This site is kept in loving memory of Trish Reske, who passed in October of 2021.
Trish was a writer - this site captures a bit of her incredible sense of humor.
You can read Trish's full obituary here.

Murky Murren

murky-muren

The Ogre in the Clouds


Day 7: Switzerland

The alpine resort of Murren stands about 5,400 feet high in the Swiss Alps, and looks like heaven on earth in the pretty picturesque postcards at the front desk of our hotel. We took two trams to reach this indescribably beautiful town, and the reason I can’t describe it is because the view out our window is thick, grey and soupy.

Yes, it’s been raining in the Alps all day, and although we had some tantalizingly brief glimpses of the towering peaks between ominous clouds at the bottom in Interlachen, we are officially socked in here.

I’ve asked God to please give us at least a brief respite in the weather tomorrow, so we can actually SEE something. There’s no Internet access here, but if you Google Murren, Switzerland, maybe you can reply to this blog post and send me a link to views online on clearer days so I can imagine it in my mind.

Of course, tough New Englanders that we are, we are making the best of the wet weather conditions. We spent some time walking around Interlaken this afternoon, where we tasted our first Swiss chocolate (SO good!), and enjoyed lunch in the park, where paragliders and hangliders make their final approach after soaring around the giant mountainous landscape.

Our second stop was at Trummelbach Falls, Europe’s only glacial falls inside of a mountain. The glacier itself is called Aletsch Glacier, and can be seen from the peak at Schilthorn, at 9748 feet. (I don’t think we’ll be making it there.)

The rushing frigid falls were spectacular, and because they could be viewed mostly from inside the mountain, it made for a great rainy-day excursion. So all in all, the weather has not yet dampened our spirits.

But I would like to see the mountainous views – most notably from Jungfrau, Monch and Eiger (Easy to remember: Young Maiden protected by the Monk from the Ogre). Even a view of the Ogre would be fine with me.

We quickly realized when we got here that this is serious hiking territory. And we didn’t bring our serious hiking gear, let alone serious waterproof raincoats. So even if the weather does clear tomorrow, we will likely be taking less serious scenic walks and tram rides between the Alpine villages.

And if it doesn’t clear up and we have to stay inside and feast on fondue and chocolate – well, that wouldn’t be so bad either.

Newsflash: It’s clearing and I can see this HUMONGOUS thing outside my window. It’s.. it’s yes, it’s a mountain! A HUGE mountain in silhouette right beyond the clouds! This is a good sign…

To be continued…..

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