switzerland: day two

when we woke up the next morning we saw the clouds all around and decided that we would not go to Jungfraujoch. taking the advice of some locals we decided it would be a waste of money to take the cog train ride to the top if we weren't able to see anything. instead, we took a cable car to pfiengstegg to take in the views of a glacier. in the car we saw a helicopter flying through the mountains carrying a large, white bundle beneath it. after we got off, we discovered the hike to the glacier would take over an hour. with corinne grimacing and anne disappointed in her fashion choices (white jeans), the four of us took off on our hike. we hiked through clouds and above the tree line while anne sang "the hills are alive with the sound of music", surrounded by wild flowers, black salamanders, waterfalls, and snow capped mountain tops. at the summit we found a restaurant where we sat and had some hot chocolate and warmed up. up until this point there were rain showers off and on, but now it was really coming down. we made it to the restaurant just in time. while sitting out the rain we talked to the owners of the restaurant and found out that they receive their deliveries by helicopter so we made the connection that the helicopter we had seen earlier was bringing supplies to them. chip made the comment, "they must get a lot of hikers here" to which we all had a nice chuckle since the only way to the restaurant is on foot. It was almost as good as nick's comment the day prior when he asked our british roommates if england was just south of scotland. needless to say, the girls were entertained. we also learned about the history of the restaurant and how it had recently been rebuilt because it had fallen victim to a landslide. we saw pictures and articles (all in german) about the reconstruction.

we headed back down the mountain after the rain stopped and saw the breathtaking views of the waterfalls that were now larger because of the rain. we also saw some cows and heard their bells. the views were breathtaking and we will certainly be back with the proper gear ready to hike more of the mountains in the future.

after such a tough day and another early morning in store, we hung out at the hostel playing spades and eating pizza. the next morning we had to be up for our train to venice.

~chip, anne, nick, and corinne