There and back again...

Bryan was asked to speak at the AVANT All Europe Conference again. We were there in 2004. Of course we went again. Just be prepared... this post will have a ton of pictures. Enjoy. 

This is the view from the window of our room at the guest house where we stayed in Beatenberg, Switzerland. The peak to the left is Jungfrau. Which means either Little Maiden or Young Maiden. The mountain that Beatenberg is on is Neiderhorn. We arrived on Monday at about 8:30 p.m. and the sun was setting on the mountains. Beautiful.

When you look down out of our window you get a sense of how high up in the mountain we are from Interlachen. The town is built in a line along the side of the Neiderhorn. From up there you can see through the water in the lake to the bottom. So clear and beautiful.

This was a picture I took on Tuesday morning to show what Bryan did in the mornings while I wandered around the town and looked in the few little shops there. Study, but I just looked closer and realized he, in this picture, is looking at his skydiving photos! Well, he really did study for a couple hours each morning and afternoon.

One of the hundreds and hundreds of window boxes full of flowers and flags that you see up there. The flag on the left of course is the Swiss flag, the other one is the Bern flag, which would be the province they live in. The Beatenberg flag is actually the coolest. It is St. Beatus (he looks like Dumbledore) fighting a dragon. I didn't get a picture of that flag. 

Ok, Tuesday afternoon we had free because the conference hadn't started yet. Dawn Ebbers and Calvin Carr, from the Poland team, went to Interlachen with us and Bryan discovered this chocolate shop. The second we walked in we were assulted by the intense smell of chocolate and well, you can't just walk back out. So, Bryan bought a slab of chocolate with hazelnuts. Oh, man. We got addicted. We went back two more times that week. And Bryan doesn't really even like candy. The weather on Tuesday was beautiful and sunny and warm. 

I found these brooms sitting outside a store so I decided to pose with one in honor of Harry Potter. Only fans of the books would get that.

Dawn Ebbers, Calvin Carr and Bryan. The guys are watching people parasailing off the mountains. We were just waiting to catch our bus back up the mountain.

This little lady was just so Swiss looking. With her buckets of goat's milk. The weather on Wednesday and for the rest of the week turned very cool, cloudy and sometimes extremely rainy.

This is what I did while it rained and Bryan was in some meetings in the afternoon that I opted out of. Actually it doesn't look that bad out the window but it was pouring and the lake was actually visible in this photo but most of the time we were in the clouds and if you opened the window they rolled right into the room. Weird.

Here is a more accurate representation of the dense clouds on the mountain. To the right of the flag pole is three little boys going into the park. They just played out there and didn't even act like it was pouring and 50 degrees. It's their life. By the way that park goes straight down the side of the mountain. Kick the soccer ball too hard and well, time to buy another one.

Our days went like this: 

Breakfast at 7:30 Bryan goes to study, I figure out what to do for a couple hours so I don't disturb him. If it was nice out (two days) I went for walks. But when it was raining and cold I just hung out in the "green room" and read or did stuff that I brought.

Meeting at 9:15 Bryan spoke at 10:00-10:45

Break and Bryan went back to our room to study for the rest of the morning and I found things to do.

Lunch at 12:45

Siesta from 1:45 until 3:30 and they mean Siesta. Everything in town closes down.

Bryan went to afternoon meetings and I found stuff to do.

On Friday we had a free afternoon to do what we wanted. Jeff Petersen was there by this time and had rented a car so he, Calvin Carr, Bryan and I all took off in the rain for Trummelbach Falls. It is a waterfall that is inside a mountain. Pretty amazing. Jeff and Calvin had never been there so it was fun to show them. 

There are so many water droplets in the air that it is hard to get a picture without them. this is inside the mountain. Trust me there is a waterfall behind us. 

The water has cut away holes all the way from the top of the mountain to the valley. It is quite a hike (we did ride the elevator up most of the way up and then walked back down. This is near the top where the sun can shine down in the hole. 20,000 gallons of glaicer melt per second is going through this mountain. It is loud, wet and cold. But amazing.

Thought this would just give you a taste.

Bryan and I right next to that. 

After being in the cave we went up the mountain in a cable car to Murren, a town only accessible by cable car. This mountain climber man was in the cable car with us. He had pick axes in his hand but moved right as I took this. We loved the green hat and how he looked just like the pictures you see of Swiss mountain men.

Unfortunately, it was so cloudy that the mountains were in the clouds most of the time, but every once in awhile the clouds would lift and we would get a glimpse. 

While up there though, I did take a picture of a Swiss garden (they are pristine) for Ashley and Blake since they like to garden. 

This is taken from the cable car on the way down the mountain. Another of the many falls that are in that area. I think there are 10 huge ones just right around there. 

View of the valley from the cable car. This picture was taken when we were about halfway back down! Yes, we were that high up. Probably at the beginning about 2500 feet off the ground. No, I wasn't comfortable with that. Calvin took these with my camera while Jeff kept saying "Man, look down there, oh man that is so far." NOT helping, Jeff.

Then Calvin took a picture of me "enjoying the ride down" notice that I am looking up not down. 

When we came down off the mountain we went back into Interlachen and found a pizza place that Bryan and I had eaten at on Monday. It was amazing pizza. We had a great time just sitting at that place, outside, laughing and talking. The evening was very nice compared to the cloudy wetness of the day.

Jeff is finding pictures on his phone of another time that he had been in Murren because the views were amazing. At least that is what he told us, we never actually saw much more than the valley and clouds. We just gave him grief. Go to Switzerland and see the views on Jeff's phone! haha

Bryan and I at the pizza place.

On Saturday Bryan and I went into town after he spoke and just hung out, walked around, shopped and tried to stay dry. Of course we visited the chocolate shop for the third time. I did buy a goat bell and tell Bryan that I am getting a goat to put it on. He said "No". By the time we went to catch our bus it started pouring rain and we were ready to be dry and warmer.

 Of course Bryan had to study a lot but we did enjoy ourselves. I wish the weather would have been nicer. The last time I got to go on long walks everyday but this time it was just too rainy.

But we had a great time.

It is hard to describe the sound of the cow and goat bells ringing in the mountains. Constant background music and it just fits. The church bells ringing every hour and half hour out across the valley, the musical bus horn honking as it comes around the switchback curves up the mountain. And the peacefulness of opening the window to cool mountain air. Waking up under a down comforter and having a cold breeze blow in through that window and remember that it is August and you are in Switzerland.