The other day Pascal, Terri, Dan and I took the hour long train ride from Thun to the Canton of Valais, Switzerland to go for a hike in the Alps. Adriana is fighting a cold so she stayed home and rested so everyone is healthy for Greece (we leave tomorrow).
The weather in Valais was beautiful, and sitting a little South of the Canton of Bern it's normal for it to be a little more warm there. Pascal has done this particular hike before, so we felt comfortable that our Swiss Sherpa would guide us well on our approximately 8 mile hike.
Our route took us by several waterfalls, train bridges, breathtaking views of valleys and alps, and the path was paved with wild flowers in early summer bloom. About the halfway point there was a small restaurant for hikers to sit on the picnic tables outside, so we stopped for a bit and had a beer. We all got a good belly laugh when Dan was trying unsuccessfully to communicate with an older Swiss woman as he was trying to explain that she needed a bathroom key he had in his hand to enter the toilette around the back of the restaurant on the trail. As he finally handed her the key with a confused look on her face, her table of other Swiss hikers referred to Dan as "Forrest Gump" under their breath that Dan overheard. He was pretty offended, but took it in good cheer. Needless to say, Dan has a new nickname for the rest of our vacation. :-)
After some more hiking Pascal surprised us by pulling out a bottle of wine, crackers, cheeses and meats from his backpack and we took a much needed break at an outcropping with stone tables overlooking a beautiful valley. Talk about a great way to dine al fresco!!
We ended the hike at a small hotel owned by a wonderful Canadian man and his beautiful Swiss wife who said they don't see too many Americans there, and they chatted with us for quite awhile before we jumped on the train back to Thun where Adriana had her delicious homemade lasagna waiting for us! Another epic day.
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