I am sitting here reading and writing surrounded by the most magnificent mountains, watching a hundred waterfalls cascade out of melting glaciers. Every once-in-a-while, I stop and try to count the amount of waterfalls but everytime I lose count. Occasionally I hear a fighter pilot practicing maneuvers somewhere in the sky and I strain my neck scanning the sky…trying to catch a glimpse of this elusive warrior. Now that may be an annoyance to many but to me, a lover of aviation, it is a fascination and it only added to the symphony of sounds accompanying my senses.

This is Gimmelwald and this is my second time here and, hopefully, not my last. Gimmelwald is a high mountain town in the cliffs of the Swiss Alps and only accessible by a gondola. It is a perfect launching pad for long day hikes in the Swiss Alps. We spent several days here just hiking through the Alps and relaxing on the porch, taking in the breathtaking scenery. It is a place where time slows to a crawl and your worries melt away. I just feel at home in the mountains and this is my home away from my beloved home in Colorado. The town of Gimmelwald is a small farming community with no grocery store and about two restaurants. Daily we would purchase fresh cheese, sausage and eggs from the local farmers. The Swiss do not mess around with their cheese as the cheese was aged for a full year at a specific altitude before they would allow it to be sold and consumed. It is probably the best cheese I have had in my life. Here is a picture of me with the farmer we would buy cheese from:

And the people here are lovely. They all speak English, well they all speak at least English, French and German. Their cities are spotless too and you can set your watch by their train system, which was a pleasant change from our train debacle through Spain and France. If you put all this in a pot, boil it together, it is the perfect mixture for a great place to visit. Oh yeah, throw in Interlaken too (at the base of the mountain that cradles Gimmelwald) and you’ve got the extreme sports capital of the world (or so they say).

Here are some of my favorite pictures:

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