Swiss Miss(es) and Mister

Andy and I recently returned from an amazing vacation in Switzerland and Greece.  We knocked a few more places off of our bucket list, and enjoyed some long-overdue quality time together.  Turns out we still really like each other, so that's always good to know.  The first couple days of our trip were spent in the picturesque Alps.

View from the train stop at Wengen, the town in which we stayed while exploring.

One of the highlights of the trip was our train ride up to the Jungfraujoch.  It is the highest place in Europe that can be reached by train (11,782 ft.).  This is a view on our way up.

At a certain point the train tracks lead into a tunnel in the mountains, and you remain in this tunnel through to the top, with large window look-outs at two stops along the way.  This is one of those spots with a great view of the range.  

Requisite couple photo at the lookout

After this calm and loving picture, we hiked across the Aletsch Glacier to the Mönchsjoch Hut.  Unfortunately, I had flashbacks of our hike in Patagonia that has become a defining point in our marriage.  That hike four years earlier found me full-on monkey crawling up the gravel-ladened "path" on an 80 degree incline foothill in the Andes while the wind was blowing 150mph (stay with me here) and it was raining.  I was truly convinced it was the end for me, certain that with each new step forward/slide backwards I was going to bounce like a basketball to the bottom.  Because Andy had told me the hike would be no big deal, I blamed him for every gut-wrenching moment.  Not pretty.  Likely the darkest hour and a half of our marriage.  And our friend Kiersten had a front row seat to the whole exchange that spanned the range of expressions from deep belly laughter to whimpering tears.  I was now trudging up a steep snowy incline on a glacier in the thinest of air, struggling to breathe at times, and not always because of the lack of oxygen but also because of my nagging fear that with each step I might fall into a crevice and plummet to my death.  Unfortunately, Andy was once again the focus of my...attention.

Our destination finally in sight, I zipped my lips and put my mind to conquering my fears.

Was it worth it?  I don't know really.  Was it worth the change of underwear?  Ok, I kid.  But seriously, why do I keep doing things that scare me so much?  I think it is to stay young.  Yeah, let's go with that.  Plus, it gave Andy another chance to prove he was right that I could do it.  I like to throw those opportunities his way from time to time.

Climbers on Mönch

Look closely and you can see the Sphinx clutching the mountain in the foreground.  That is where the picture above of the two of us was taken.  It looked like something out of a Bond film really.

After exploring the mountain peaks, we hiked all up and down the lower mountains, and I felt like Heidi could appear at any moment.  She didn't, so I made Andy wear braids and run around with his arms spread wide.

The north face of Eiger before a cloak of clouds descended.  This was right before we accidentally took a cow path instead of a hiking path and kinda got lost.  I lived in the Tetons for three months and didn't get lost once.  There is definitely room for improvement in the cartography skills of the Swiss.

Luckily their architectural skills are far better.

It unfortunately rained the day we left, but it worked to get us in the mood for the (beastly) heat of Santorini.  Stay tuned!