9/22

Today we went for a hike in the Alps!

Expectations:	Reality:
People in Laderhosen. Echoes of yodeling ring through the hills. Goats. Bells. Those really long horn things.	Attractive people in Laderhosen coolly leading cows through town. Not a single attempt at yodeling. Sheep.
Scattered snowdrifts, crystal clear skies, wildflowers.	Rain. Fog. …Rain.
Possible direct contact with Abominable Snowman.	Eight attempts to pronounce “abominable” followed by silence.
Best hot chocolate in the world.	An ounce of warm milk and a packet of powdered cocoa for 3.50
Refreshing nature hike.	120 kids trudging up a mountain in the rain. Various sicknesses. Near-death experiences. A million awkwardly humiliating trips, slips, and falls. Running mascara. Fear of heights…Odors.
Warm clothes to change into when we got back to the buses.	The only person other than Annelie who thought to bring a dry change of clothes. Mother you should be so very proud.
Lots of rocks, scattered green.	Lots of green, scattered rocks.

Haha I know it sounds bad, but the hike was actually a lot of fun. We rented a couple buses for the day and drove into Switzerland and up the scary wet potentially deadly winding mountain road (headlines about Bode students dying in the alps ran through my mind on several occasions) to our starting point. The view during this trip was stunning. The sky was cloudy up high but clear down low with sunbeams streaming in on the valley below and it was all just gorgeous.

During the hike itself, Steph wasn’t feeling too great, so Annelie and I took it slow with her most of the time, which actually ended up being better anyways because we got to enjoy the surroundings more. We started with a tough upwards climb through the forest, then it flattened out into a valley of rolling green hills with scattered old-fashioned mountain cottages (reminded me of Heidi or Wee Sir Gibbie) surrounded by huge rocky crags peeking through thin mist.

We reached our halfway point at a little shallow lake with blue water like from glaciers and had lunch. Several of the guys went swimming even though it was freezing cold. It started to rain pretty hard, so we finished eating under umbrellas (Annelie and I were the only two smart enough to bring umbrellas. We were pretty much destined to be friends.) and continued on for the second half of the hike, which took us into the forest again under pouring rain. The path, basically a series of steps taking switchbacks up the mountain, turned into a little muddy river.

We kept a steady pace up the side of the mountain, coming out of the forest to a clearing with a giant rock wall coming up on our left (so perfect for rock climbing), and a cliff on our right. Into the wall, people had built a couple barns with giant rabbits, pigs and chickens. Also, there was a restaurant that smelled like American breakfast (which I just realized probably used the animals…sort of sad), and a little tiny church with a bell on the outside, an altar like what I described in the last post, and then pews and one of those things that the preacher preaches from that’s called something I forget… Someone said they’d love to get married there. Someone else said it would make a nice spot for a funeral. One of the guys said “what’s the difference?” Haha, typical=P

We climbed through the mountain inside of a naturally lit cave and the view after we got through that was incredible (it had stopped raining for a little bit and the fog cleared for about 5 minutes of great pictures overlooking the little Swiss valley town and beautiful mountains).

After that, we came to a hilltop and hiked up in sideways drenching rain underneath the cables of the gondola that we all had sworn we weren’t going to pay to take us down before we started hiking. This last stretch probably took about eight years. I’m not in too bad of shape and it was tough for me. I don’t know how some of these kids made it, but everybody did!

The hateful monopoly of a business at the top sold cocoa for 3.50 and coffee for 4.20 and wouldn’t let us inside unless we bought something. Craziness. We spent probably 45 minutes inside, sopping wet, freezing cold, enjoying our cocoa, before a group of energetic guys started their insane running caravan down the mountain. Our little gang took the gondola for 10 Euros I didn’t want to spend, but I told myself I had to ride on a Swiss gondola before I left so I didn’t have to feel lazy :P (Just for honesty’s sake, Steph walked down even though she felt sick. She makes me feel slightly less awesome than I want to.)

I’m glad I took the gondola because I’m dead now. Everybody’s legs are like jello. True soreness will set in tomorrow and I’m sure it’s gonna be awful, but I’m really glad I hiked. It’s a great feeling to actually have worked out hard for the first time since soccer ended last year. I’m really happy to be back in the warmth and dryness of Bode now though, and probably won’t feel the urge to hike in the alps again for another eighteen years.


Hosea 2:19-20
New International Version (NIV)
19 I will betroth you to me forever;
    I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
    in love and compassion.
20 I will betroth you in faithfulness,
    and you will acknowledge the Lord.