It happened. It actually happened! We awoke after a twelve hour sleep, to the sun bouncing off of every drop of water falling off the multiple falls in the valley, the snowy peaks that backdrop the valley, and the cows, eating the fresh, green, dewy, wild flowery grass. Often, I find, that the only way to describe the great majesty that is Switzerland, I must use run-on sentences. I apologize, but were you here, you would understand. I threw open the curtains, ( completely blinding the poor bf) and greeted the valley. We got to sleep in because we do not have a breakfast included to wake up early for. The bf, who is still sick with a cold, was weak. We walked down to the train station. The plan was to pop up to Murren, a tiny village perched on the cliff above the Stubbach falls, and have quick juice or croissant then continue on to the top of the Schilthorn where we would eat lunch at Pia Gloria, the restaurant made famous in Her Majesty's Secret Service....The James Bond movie. We got to the station and looked at the live videos of the mountain tops. All clear!.....Oh wait, all the mountains are clear except the one we wanted to go up. Boo! Oh well, the journey up costs $150 per person anyways. We got in the car and drove to the gorgeous town of Brienz to eat then shop.

I thought we could grab sandwiches and eat beside the lake. The lake is an I credible shade of glacial blue and a park lines it with benches and trees along the entirety of the town. We parked and searched for a bakery or cafe when we saw a restaurant whose vegetarian menu really pleased the bf. If he sees something he likes, we go there because he is getting the short hand of the eating stick over here. What interested him, and what he had, was a cream of asparagus soup followed by an asparagus risotto. I ordered from the veggie menu as well. I had macaroni with an apple compote topping. The asparagus that is in season over here is called Spargle. It is white and had a super mild flavor. So mild, in fact, that I could even stand to eat it! 

The soup was so good we tried to get the recipe from the waitress but she was obviously new and was majorly stressed out. She though we were joking. I think I can replicate it myself though, six sticks of fresh cream butter and a cup of heavy, fresh cream, heat, think about asparaus and serve. I'm not entirely sure there was even any spargle in it. Oh! I forgot, there was also these garlic dumplings too. I think the garlic was good for the bf's cold.

Luckily, the cold the bf has is not running him down. It is just making swallowing less comfortable. We are fortunate about that. Still, we try to take it a little easy. After the incredible meal...I didn't even mention the lakeside view we had....we b-lined for my favorite store. I bought myself a cute little music box with a Swiss flag and a Swiss cow on it that you hang on the wall. We decided we would put it in the kitchen and pull the string when dinner is ready. How cute are we? We also bought a nice something for his step-mom and something for my auntie. We went down the street a little further to another store I like because it has this handmade pottery that I ADORE.

I bought a pitcher. It is an orangy-brown and two dancing, white goats are on the center. I freaking love those goats! I have a bowl and a cup to match, from other trips. How am I going to get it home? Not my problem for another few days. We went back to the car and I realized that it did not buy a parking tag. I had my handicap placard up so I really hope I was OK. I have little nightmares that when I get home there will be a mailbox full of parking and speeding tickets. I try to be good, I honestly do. As far as speeding goes, I'm not in too much worry about that since it has been storming so much, we are all going a little under the limit. However, the speed limit flip flops all over the place as I pass towns and the many construction zones. Perhaps I should have budgeted things like tickets into my trip account! I joke. Sorta. Anyways, there was nothing on my windshield so I pray that is a good sign.

We decided to drive to the darling, Alpine town of Grindlewald that sits in the shadow of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau mountain peaks. I have always loved this town despite it's massive growth in popularity. We weaved past tour busses as we searched for parking. I guess I thought my stomach acid was already stirred up so why not do some risky parking again? I parked in a spot that was a tow away zone....that is if you are not a guest of a particular hotel. The parking spot was so out of the way, I figured they wouldn't bother trying to get a tow truck down there. I put up my placard as if to say "I'm a stupid American and I am disabled, give me a break". The car was fine but I worried the whole time about it, of course. I was not so worried that I couldn't shop though. We bought nice gifts for our friends. I bought myself the coolest hat too! It is a touk with ear flaps and it says Switzerland on it but wait, there's more....it's lined with fur. Heeeeee! The bf said I looked like a Bond girl in it, you know, if I wore a bikini with it. Well, I had to have it then! I also bought a light jacket that's red with a Swiss flag on it. The bf wasn't as thrilled with it as the hat but I'm sure that's because it is more difficult to picture me in a bikini in it. I also picked up a little something for my puppy back at home.

I miss my dog SO MUCH. I miss smelling his fur. I miss his morning spooning, scratching his wite belly, kissing his snout, singing to him. God, I miss him so much. We talk about him all the time. We say things like - Link would love it here, or - I wonder what Link would think about this....sigh. It's the only reason we look forward to going home. Mommy loves you, Link!!

After our tour of Grindlewald, we drove up the road a bit further to talk pictures. The sun is shining, the wildflowers are sparkling yellows, greens, purple, red and blues. The dark, little chalets are sprinkled across a blanket of green, soft grass and the cows and sheep all have their bells going full tilt. The waterfalls are many and the streams are full. We went camera crazy on our way back to the hotel. We dropped off our goodies and headed to the little grocery store. We got some cheese, crackers and white wine. We snacked on our balcony. We spent about an hour there, just holding hands and enjoying the view. We played with the binoculars that the bf brought. It was fun, he looked at the mountains and I spied on the locals in their homes. 

At about seven we walked a couple buildings down to The Oberlander Hotel. We got a seat on the fancy side since they were booked in the bar. We got basically the same thing as the night before. The rosti potatoes were better than last night's and I got the regular fondue. Well, no that is a lie, I got the extra creamy one. They gave me potatoes with the fondue thus time. I love the potatoes here. I must bring some seeds home or something. So freaking buttery! I also got a little bowl of chopped garlic, chopped onions, mushrooms and chives. I gave a bunch of garlic to the bf for his sore throat then dumped everything into my fondue. Yum yum yum. 

We had ice creamy dessert again. He had a passion fruit ice cream over a carrot cake and I had more walnut and caramel balls if ice cream. Man, why do we stuff ourselves like this? Oh I know, we are on vacation and we can! Talk about indulgence, the bf even ordered a hard cider for his meal! Yes, he actually, volunteered to drink alcohol. He even liked it!

We crawled  back to the hotel and I rolled around on the bed asking "why?". Once I was a little less full, I konked out though. The bf followed not far behind me. We slept another twelve or thirteen hours.