September 26, 2014--Day 14--Friday: Murren, Trummelbach Falls, and Interlaken

I swear, Dad planned this trip from pretty to prettiest. Everywhere we went, we were blown away and thought, "THIS is our new favorite!"

Switzerland may seriously have trumped everything we'd done so far.

Friday, Dad took us to one of his favorite places in the world. We got up early and ate a typical delicious European breakfast at our hotel headquarters down the street. Then we left Interlaken and went to a town called Lauterbrunnen. It's in a narrow mountain valley in the shadow of the Jungfrau--the highest mountain in Europe. The cliffs surrounding the valley have 70 waterfalls. It was beautiful.

But that wasn't our final destination. In Lauterbrunnen, we caught a tram to go up the cliffs. We got separated again in transit. The tram wasn't supposed to leave until 9:55AM, so we were in line at 9:45 and Ashley wanted to run back to the car for something. As soon as she was gone, the tram driver opened the gate for boarding. Dad thought we still had 10 minutes before take-off, so eh ran out of line to get Ashley but sent the rest of us on in. No sooner had we boarded than the gate was closed and we headed up the mountain without Dad and Ashley! We freaked out a little, especially when we passed over the parking lot and saw Dad freaking out with Ashley nowhere to be found.

But we enjoyed the train as much as we could. It was a beautiful ride up this sheer cliff, with waterfalls and glacial peaks all around us.

The train dropped us off in a cliff town called Gimmelwald, and there we waited for the next tram to come up with Dad and Ashley. The Swiss guard lady got irrupted with us for not leaving the station, but we refused to budge. Twenty minutes later, the next tram came up and there were Dad and Ashley waving at us from the front window. We were so relieved to see them.

Reunited, we got on another tram to take us farther up the cliff to a town called Murren. It was SO PRETTY. I don't know why or how people built a village so high up a sheer mountain face but I'm so glad they did. It had the most breathtaking view, and it's really become a little resort town. The buildings were big and well-kept, and most of them seemed to be hotels and restaurants. It was still really quaint, though. Lots of goats and cows with very loud bells around their necks.

We just walked along the cliff for a long while, looking down into the valley or across at the magnificent mountains. We had fun watching paragliders taking off from a hill right behind us.

A short hike through the woods took us to an amazing panoramic view of the valley and mountains, and you can guess how many pictures Sarah and Ashley took of us.

We got a bratwurst and sandwich lunch and ate it on the hill outside of town directly under the paragliders' take-off spot. It was so beautiful and serene, we could have happily stayed there all day.

But by then we were pretty tired, so we headed back down on the tram at around 2:00PM. Going down, the tram was way crowded, and Dad just had to tell us a story about a tram line breaking and killing all the passengers. At one point the tram seemed to just be free falling, so my stomach plunged, and it lasted long enough for me to start panicking and praying not to die. Sometimes I hate being afraid of heights.

Once we were on the ground again, we headed just a little way down the canyon to Trummelbach Falls. It's this huge waterfall inside a cave. It has ten different levels--like it cascades into a series of 10 pools. We took a lift up to the 5th level, then hiked like a million stairs up this cave system to the very top of the waterfall. It was cold and misty and there was little light besides some floodlights, but it was incredible. Oh, and loud. Waterfalls are already loud, but put one in a cave, and it roars. It was epic. Ashley and I thought it was something straight out of a movie, so we soon found ourselves "sword fighting" with our water bottles on the spiral stairways, with caves and waterfalls as our backdrop. And we had a blast doing it.

But really by then we were unbelievably tired, so we took a pretty drive back to Interlaken and took power naps in our hotel.

After that we went to the grocery store and grabbed dinner there, then took it to another tram, but this time up the mountain to a restaurant directly above our hotel. It wasn't really a tram--more like a railcar that just went straight up through the trees. We had a front-row seat, so we got to see all of Interlaken open up to our view. Sarah said it was her favorite train ride so far. But she just had to say "This would be a really fun roller coaster ride if we just plunged all the way back down." Thanks. A lot.

But up at the top we had a great view for dinner. And there was one of those glass overlook patios by the restaurant, so we got to see so much of Interlaken from above. It was amazing.

When we got back to the bottom of the mountain, we walked along the turquoise river that connects the two lakes, drove around a bit, then went home to watch a movie and chill.

We were happily exhausted and we'd seen enough mountaintops to be satisfied for the rest of the trip.

September 25, 2014--Day 13--Thursday: Neuschwanstein

Neuschwanstein Day was awesome.

We all woke up at 6:30 to get ready and leave the house by 8:00, with all of our luggage repacked. We were pretty tired, but we were pumped to hike up to Neuschwanstein. We each wore like five layers to keep off the chill and we had our hiking shoes on.

We thought it wouldn't be too crowded yet, but even though we got there at 8:00 and it was drizzling rain, the area was alive with tourists and vendors. We fell in love with the hills and mountains around the two castles even before we got to see them up close. It was a gorgeous environment, and Neuschwanstein is glorious even when you just look up at it from the valley floor.

In full-fledged, no-nonsense hiking mode, we ignored the souvenir shops and started up the path to the castle.

Then we passed carriages drawn by huge draft horses, and Dad rubbernecked. We didn't even have to say anything--he just doled out the cash and bought us all a seat in the carriages. We didn't really mind that all our hiking preparation wasn't used, we just enjoyed traveling to the castle in true Disney princess style.

It made the ascent much quicker and easier, and we really enjoyed looking out at the thick green forest and chatting with the Chinese group sharing the carriage with us.

Those hardcore draft horses got us to the castle in no time. They were so sweaty at the end that steam was rising off of their coats. We thanked the driver, said goodbye to our new Chinese friends, and went to see the castle up close.

Even just the exterior was beautiful, and the view was out of this world. The light rainclouds made the mountains so close by look magnificent. The Salzburg fortress was cool up on the hill, but Neuschwanstein is just majestic on its forested mountain hilltop. We couldn't take photos fast enough.

The carriage got us up there just in time for an English tour through the finished rooms of the castle. Not even half of the castle was completed even after 17 years of construction, because each room was given so much attention and the king, Ludwig, died before it could be finished. Luckily, though, the castle was almost immediately turned into a museum, so everything has been preserved.

We met a girl named Clair who was traveling alone, and she came with us on the tour (look at us making travel buddies!). We weren't allowed to take photos in the castle itself (GRR!) so I'll just have to describe it as best as I can.

First we had to club a long spiral staircase up to the floor that had the servants' quarters. They looked like nice little apartments! I totally wouldn't have minded being a servant if I could work in Neuschwanstein.

What we saw on the top level only made me wish even more that I could live there. As if the surrounding landscape and intricate outside architecture weren't enough, King Ludwig designed the most beautiful castle interior. I never imagined it could be so stunning.

We started in King Ludwig's throne room. The throne itself was never built, but I can only imagine how amazing it was going to be to match the rest of the room. It had windows on the back and side wall, letting sunlight shine on the gold accents in the room light up like flame. Every bit of the room was ornate. EVERYTHING. The walls and ceiling had colorful paintings of Biblical scenes, with a painting of Jesus Christ standing above the dais where the throne would have been.

Overhead was a huge chandelier so tall that had it fallen, I could have stood right under it and had the cone shape surround me and not be harmed. And it was so wide, it might have gone around me even if I were sprawled out on the ground. The chandelier had saints worked into it, and colorful glass to resemble gems. Even the floor was beautiful, with millions of tiny tiles making a "Circle of Life" kind of scene on the floor--a huge ring of plants and animals of every variety.

After gaping up at everything in there for a while, our German tour guide took us to King Ludwig's bed chamber. It was the most amazing bedroom I've ever seen. It was both cozy and stunning. The lower half of the walls was all beautiful dark wood panels carved with nature designs. The upper walls had gorgeous paintings forming a series that depicts Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde." Apparently Ludwig was a HUGE fan of Wagner's operas and actually dedicated Neuschwanstein to Wagner. Oh, and Ludwig LOVED swans. There were swan motifs everywhere--in the paintings, in the woodwork, on the fabrics, and in ceramic. But anyways, Ludwig's bed was a little four-poster with gothic cathedral towers on the top. I mean, really. Stunning elaborate woodwork.

The wood panels on the walls disguised doorways. We never would have spotted the door to the water closet had the guide not pointed it out. There was also a door to a little private chapel that had a beautiful altar and stained-glass windows. There was also a window seat behind thick curtains--not really hidden but it looks like the best reading spot of all time. The whole room in general is dark and enclosed and beautiful--the perfect hidey-hole. It's so sad that Ludwig only got to live there 100 days before he died.

Next was the king's dressing room, dining room, and living room. They were similar in style to the bedroom, with dark wood accents, incredible swan-themed fabrics, and Wagner stories painted around the ceilings.

Ludwig was so obsessed with Wagner that he had a cave room made near his living room. It was a legit fake cave in this otherwise-refined castle, complete with a little table and chair by the little window letting in the only light. The more I saw of this guy's castle, the more I liked him!

Especially when we saw the concert hall. In there was the only evidence that Ludwig designed and owned the castle--his coat of arms. The guy didn't want any images of himself anywhere in the building, because it should all be about Wagner. How amazing is that??

Also, the concert hall itself was amazing. It had huge windows along two walls looking out at the mountains. The ceiling was peaked and there was a balcony along the wall opposite the windows, and everything was decked out with Wagner and nature. I would love to attend a concert up there someday! It would be fantastic!

We could have stayed and explored all day, but alas. The tour guide took us down through the unfinished second floor, through a beautiful castle kitchen with bronze pots and pans of all shapes and sizes and finally to an exit gift shop.

What I took from the tour was that castles are amazing, Ludwig was kind of awesome, and if I can't live there myself, I'm totally gonna write a fairytale and use that castle for inspiration.

We exited the castle and parted ways with Claire, then hiked around to this bridge that spans the valley behind the castle. It was kind of cold and the bridge gave me vertigo, but it was worth it. The view was...well I kind of feel like I'm running out of adjectives. Stupendous? Amazing? Beautiful. And awesome. Those words all still apply so well, even if I repeat them so much. We took a million photos up there, until we had to make way for other tourists so much that we were eventually just shuffled off the bridge again.

On our way back down the hill (on foot this time), we passed a vendor selling hot chocolate in souvenir mugs, along with a piece of cake. It was so great. Totally hit the spot, and we got free Neuschwanstein mugs!

After that, we made our way to Swizerland!!! Our last leg of the journey! It was a long drive, but we listened to all of my classical music playlist, and had a truly epic game of "Would You Rather...?" There were so. Many. Tunnels on the drive, which made it hard to see some views, but also meant that when we could see views, there were no ugly highways scarring the landscape. It was an amazing drive. So many waterfalls, and they have villages built right up at the top of cliffs. No idea how they got established up there but it looks amazing!

We were staying in Interlaken for the next three nights, and we all loved it there. It's right by a huge lake, surrounded by Alps, with hang gliders overhead all the time. We stayed in this cute house, in an upper-level apartment. It was like a modern cabin--lots of light woods and rafters and huge windows. There was plenty of space (I had my own room!) with a kitchen and big living room, and heated tiles in the bathroom! I love it.

By then we were starving, so we looked up a good restaurant nearby. It turned out to be a super expensive but super delicious steakhouse just down the road. We got tons of meat, hash browns, soup, and bread. It was probably the best steak I've ever had. SO. GOOD. We all went home happy and stuffed. It was a great day.