European Vacation

We will be heading to Heidelburg, Germany today.

Before leaving Interlaken, Switzerland we went to check out some waterfalls that the clerk at our hotel told us about. They are called Trummelbach Waterfalls which are a series of 10 glacial waterfalls, actually inside a mountain. When we arrived there,we took a "lift" to the higher falls and we walked or "hiked".

I wish you could hear the loud gushing sound and feel the cool spray on your face as the falls tumbled down.

There were many stairs to climb to go to each viewing area, but the trek was worth it.

We were walking through huge caves to see the falls. And lights shone on some of the falls.

One falls was called a corkscrew because it twisted around the rocks below. Fantastic to see.

I love unplanned adventures especially when they're as beautiful as this.

Near the entrance of the falls there was a flower garden and I just had to take a picture of these flowers. See the ones hat look like thistles? They were the prettiest delicate mauve colour. Gotta stop and smell the flowers as the saying goes!

We made a stop at Grindelwald, Switz. to take pictures of Jungfrau Mountain which is the 3rd highest mountain of the Bernese Alps. 4,158 m Is this gorgeous or what?

This is some of the scenery as Michael drove ........ little rapids in a flowing river, mountains in a peaceful setting, and church steeples in every community. Ahhhh

City of Bern ... so picturesque.
We took a side trip to Bern, which is the capital of Switzerland, to see the Bern Bear Pit which Alicia had gone to see while she was here. There were 3 brown bears that we saw roaming around in a protected area.Neat to see.

Our views changed gradually as we left the mountains and headed into Germany. Goodbye Switzerland, goodbye Swiss Alps. And it's interesting to note that when we crossed over into Germany, there was no customs, no stopping, just sailed right through.

We were driving on the Autobahn which is a highway like the 401. However there is no speed limit unless posted in certain areas. Sometimes if there is a traffic problem speed signs will light up to control the traffic until it is moving smoothly again. Otherwise you drive along at speeds from 120 km to whatever ..... 150,160 or faster. And it goes so smoothly.

Stopped at a service center along our way. Would you believe in the ladies' washroom there were spinning toilet seats? When it was flushed, the seat would spin and get sanitized. Aren't you glad I shared that with you?

Also in the parking lot outside there was a really unique tree. It looked like a "pinecone" tree. Always new things to see.

We arrived in Heidelberg at 6:45 pm and booked into the Villa Marstall Hotel. Tom & I had a balcony room with windows which overlooked the river. Very nice. The pillow cases were monogrammed and we had a bear skin rug! Very beautiful hotel.

Heidelberg is very pretty and touristy with some very narrow streets that cars drive on. It's quite something to see with outdoor cafes and shops lining the streets and cars passing through.

We went for dinner at a German outdoor cafe facing the Neckar River and Car Theodor Old Bridge. Very picturesque. As we sat, I just looked around me, breathing in the beauty of the moment, and being able to share all this with Sandy & Michael. Looking forward to experiencing a German meal, and relaxing as we toasted each other in one more country.

Entrance of the "Old Bridge"

Picture of Heidelberg Castle taken from the Old Bridge. Beautifully lighted to show it's ancient splendor.

Afterwards we took pictures on the bridge and strolled the streets. At one point w had to hug a building so we wouldn't get our toes run over as a car drove down the street.
It was such a nice walk and so pretty at night with the cobblestone streets, outdoor cafes with people sitting at tables with white tablecloths, flowers, candles, sipping on tall glasses of beer or smaller glasses of wine........somewhat like Venice and Rome but different. I still can't get over how long people take for their meals ......... sitting for a couple of hours after eating just sipping on wine and talking. I think I LIKE it!

This morning we had breakfast at the hotel and look what I saw among the greenery next to our table?

I think it's a good sign. The angels are taking care of us!

Interesting note: at most breakfast tables they put some kind of plastic container which is for us to put our garbage in. Smart, eh?

Next we took a taxi into the town of Zermatt to get a closer look at The Matterhorn.... one of the highest peaks in the Alps 4,478 m high and is on the border between Switzerland and Italy.

As we were walking we saw this herd of black & white goats going way up the side of a hill with a herdsman.

Zermatt is a very busy little town. We saw many hikers and I'm sure it is quite busy with skiers in the winter time. There are many shops and restaurants/cafes.

There are no private vehicles but a lot of these kinds of trucks delivering goods. There are many bikes too. People seem to manage quite well in spite of the hilly streets. I think they must be in better shape than me.

Many flower boxes adorn the fronts of buildings which look so pretty. Sandy loved this building

We had to walk on a very steep street up to the Matterhorn. I was amazed at the gardens in the backyards of peoples homes. There was a gentleman working in his beautiful garden as we passed by

This is the water that flows through town and leads to a gorge.

THE MATTERHORN

It's amazing how the look of the Matterhorn changes as clouds form around it.

We got up to the viewing area and there was a small "park" with a couple of benches. Tom & I sat and just watched the mountain as the clouds moved around it changing the view, and watched people hiking up to different trails. It was such a peaceful setting.

Back in town Tom got himself a veal sausage. They serve them BIG here.LOL
Interesting thing is they do not put the sausage on a bun but serve it with a hunk of bread. We all had a taste. Very good!

Can you imagine para-sailing in this area? We saw this on our way out of Zermatt. Michael thought this looked like a fun thing to do.

We are now traveling to our next destination: Interlaken, Germany. Below is a train that we rode on with the car! Michael had to drive the car onto the train ... it had open sides but with a roof over top. It was 18 km ride in a tunnel through the mountain. Awesome experience.