Hiking the Grosser Mythen

Grosser Mythen Summit

May is full of random middle of the week holidays for Steve, so what better to do with a beautiful day off in the middle of the week than to go for a hike in the alps right? So per our usual routine we found ourselves at 10 pm the night before looking at where in Switzerland the weather would be best (as almost anywhere can be reached as a day trip). Steve settled on a spot that was relatively close to Zurich called the Grosser Mythen.

All she needs to start the day on the train - a straw and a pair of sunglasses!

We're going to hike that "rock" today?

30 minutes into the hike a view of the valley we started in

Of course I was relatively oblivous to the fact that Steve had just made plans to do probably our most difficult hike to date, yet I think he was too. Although there are websites and iphone Apps dedicated to describing and providing facts on all these various hikes throughout Switzerland it seems that they are never quite accurate. On this particular day although we knew we would have a significant hike, we did not expect it to take double the amount of time as described. While we acknowledge that we are not the fastest hikers around with one of us carrying Emma and the other carrying a backpack with supplies for all three of us, we also are pretty sure we are not the slowest out there. Oh well, I guess our speed up allowed us to enjoy more of the views?!

Uh oh, reading the signs and checking his phone for directions

That's a sheer cliff!

Enjoying the views on the way up

Almost there!

While the 800 meter plus (2600 feet) elevation increase was challenging at times during the two hours it took us to get to the top, we were not only richly rewarded with beautiful views while hiking but I think both of our jaws dropped a little when we saw the view as we reached the summit. It was a stunning 360 degree panorama of alpine peaks intermixed with beautiful blue lakes, rivers, and alpine villages. With so many spectacular sceneries in Switzerland it's difficult to pick out just one favorite, but this spot definitely made the list of the top few places we have seen thus far.



One of a kind views all around us

Overlooking Lake Luzern

Looking back on the valley we started in

Breathtaking

Family photo time!

Just couldn't get enough of it!

We would have liked to have spent all day at the top, but instead we settled for an hour to have lunch and simply soak in the views. Emma had a blast watching the birds that were following our (and our food's) every move and getting some time to move around and practice her walking.

 

The birds were like vultures waiting for hikers to drop a bite of food

Having enjoyed our time with only a few other people at the top we finally decided it was time to make our way back down to our starting point. Being later in the day and snow still melting off nearby peaks we found ourselves during part of the hike walking through considerable water where just a few hours earlier there had been none. Needless to say by the time we got to the bottom with wet shoes, our first slight tan of the summer, and tired legs we were glad to be done. Yet without a doubt that will be hike that will not be forgotten!

What a little helper trying to hold mom's hiking poles on the way down!

 

Beer, a history lesson, and a fairy tale castle!

Picture perfect Bavaria

As if our spring wasn't already busy enough with traveling when some friends of ours asked us if we wanted to join on a last minute trip to Munich for the weekend we couldn't resist. And since we were headed to Bavaria we decided to tag on an extra day to visit the famous King's Castles of the region.

In order to most effectively get to all the sights we decided to rent a car and drive to Munich as it is only a little over a three hour drive. Not to mention Steve wanted his chance to drive on the Autobahn as well!

We arrived late on Friday evening as traffic was not very good, but we did not have any plans other than to watch our friends' son, who is a few months older than Emma, so they could go out and enjoy an evening sans baby. That is certainly one of the benefits of traveling with friends who also have children, as we traded off and Steve and I also got an evening to ourselves on Saturday night. As much fun as we have traveling with Emma I don't think anyone will not say that they don't enjoy an opportunity to get out on their own every once in awhile as well.

So after getting settled on Friday night and a bit of a lazy start on Saturday morning we had a relatively busy agenda to see some of the historical sights of Munich before finding our way to the famous beer halls and gardens that Munich is best known for. We were lucky to have our own personal tour guides as our friends had been to Munich several times before and were happy to show us the sites. We enjoyed getting a taste of the city's architecture and seeing where key events occurred in World War II.

The Rathaus-Glockenspiel at Marienplatz

Sight of some famous World War II gatherings

By lunch time we found our way to the grounds of Springfest. Springfest is a more low key version of the much more famous Oktoberfest, but still gave us a sampling of what Oktoberfest is like. Of course all of us (as in all the adults) had to have an oversize beer along with some traditional German food (roasted chicken, brats, pretzels, etc). From there we continued to enjoy the beautiful spring afternoon outdoors in the Englischer Garten and then onto perhaps the most famous of all, the Hofbrauhaus. By that time it was already getting close to bedtime for two members of our party so we headed back to the hotel. Yet, lucky for us once Emma was in bed we got to head back out to check out one other famous beer hall, Augustiner. To say the least by the end of the night we were quite content with our whirlwind tour of Munich and its beer (especially for me since I'm not one for beer really!).

Looking the part in Dirndl & Leiderhosen at Springfest

Testing the pretzel

A tent at Springfest

Of course the downside of being able to go out after Emma's bedtime is that morning really comes too early as someone doesn't yet know how to hit snooze on her alarm clock. Yet, with Emma's help we got going and enjoyed a little more meandering around Munich and revisiting the Hofbrauhaus so we could have a better look around while it wasn't quite so busy at 10:30 in the morning! Although we are surrounded by important historical sites everywhere in Europe, I think visiting a place like Munich is even more impactful because of it's role in World War II and knowing how much it impacted our parents and grandparents generation.

Moms and babies at the Hofbrauhaus

Hard-working dads with stroller, diaper bags, and beer in hand!

Sight of some famous speeches and gatherings at the Hofbrauhaus

Going our separate ways, our friends stayed back in Munich city center to enjoy a bit more of the day while we headed out to the suburb of Dachau to visit the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. We lucked out with a wonderful tour guide that really gave us an in depth look at what went on at that particular camp and helped us to remember a little of our European history classes from back in high school. Dachau was not an extermination camp, but rather a labor camp and is most well known for being the model for which most all other concentration camps were built. It was in fact such a model camp that at one point in time the Nazis were so bold as to even bring in representatives from the Red Cross and other such organizations and show them how "good" the conditions were for these prisoners. In reality they only introduced them to the Catholic Priest prisoners who were kept in the best physical condition of all and even hosted them with festival type camaraderie when they came to see the camp.

Entrance gate with quote "Work makes you free"

Inside the concentration camp

View of some of the sleeping barracks in the camp

While it was a bit difficult to bring to life the horror that existed at the camp while we visited on a beautiful 60 degree day, we still managed to get a feeling. From learning that some 200,000 people were prisoners of the camp and 40,000 of them died. It was frightening to think that this was an extremely low death rate for a labor camp. We learned and saw the differences of treatment that various "types" of prisoners received (homosexual vs Catholic priests vs Eastern European). Jewish people were not sent to Dachau as they were sent straight to extermination camps. Perhaps one of the most chilling details I learned during our tour was in regards to what these prisoners did for their "labor." I guess I had never really thought what they did on a daily basis, but it was disheartening to find out that they were sent into the town of Dachau to work in many of the factories and there they worked directly alongside non-prisoners. Yet, somehow the townspeople continued to go on with their daily lives believing the propaganda and ignoring what they were seeing with their own eyes as these very sick, malnourished and abused people worked right alongside of them.

Row after row of where barracks once stood

Barbed wire perimeter

Sculpture meant to depict prisoners who chose to commit suicide by running and jumping into the barbed wire when they were being forced to stand still for hours on end during role call often for no specific reason.

Stories such as those I will surely not forget and I hope our world never has to witness such horror again. I was glad to hear that it is mandatory for all German students to visit concentration camps during their schooling years. It made me think about how learning about such events in our world's history out of books can make a small impact, but I only wish that all people have an opportunity to visit sights like this and see and feel it for themselves.

Feeling thankful to be able to visit such a place we were equally happy to be on our way to our next destination, which would not be nearly as heavy of subject matter. So we made the 1.5 hour drive into southwest Bavaria which is famous for two large castles (the King's Castles), most recognizable being the Neuschwanstein Castle, which is the castle that Walt Disney used as his model to build Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Arriving in the small town of Fussen in the early evening we decided to get a sneak peak at the castles while the weather was still beautiful as we didn't know what to expect the next day. Neuschwanstein Castle sits at the top of a large hill, of which during normal visiting hours, you have the choice to walk, take a bus, or horse drawn carriage to the top. Of course since these weren't running and we had a ticket to visit the inside of the castles in the morning we said we weren't going to hike all the way to the top, but just a little ways to get a few views. Yet somehow 40 minutes later we found ourselves not just at the castle, but having hiked even a little further up. The views were addicting, especially as the night was quiet with just a few other people meandering about the area. To say the Neuschwanstein Castle is impressive is an understatement.

Neuschwanstein castle from the Marienbrucke

Smiles over Bavaria!

Views from the Neuschwanstein castle

Dad and daughter admiring the castle

Marienbrucke... I was a little nervous to walk across it, but the views were worth it!

Happy with squeezing in an outdoor self tour in nice weather we got ready for our tour of the interior of the Neuschwanstein  and Hohenschwangau castles the following morning. It was not only interesting to see the inside of the castles but also learn a little about the different conditions the castles were built under, especially the fact King Ludwig II died mysteriously during the building of Neuschwanstein and much of the interior of the castle was never finished. However, in the areas that were finished there were certainly no details left to spare.

The Hohenschwagau Castle built by King Maximillian II

Taking a snooze break

More views of the Hohenschwagau castle

Walking, walking...

Enjoying one last nice Bavarian meal we headed back to Zurich on Monday afternoon feeling that we had quite a diverse weekend trip. I can only hope that 5, 10, or 20 years down the road we still remember quite a bit about trips like this one. And while we know Emma won't remember it, hopefully she will see photos and be more intrigued to learn about all the places her parents hauled her around to growing up!

Picture perfect

 

A whole lot of cheese & chocolate!

Since we didn't have any plans for a few weekends at the end of April we decided to take one Sunday and make a day trip to the village of Gruyeres. Although the entire country of Switzerland is known for it's cheese and chocolate, this village and surrounding region is really the heart of it. While it was a bit of a long day trip being two and a half hours away on the train, Emma was a good trooper as always.



Smiles to start our day!


The village of Gruyeres is exactly that, a small village. It is actually a medieval walled town complete with a castle that sits perched above the surrounding area on a small hill. It is best known for the famous brand of cheese it produces (Gruyeres cheese). We had a fun time exploring the village and the beautiful grounds of the castle and enjoyed a fantastic lunch of fondue and rosti (more or less the Swiss version of hash browns complete with a variety of fixings such as egg, cheese, ham, vegetables, etc). We both agreed it was probably the best fondue and rosti we have tasted while living in Switzerland, but I guess we should have expected no less seeing as to where we were eating lunch!



One of only two entrances into Gruyeres



Only one road in town!

Beautiful gardens at the castle

Steve enjoying the village walls

After enjoying a few hours in the village we continued just a short distance away to the very popular chocolate factory of Maison Callier. While Callier is a popular brand of chocolate in Switzerland, for many of us the more recognizable name that is a part of the same company is Nestle (Callier is much better though!). While there are several large chocolate companies and factories throughout Switzerland it may come as a surprise that few of them actually do tours and tastings (seems like a no brainer to me when it comes to making a few tourism dollars). As a result on a dreary Sunday afternoon Maison Callier was a very popular spot and meant we had to wait one and a half hours for our tour!

However, we were certainly not disappointed by what came after the wait! The tour was a little cheesy in parts (a bit more geared towards children), but what awaited us at the end sure came as a surprise. While we expected to receive a tasting of perhaps two or three pieces of chocolate we were instead welcomed into a room with samples of nearly every type of chocolate the Callier brand produced waiting for us to taste. And even more surprising was that it was unlimited samples. Steve and I both looked at each other and agreed this would never happen in the U.S.!

Seriously, as many as you want?! The photo doesn't look that impressive but there was a lot of chocolate here!

Needless to say, with our stomachs' full of cheese and chocolate for the train ride home, we considered the day a success. I certainly was glad I had gotten my run in that morning before we left home and we consumed those few extra thousand calories... still never ceases to amaze me how these Swiss people remain so skinny!

 

Saying goodbye to Gruyeres and one of Emma's favorites... black sheep!

Double Digits!

It's hard to believe that Emma hit double digits last month! As you've probably noticed based on previous blogs her month was full of traveling from Italy, to the most famous of the Swiss Alps, and Croatia there certainly was little downtime.

Everyday we see more of her personality develop as she enjoys finding ways to play games with us... from coughing after we cough to try and get us to do it again. To pretending to feed us her food only to take it away and eat it herself, she loves to make us smile and laugh, but I think we secretly love it even more! She also started playing peek-a-boo when she has a bowl or something similar to put over her head. And every time she pulls it down she's waiting there with a huge smile for you.

While we thought she might be a really early walker, things have slowed down as Emma has mastered the art of speed crawling.

Starting to practice her walking a little more

Her stubborness shows when you try to get her to walk and instead she sits right back down and won't move. There seems to be similar patterns of stubborness that have developed too between eating and sleeping. If eating is good one week it probably means her sleeping is a little off or she is being difficult to put down for naps and vice versa.

Her way of telling me she's not going to eat it

She always wants to share... "here mom, take my headband, I'm sure not going to wear it!"

Emma's become a very good problem solver trying to find her toys (or maybe a cat)

While she continues to make leaps and bounds in her development one area where she's certainly slow is getting teeth as we are still waiting to see her first one! Maybe by the time she turns one?!

Loving music class with her friends!

Last but certainly not least the little miss started saying dada just before turning 10 months old. Although we still aren't 100% sure if she understands what she's saying, if she doesn't yet understand it, she is very close!

It's easy to say our days only continue to become more active, if we're not out traveling or going for a hike Emma is "running" around our house leaving it looking like a tornado came through. But I couldn't love it more, clean and tidy houses are overrated right?