Trip Log – Sunday, September 07, 2014
first full day – correct pictures coming soon
| Walked from hotel to the Ebenalp lift. But before that we had a delicious breakfast. Crusty Croissants and rolls. Meusli. Cold meat and cheese. Milk, orange juice. Dad liked the jelly. And whole milk. Real whole milk. The table was by the window, The grass here is so green it doesn’t look real. |  the plane |
| Then we went for a walk. First from the hotel to the Ebenalp lift along the babbling brook. |  the walk |
| Just missed the cable car. So we had to wait for the next one. Very crowded with people and parachutes. Clear blue skies with a nice breeze. After we got off the lift we walked to the Wildkichli (Church in a cave on edge of cliff) To get there we had to walk down hill through a twisty cave high up on the mountains. On one part of the trail they had a wooden pathway hanging over the edge. I did look down once and yes you could see through the slats.It was a long way down. |  the lift |
| Walked to a restaurant on the cliff edge but it was packed. So we continued on our trek. They had lots of rabbits in cages. Probably somebody’s lunch. Saw some rock climbers. A guy was flying a drone with a camera to get views of the valley and cliff. It crashed. Guess he needs towork on it some more. So far the hike is pretty good. Harder than a walk but not to bad. Walking along the mountain side. You could see villages below and a lake that was so clear you could see the bottom. There was a restaurant at the lake and there were alp horn players. the sounds drifted up the mountain so we could hear.. |  restaurant in the cliff |
| Took the long way instead of the switch backs along side the cliffs. We did have some steep sections and we had to walk slow. We saw 2 intelligent people wearing hats like dads. |  tough hike |
| Next restaurant along our trail looked like the Alp huts the herders use in the summer. We did not eat there but did get to see some goats up close and personal. |  next restaurant |
| After a nice rest it was time to continue on. You could see the next restaurant way up on the top of the mountain which was along our path. The hike was tiring and steep but doable. We took a detour up to mini peak where you could see the valleys on both sides of the mountain. |  goats |
| Then we hit the edge of the cliff. The trail was one and a half feet wide. rocky. steep. and very skinny. In parts they had cables to hold on to. Sometimes on both sides. Met a very energetic older lady that started talking to us. I told her in German that we did not speak German. She kept talking anyway. I think she either said she lived near the lake or was asking us if we walked from there. She went by and now we have to continue along the cliff edge. To far to go back. So we kept going. |  the cliff edge |
| Getting steeper and skinnier. They had a set of very steep metal stairs to get up one section of the cliff. At the top of the stairs you turned, grabbed onto 2 sets of cables and pulled yourself up onto some other steps. These were between 2 mountain peaks that came together. At the top of these steps we turned again and continued the rest of the way up the mountains. Still cables on one side, not the edge side, but against the mountain side but at least the trail was a little wider. But not much. |  the stairs |
| Finally made it up to the next restaurant but we could not eat here either. No cash. Dad and I forgot our ATM cards. Good thing some of the kids are coming in a few days so they can bring it. I thought this was the restaurant that you could see from the gondola in the beginning. Nope. We still have another 30 minutes to walk before we get back to the lift. While we are at the top resting we could see the clouds rolling in and covering the mountain top. The food looked amazing. Too bad. No cash. Since we could not see anything we headed to the gondola to take us down. Finally made it. |  next restaurant |
| While we were waiting to take the gondola back down we watched the para gliders take off. There were 10-15 of them waiting their turn. Why would anyone, in their right mind, willingly jump off a cliff? |  heading to safety |
| When we got to the bottom they have a place to walk in the stream to cool off your tired achy feet. I didn’t think dad would do it so I didn’t either. Went to the train station across the road and it was going to be 20 minutes before the train arrived.. So we decided to walk. At least that kept us awake. |  At the bottom |
| Walked up the hill to the hotel. Cleaned up. Had supper. Went to sleep. |  back at the hotel |
Fitbit totals at end of day are as follows
- Steps: 21,518
- Flights of stairs: 209
- Miles: 9.27