Where We Be
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| This wood pile with its circular logs and radiating cracked lines called out for a photo |
| Gimmelwald, Switzerland |
| This is about as close to a major crossroads as you get in Gimmelwald! |
| As did this spray of white flowers against a dark background |
| Chalet Bobs! Not sure what the two dots over the "o" signify. |
| Potted plants make a beautiful display next to Esther's |
| Gimmelwald has roots as a farming village that go deep |
| Gorgeous spring flowers grow alongside the main walking path through town |
| Upper Gimmelwald is where most locals live. Every evening we'd hear a cacaphony of bells as bell-wearing cows were herded along the street just in front of the houses shown above. |
| This is probably the strangest sight we saw during our time in Switzerland. It's a cow being transported by helicopter. Hope she misses that building! |
| There are no grocery stores in Gimmelwald, so if you want to use the kitchen at Esther's, your easiest option is to shop in Murren then walk or take the gondola back. Just look at the views you get during your commute! |
| That's Gimmelwald at the top of this photo. Just look at that dropoff -- and at the angle of the gondola tower! The Swiss perform some pretty amazing feats of engineering. |
| But sunshine on the peaks made for a welcome sight after several days of rain |
| Misty weather can be quite beautiful in its own right |
| We had a lot of misty, rainy days during our stay in Gimmelwald. We made the best of it and went hiking anyway. |
| We took the gondola up to Murren then hiked down to Gimmelwald along this pleasant path |
| We stayed at Esther's Guesthouse and would definitely recommend it. We stayed here for six days -- longer than anywhere else in Switzerland. |
| We were in slope-ceilinged Room #5 at Esther’s. The window opened upwards so you could poke your head out for a view. |
| Our view from the window |
| Locals put up signs for fresh milk, butter, eggs, and cheese |
You can't get much smaller or quainter than
Gimmelwald. Fans of travel guru Rick Steves
will tell you he waxes euphoric about Gimmel-
wald, whether in summer or winter, and with
good reason. This is an adorable little town,
and it's less touristed than other towns in the
Jungfrau region. The one downside: it's less
convenient as a base than, say, Lauterbrunnen
or Grindelwald. Being off on its own is both a
blessing and a curse.
For example, the Jungfrau Pass, which many
people buy when visiting the Jungfrau region
for six days or more, doesn't cover the gondola
ride up and down from Gimmelwald to the
valley. Rather, there is a whole separate pass
just for this area called the Schilthorn Pass.
Because our weekly weather forecast looked
so crummy, we opted for the less expensive
Schilthorn Pass instead of the Jungfrau Pass --
which turned out to be a good decision. It let
us explore our own back yard much more
thoroughly than we otherwise would have.
Gimmelwald. Fans of travel guru Rick Steves
will tell you he waxes euphoric about Gimmel-
wald, whether in summer or winter, and with
good reason. This is an adorable little town,
and it's less touristed than other towns in the
Jungfrau region. The one downside: it's less
convenient as a base than, say, Lauterbrunnen
or Grindelwald. Being off on its own is both a
blessing and a curse.
For example, the Jungfrau Pass, which many
people buy when visiting the Jungfrau region
for six days or more, doesn't cover the gondola
ride up and down from Gimmelwald to the
valley. Rather, there is a whole separate pass
just for this area called the Schilthorn Pass.
Because our weekly weather forecast looked
so crummy, we opted for the less expensive
Schilthorn Pass instead of the Jungfrau Pass --
which turned out to be a good decision. It let
us explore our own back yard much more
thoroughly than we otherwise would have.
