The Heaven of Gimmelwald

Author's Note:  Check out the Photo Album tab, and check back for ore on Gimmelwald!

There is a saying quoted by Rick Steves in his travel book where he writes about the alpine hamlet I visited today: "If heaven isn't all it's cracked up to be, take me back to Gimmelwald."

And, indeed, it is an almost surreal place, untouched by time and even now, handled gingerly by it's current inhabitants as well as the visitors that seem to understnad that the beauty of the place is in it's lack of typical "tourist" trappings.

 

We visited here as a family eight years ago when Neil was 15, and had read about it as a quintessential Swiss village, that you can only reach by foot or tram, that had no through vehicular traffic, but more than it's share of manual hay harvesting, home-based cheese making, ancient looking chalets, steep but picturesque "Wanderweg"s, and stop-you-in-your-tracks views of the Jungfrau, Monch and Eiger.  Without my travelling companions, being there today was almost bittersweet, and it was hard not to be overwhelmed by the desire to have Barry and Neil with me.

I consoled myself with lunch and beer.  The other patrons of the British run Pension/Restaurant/Bar were all Americans, and it was only a matter of time before we realized that fact and were trading notes on where we were from, what we were doing there and where we were going next. The food was delicious, the company just enough to feel socialized but not intruded upon, the seenery beyond description. 





The weather was warm, sunny and bright.  The balance of my afternoon was spent leisurely walking the winding paths of the town, and endulging in almost an hour of simply lying in the grass next to a spot adjacent to one of the paths where benches had been placed to allow tired walkers to sit and take in the grandeur.  It was the ultimate relaxation spot, and it was not easy to finally rouse myself to continue my walking tour; but by that time, it was four in the afternoon, and the light was dimming enough to make picture taking easier.

So, I ended my day of travelling with the train ride back to Lauterbrunnen and then Interlaken where my Hotel on the river waited.