Day 14: Interlaken, Switzerland (Thursday, August 21st)

So remember at the end of yesterday's post when I mentioned that we had an hour left until we made it to our destination? Yeah, well that hour ended up being kinda crazy. We knew we were in trouble when our GPS said: "In 500 meters, board the ferry." Umm excuse me? We drove a bit further and kept hitting dead ends so we made a phone call and learned that it isn't possible to drive to Gimmelwald and that we'd have to leave our car and take the last tram that would be leaving in 20 minutes and we were still 15 minutes away from it. Long story short: We made it to the station just in time to park our car, grab our bags, and board the tram to our hotel. It was too dark last night to see any sort of view but when we woke up this morning we were able to see what we paid for. 

Our hotel was high in the alps so it was pretty cold when we woke up but the views were amazing! We took as much time as possible deciding what our plans were so we could sit and enjoy the scenery. 

So long, Pension Gimmelwald!

Tom, Chelsie, Russ, and Ellen wanted to do an intense hike up in Mürren but Logan and I weren't up for it so we drove down to Interlaken and had such a good time being alone and exploring the city. Our tram ride down wasn't half bad either!

We woke up too late for breakfast so our first stop was a cute restaurant for lunch called Mercato. 

After lunch we walked around and into all the cute shops. I could have spent so much money but fortunately our bags can't hold anything else otherwise I would have! I loved the small streets and the river that ran right through the city. 

This massive Toblerone was 139 francs! 

As we were walking we came across this beauty and had to stop for some pictures. The water is so pretty!

After seeing the river we decided we wanted to find the lake nearby and I'm so glad we did! It was gorgeous and peaceful as we sat right by the water talking, laughing and napping. 

Later in the late afternoon we met the others at a Coop and ate dinner. We didn't have plans for the evening so we all went back to the lake Logan and I had visited earlier and had a nice walk around it. We saw some of the cutest homes on the best property right by the lake. One day... :)

The place we're staying the next two nights is someone's house so we have a full kitchen but no food is provided and it's a ways away from any stores so we ran to the grocery store to stalk up for the next couple days. It's a cute little place but it's far away from the city so we'll have to see how that works out tomorrow.

We got into our place this evening earlier than we have this whole trip so we decided to stay in and relax a bit by playing cards and chatting. We don't have to be up early either so I'm really looking forward to getting a decent sleep tonight! Our living quarters are equipped with a family room, kitchen, bathroom, and three bedrooms. 

Family Room:

Kitchen:

On another note...we just heard that a volcano is going to erupt any day in Iceland which could really make it difficult to get home since we connect in Iceland. Fingers crossed it holds off until Monday!

Weather Today:

The weather was actually much warmer than we expected but we still needed our jackets most of the day. Fingers crossed we avoid the snow the next 2 days!

Tomorrow: More Switzerland!