Switzerland is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to; it’s natural beauty is incredible and I can’t help taking millions of photos, which inevitably all look the same, just to try to capture some of the majesty of the mountains. It’s like the Grand Canyon or the Canadian Rockies; photos will never do it justice, but I will share some with you anyway. Here are a few highlights from our recent holiday:
Mürren:
With a population of just 450, the town of Mürren is 1,650 metres above sea level, accessible only by cable car, and perched right on the edge of a 900 metre cliff. It is everything you would expect from a Swiss village: cows roam around freely, their bells clanging repeatedly, and water troughs line the streets for them to drink from. Houses are made of wood, their balconies overflowing with colourful flowers and small, quaint churches dot the green mountainside. It’s an idyllic place, popular with tourists but still quiet enough to feel like you’ve discovered a hidden gem. We stayed in a chalet in Mürren with panoramic views of the majestic mountains around us; it truly was breathtaking!
an aerial view of Mürren, perched on the edge of a cliff
on the balcony of our chalet - surrounded by (very faint in this pic) mountains!
a cow we found wandering beside the road
church in Mürren
flowers
Schilthorn/Piz Gloria:
One of my most vivid memories from my trip to Switzerland as a teenager was eating breakfast at the Piz Gloria revolving restaurant on top of the Schilthorn, a mountain above Mürren. The restaurant was the set for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, a James Bond film starring George Lazenby; my brother, Dad and I are James Bond fans so we loved the visit. Having enjoyed it so much last time, I knew I wanted to take Brendan there on this trip so we hopped on yet another cable car, which took us up to the Piz Gloria, and enjoyed a champagne breakfast with a 360° view of the mountains:
breakfast in Piz Gloria
a scene from On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Piz Gloria now...
...and then!
Trummelbach Falls:
Another sight I remember from my last trip to Switzerland was the Trummelbach Falls: ten glacier waterfalls inside a mountain, which are frozen in winter (although not accessible to the public) and viewed in summer from a series of platforms within the mountain. The falls are beautiful, and although it’s hard to take photos in the low light, here’s one that worked OK:
Trummelbach Falls
After viewing the falls, we walked beside the river, through fields of cattle, to Lauterbrunnen where we caught the cable car back to Mürren – on the way I spotted this cute little church:
church in Lauterbrunnen
So there you have it, folks! Some Swiss highlights for you. Don’t worry, I’m not done blogging about Switzerland yet; I still have to show you the food we ate (yum!), as well as some exciting extreme sport I participated in…watch this space…
