When you don't have WIFI internet access handy, you just kind of forget about the fact that the rest of the world still exists. There are a few internet cafes in town, but you only get internet access on their terminals, have no way to get photos uploaded onto the web, and pay more than I am willing to part with. So, I am doing the restaurant thing again and this will be the last post from Switzerland as we head to Germany on Saturday morning. Don't know if there will be any access there - we'll just wait and see.

Monday we took the cable car to Grutscalp and hiked to Murren (about an hour.) Murren sits up high on the West side of the Lauterbrunnen valley. Picked wild flowers, had fresh alpine yogurt and cheese, and wandered around Murren. On our walk back to the cable car, we saw a helicopter hovering over a field of cows and then it took off with a cow strapped to the end of a 50 foot cable. Eventually discovered through my broken German the the cow was to have a calf and was airlifted back down to the valley.

Tuesday we hiked the bottom of the Lauterbrunnen valley to a place called Trummelbachefalle. A series of waterfalls carved out inside a mountain. It was an impressive waterfall, but a bit on the drab side. On the hike, we watched people jumping from the top of the cliffs that line the valley. They take off like flying squirrels and then pull open a parachute before landing on the valley floor. Then took a cable car up to Mannlichen on the East side of the valley. It is just above 2000 meters and in this case was very cold and windy with flurries.

Wednesday we took trains / cable cars all the way to Grindelwald and then another cable car to Pfinstegg for some hiking and a try at the alpine slide. The boys thought the slide was great although Nic got a little carried away towards the end when it started to drizzle and barely got stopped before the end of the dismount area. The German lady operating the attraction kept warning them about a wet track and to go slowly - go what?

The last few days have been downright COLD. In Grindelwald we even bought fleece pullovers to try to keep warm. Tuesday morning was in the 40s and you could see your breath! I suspect Pennsylvania is baking, but here we have only used the air conditioner in the car once and that was on the day we arrived during a thunderstorm. Come to think of it, we haven't even used the car since last Saturday to get to Switzerland. Since then it has been walking, trains, and cable cars.

Here is a summary of the last few days in photos:

Wild flowers the boys picked for Kathy during our hike to / from Murren.

Enjoying fresh alpine yogurt and cheese. During the summer (although you can't tell by the temperatures) the farmers move the cows to alpine pastures and use the milk to make cheese.

The boys playing chess in Murren.

The deep Lauterbrunen valley is in the center of the photo. You can't see it because there are these huge cliffs on either side - but trust me, where the green grass ends, it drops straight down. Not a great place to play with a ball.

One of the amazing things about this part of Switzerland is the incredible variation in heights in such a small area. Here the sun is shining on the top of the Jungfrau which peaks out of the clouds almost as if it is an illusion.

Heading down the path to the cows. They create their own chorus with all of the different bells around their necks.

Ian beats us all in a game of mini-golf. Happens to be "happy hour" at the course so we golf for free.

Inside view of the Trummelbachefalle.

View back towards Lauterbrunnen from the middle area of the falls.

Beautiful log home along the path.

And another Swiss house loaded with flowers.

Hiking at Mannlichen in the snow flurries. OK, lets just go in the restaurant and get some pomme frites.

When you go up or down in the cable cars, about midway, the car going the opposite direction whizzes by. Nic was able to capture part of the other car - very hard to do.

Yes, the camera is tilted and Nic is actually stopped.

Both boys coming back to the "ausfahrt" (exit area). They really get a kick out of this part of German. Especially when a mother asks her child at the end if they had a "gute fahrt".

Stopping for the daily lunch - bread with great toppings, carrots, fruit and chocolate.

The Swiss Army knife that couldn't possibly fit in your pocket.

Ian is happy about the new fleece jacket. None of us can believe it is almost July!