We are back from an incredible trip to Europe, and I'm finally going to write about it! I was very motivated to share photos and an itinerary when we returned, but the days have been busy. I've been wondering how I do what I'm doing now - taking care of kids, the house, etc - with a full-time job... but there's at least a month left before I'm forced to remember, thank goodness!
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| The view from our Airbnb in Grindelwald - incredible! |
We piggybacked a trip to Switzerland on to the Brinkman family Holland holiday, and it was fantastic. We took an overnight flight from Toronto to Amsterdam and then connected to Basel, Switzerland where we picked up our rental car on the French side at the airport, which saved us a big chunk of money (as opposed to renting from the Swiss side). Next up was a two(ish)-hour drive to Grindelwald, and we were all ready to arrive after what felt like a long (but smooth) day of travel. The Airbnb we stayed in was great - the views were almost unreal, it was next to a beauty outdoor pool, and we were able to walk everywhere. The afternoon we arrived we walked up to the grocery store and stocked up on breakfast and lunch goods, and then picked up a roast chicken and some potatoes from a street stall on the way back. We were just talking about how good that meal was (yesterday maybe) - Steve thinks it might be his favourite of the whole trip! Thanks to the chicken vendor guy on the main street leading up to town. I did quite a bit of research on what activities we should do with two full days here, and I was definitely second-guessing myself after reading about how touristy and busy it is in Grindelwald, but this isn't what we experienced. Maybe it's because we didn't stay in a hotel, and we decided against some of the popular activities at
Grindelwald First; we had a great experience here! On our first full day there we took to gondola up to Grindelwald First (no lineups) and some of us did the big thrill walk, while others were quite happy to stay on solid ground! The walk to Bachalpsee Lake was uphill and a bit busy (just a bit), so we had to deal with some complaining and grumpiness, but it all evaporated as we continued on with a walk towards the second station (Bort - I think). This walk was probably the highlight of the Swiss part of our trip - there were waterfalls, incredible views, wildflowers and no one complained. We walked down to one of the intermediate stations where the kids had a great time at the playground. I don't really remember the rest of the day, but we had great meals at the Airbnb and everyone was happy to put their feet up after a long-ish walk down the mountain. Our second full day was quite cloudy, so after some indecision we decided to proceed with plans to head up to
Mannlichen where the views were completely obscured by thick clouds BUT the silver lining was another incredible playground that entertained all of our kids for close to 2 hours (and we had to pry them away). The playgrounds put our plastic and predictable structures to shame (there were even in-ground mini-trampolines... so fun!). We made it to a second playground with a fun flying fox and then got in another walk and another put-your-feet-up evening before our last night in Grindelwald. The next morning Alana and Jordan swam at the picturesque outdoor pool before we hit the road for Gruyeres.
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| At the playground at Mannlichen |
We took some secondary roads (route here) to get to Gruyeres and the views were spectacular. The kids fought like crazy, so that spoiled things a bit, but we made it! We checked into a hotel right in the centre of the old town and met up with Steve's cousin Anita and her son Samuel to check out the castle. We went to Moleson that evening where we devoured a cheese board and some salami before hitting up the mountain coaster for some non-stop fun. Everyone slept well that night in our top-floor family room, and we had a delicious breakfast at the hotel restaurant the next morning: fresh croissants and pain au chocolat, fresh bread, a selection of cheeses, fruit, yogurt... it was deLISH!! And then, the reason we went to Gruyeres - the cheese! We went to La Maison du Gruyeres where we watched the first parts of the cheesemaking process and learned all about one of our favourite cheeses! When we signed in they handed us a little tray of old, medium, and young cheese, so got to nibble away as we watched and then wandered through the museum. We enjoyed fondue on the patio after our tour, and then made our way back up to Basel for a visit to a very busy outdoor pool complex in the city before heading across the border to Germany for dinner. We relied heavily on Google Translate to help us with the menu, but nothing could help us with the stoic and borderline unfriendly (typical?) demeanor of our German server. She was defintely not impressed with me buying water from the gas station instead of ordering a fourth bottle of overpriced water (ha!). Anyways, we overnighted close to the airport in France and had a smooth flight back up to Amsterdam the next morning where we were greeted by Gramps at arrivals. Yay! Hoping I can get to a Holland post soon!
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| fondue at La Maison du Gruyeres - yum! |
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| watching the cheesemaking process :) |
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| on the walls of the old town in Gruyeres |
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| arches into Gruyeres |
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| views from the castle - so beautiful |
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| eating at Moleson - we were so hungry! |
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| in the castle - the kitchen :) |
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| one of the only family photos of the trip |
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| We went for a walk through a gorge on our way to Gruyeres - it was beautiful! |
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random stop on our way to Gruyeres
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| so many walking options and routes! |
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| harmony & a break from driving |
