Europe Adventure Part 2: Switzerland
We were dressed for cooler and rainy temperatures when we left Ireland, so we were very overdressed for the 85 degree temps in Zurich! We spent our time in Switzerland mostly in Grindelwald, but explored Zurich for a few hours before hopping on the train to head south. We had lunch in the cutest little square at what was essentially a pop-up restaurant - a food truck with tables set up. We explored, got some ice cream (naturally), and then found our way back to the train station. Side note - Switzerland is expensive. Our first experience with this was at the train station when you had to pay to use the restrooms, and then when we purchased our train tickets. But we were there and going to make the most of it!
Grindelwald is a resort skiing town, so it is cute and cozy, but still with several things to do! While in town we rode a gondola to the top of First (one of the summits in the mountains) and went out on the cliff walk which is exactly what it sounds like - we walked beside the cliff on a man-made bridge. It was not as scary as I thought it would be, thank goodness, and we got some great pictures! The most fun part though, was riding Trotti Bikes aka Scooter Bikes down the mountain to town. It is basically a scooter but with bicycle tires and you have to hold both hand brakes on the way down because of the steepness. It was lots of fun!
We also rode the train to the town of Murren and walked to a little village called Gimmelvald. The walk was so pleasant and gorgeous with the most beautiful mountains and waterfalls. Not all of the snow was fully melted yet when we were there so there were still snow capped mountains and tons of waterfalls where the snow was in the process of melting. June is definitely a beautiful time to visit! Gimmelwald has a very small population, but they did have a brewery and restaurant with an award-winning Stout. So I tried the Schwarz Monch beer and I have to say it was very good. The view from that spot was even more incredible though and it was the perfect little stop in before we continued hiking down the mountain on some not so friendly trails. But views, views, and more views awaited us.
The last day in Switzerland Nick rented a mountain bike to explore the biking trails around us. He had been looking forward to this for months and talked with the guys at the local shop about where to go. Unfortunately the weather was not great, but he made the most of it! I spent the day reading and relaxing at our cute little AirBnB which had birds chirping and cow bells ringing. It was incredibly peaceful. We enjoyed the nature and relaxation of Switzerland before heading to the fast paced city life of Florence!
