| Family Travels The Swiss Alps |
| From the valley there are two sets of mountain ranges accessible. Take day trips to both. The Schilthorn excursion is a great morning/breakfast activity-- You can leave directly from the Gimmelwald gondola station-- leaving time in the afternoon for a valley hike The Jungfrau trip begins from the Lauterbrunnen train station on the valley floor and is an all day trip....get an early start to avoid crowds...return trip home is usually standing room only |
| Taking the gondola from Gimmelwald to the top of Schilthorn is a wonderful experience. Buy a combination early bird ticket and have breakfast at the top of the world...at the Piz Gloria restaurant at 10,000 feet (also made famous in James Bond's Her Majesty's Secret Service. |
| ***Important*** Ask Walter how the weather is that morning...he is an expert at judging the clouds. If not, this will be your view the entire trip....not just a passing cloud as seen here. Same view...just five minutes later. |
| We are HUGE Rick Steves fans...and we could not believe our luck. A Photographer from his PBS tv show was on location filming. We introduced ourselves and actually were filmed having breakfast. We are celebrities....You can actually see us star (a three second shot) of our family on his Switzerland Show. |
| Spend a Day at the Top of the World! Take a train from the Lauterbrunnen station, pass incredible scenery, hold on as your cog train ascends to 11,000 feet. It's a playground at the top of the world. We had a very memorable picnic...sitting right on the glacier. The sky was incredibly blue. And it was warm...Check out the picture of the kids sledding..some people are in shorts |
| Erica, Amanda and Daddy climb the mountain and zip line across the crevass. |
| Sledding is free! |
| Husky rides! |
| Our Picnic Spot at 11,000 feet. |
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| Dates Visited -- 1990, 2002, 2009 |
| Amanda spontaneously throws open her arms and innocently announces that ... "The Swansons Invade the Swiss Alps" How Perfect. --Dad |
| The trip to the Schilthorn was one of the most memorable. When we were up there, scenes from the James Bond movie were playing in my head. --Brent, age 11 |
| The zip line was so much fun. It wasn't scary at all...it kind of felt like you were flying ---Amanda, Age 6 Fearless Adventurer |
| 2009 Visit Our Day at the Top of the World |
| Global Warming? You decide. |
| Schilthorn Above: 2002 Right: 2009 |
| Snow and Ice that have been abundant for years ... is now melting and the Piz Gloria's future is unsure as the permafrost is unstable Conservation efforts involving white plastic sheeting to shield the permafrost is not working |