Hiking in the Swiss Alps

Can you beat this view?  This was the start of our hike!

I think this was my favorite day of any vacation!  I took over 600 pictures today because every where I looked there was a beautiful view!  We started out in Horgen with Simon and his family and took the train to Linthal-Braunwaldbahn and from there transferred to a cable car that went up the mountain to Braunwald at 4,120 feet (top picture is this view).  Then we walked a bit further and took another cable car even further up the mountain to Grotzenbühl (5,114 feet).  The very top cable car (that goes to 6,236 feet) wasn't opened yet for the summer because it may still snow up there!

View of Zurich Lake as we are on the train going toward the high mountains

First Cable Car up the Mountain

 

Walking over to the second cable car.

The view from the top of the highest cable car.

Panoramic view of the Alps as we hiked.

 I mean, who can beat this view!  This is what our whole hike looked like.  It is the most amazing view I have ever seen.  It was perfect weather-wise (sunny, but not too hot).  The view was wonderful and everything was great (except for my lack of stamina due to being out of shape and eventually David's legs as we had to hike down about 2,000 feet in a very short time).

This is where we ate lunch!

 After hiking for an hour or so we came to a mountain restaurant.  They raise goats there on the mountain and use their milk to make their own cheese and goat sausage.  We had both for lunch, along with a barley mountain soup, and several more types of Swiss sausage.  You know this must be a happy place for me to eat when there is a salad that is called a cheese salad and all that is in it is cheese, sausages, and salad dressing.  No veggies!

Another view from the hike, with a field of dandilions. 

Another panoramic view of the mountains and our group (I tended to lag behind because I was constantly taking pictures)

This is David and me walking up to the mountain lake that we were headed to (it is just over the green ridge).

Some of the pretty mountain flowers

This is all of us (except Simon who is taking the photo).

The mountain lake we hiked to.  The kids are down on the edge, but they are tiny in this photo.

Some of the Swiss cows that were pastured up there.  They actually do have bells around their necks that you can hear all over the hillside.

This is how well their trails are marked.  For my family in Eastern Oregon -- can you believe that?  Signs with directions, trail markings, distances, and even elevation (around 4,885 feet by the lake)

This is the cable car we took back down.  I would have taken pictures from it, but we crammed 15 people in a car meant to hold 8, so Erin was on my lap and I couldn't move!  Thus ended our wonderful adventure.  I hope you enjoy the photos!  Look on Facebook for a few more that Simon took and posted!