You know that feeling of finally getting somewhere you want to be and the all the weight that has been on your shoulders just melts off and you feel light again?  That’s the feeling I had when we arrived in Interlaken, Switzerland on Friday.  A nurse at Steve’s hospital matched us up with her husband, Scott and their friend Bryan for a weekend hiking trip in the Swiss Alps.  Steve checked the weather and told me to pack for rain, but I packed for August sun and was very ill-prepared.  Luckily, Scott’s wife, Shelley had enough gear for me to sport on our hike.  (Thanks Shelley! You are a life saver)  The only glitch: my feet are bigger than Shelley’s so I resorted to wearing my somewhat new, hardly broken in Chacos.  They were champs though with a little help from some big band-aids.  The hike was easily the hardest hike of my life, and could easily stay that way.  We’re talking seriously quick elevation gain, rough terrain for part of it, and a lot of rain at the beginning and end.  I don’t mind cloudy with a little chill in the air, but a straight up downpour can put a damper on the day real quick.  The bulk of the middle, however, was beautiful!  There’s no feeling like the feeling you get at the end of a arse-kicking hike when you can finally sit and have a beer.  Man, that felt good.

Aside from the hike, Interlaken is a charming little town with mountains towering on every side, a jade colored river running through the middle, tons of hostels, and swarms of paragliders overhead.  15 minutes away (by car) is the town of Grindelwald, which is where most of the hiking starts.  It’s nestled into the Alps and is your typical Swiss village with red and white flags, Swiss Chalets, and green hillsides everywhere.  Loved everything about it.

This trip was exactly the breath of life I needed and will remain the highlight of my time in Europe.

Balmer’s!  This is the hostel we stayed at while we were in Interlaken.  What a cool culture and feel.

Scott and Shelley are big wine drinkers so he packed a couple bottles for us to enjoy.  After we got settled in at Balmer’s, we walked into town, grabbed some Swiss truffles, and opened a bottle of Cote du Rhone at the park in the middle of Interlaken.  Loooovely.

This is pretty typical of us: poking fun at each other.

Swarms of paragliders all over the sky in Interlaken!  They start from a mountain top on the other side of the river, glide down, and land in this park right in front of us.  Next time in Interlaken, I’m doing it!

Grindelwald is where we started out hike.  You’ll see some aerial photos of it from our hike…

Scott, me, Bryan, and Steve at square one.  We’re heading up into those mountains behind us.  I have no idea what lies ahead of me…

Where are we going?!  Ask these Magellan’s.

There were so many of these chalets on the way up.  This one marks the start of our ascent up the Eiger Trail.

We enjoyed a beer way up on the mountain after a tough elevation climb.  Rugen Brau is a local brewery in Interlaken.

The rain stopped and the clouds cleared to reveal this amazing mountain peak!  We’ve only just begun. Grindelwald is in the background.  Scott, Bryan, me, and Steve.

Eiger Trail…

Up we go…thaddaway.

I couldn’t help but think that God is a pretty creative creator.  Majestic!

We weren’t sure what these pilings were for, but they were all over one part of our hike.

Tons of waterfalls along the Eiger Trail from all the glacial run-off.  Crystal clear and freezing cold.

I’ve always wanted to do this!  Easily the best drinking water on the planet.  Bryan kept on calling it “giardia water” and wouldn’t drink it, but he missed out!

We spotted this waterfall down where we had a beer and were so glad to finally be there!  Objects on the mountain are closer than they appear.

I love the ruggedness of this shot.

I had to do it!  But by the time I remembered my jersey was in my pack, we were pretty socked in from the fog so the shot of the rock was all I could get.  Who knows, maybe it’ll get me on the big screen at a game!

It’s getting foggier…which means rain is a comin’.

More cowbell!  There were so many cows with bells around their necks towards the end of our hike.  Such a sweet sound.

TThe trail down to Kleine Scheidegg took us through some cow pastures and many a cow-pie.

After 7 hours, 3,500 feet (gestimate), rain, sun, clouds, tight calves, and a couple stops to treat some low blood sugars and to eat lunch, we made it to the train station at Kleine Scheidegg.  We had a celebratory drink while we waited for the train to take us back down into Grindelwald.  It felt SO good to warm up and sit down.  We were all beat, but happy that we made it to the top.  Steve said that with a little training, I could easily summit Mt. Hood!  I would love to summit with him and his dad to see what Anthony was so in love with.  What an experience that would be.  Next year