition to the ankle brace I wore every day in Europe.

The approximately two mile trail up to Mürren was paved and pretty easy overall. There were just a few icy patches. My mom was worried about the altitude affecting her or me, but it didn't make us ill. 

The snowy view of the Alps were simply amazing!

Mom and I met lots of cats on the hike. This one looked sweet and innocent enough to pet. He laid down and signaled that he wanted a belly rub, so I obliged. All of a sudden, he swiped his sharp nails at me and cut my hand open in numerous spots. Lesson learned!

At the beginning of the walk, we came across a small waterfall.

This mossy wall was just beautiful.

Once we got to the end of our hike, we were awarded with these views.

Since I work in a museum, I loved these little museum "stations" or windows we found throughout town.

It was "off-season," there weren't a lot of choices for open restaurants in town. We settled on Stager Stubli, which offered traditional Swiss food.

Mom and I shared a dark beer (dunkle bier).

I ordered raclette and mom got a cheese and fruit plate. I was a little sick of cheese by the end of this meal!

After lunch, it was time to walk off all of that dairy and beer!

 Mürren has many beautiful hotels to stay in.

The walk back down was pretty easy. See those wooden posts?

They're called Dreibeinboecke or three leg mountings. They are "snow slide barriers."

Here are some of the cats we met along the trail. See the cat being chased by goats? It was a pretty funny scene to watch!

Mom bought a Switzerland sweatshirt in Mürren.

After resting a little more, we went back out to explore Gimmelwald one last time and to check the schedule for the cable car the next morning. 

It was nice to stay in the Swiss mountains and experience something so different. I had wanted to do that since living in Lugano in 2005-2006 and the closest I got to that was staying in Meiringen with a friend and going up the cable car into the mountains with her.

Miles walked: 6.61