Oh, Switzerland, we shall meet again!

We didn't have enough time in bountiful Switzerland. We had two nights (well, really like one and a half- I'll explain later) and one full, quietly glorious day. Getting to Switzerland from Venice was a bit tricky. The rude train ticket guy apparently had no patience for us and just booked us on a train arriving in Interlaken at 11:30 p.m. We had been hoping for a night train since we had no reservations in Switzerland until the next night. We started to worry, but knew God would help us. At the worst, we would sleep in the train station again. Ughh... sleep is a generous term to describe how one passes the night in a train station.
     Anyway, we arrived in chilly, wet Interlakin to discover that of all the train stations in Europe, the one that's in a town blanketed in snow 3/4s of the year is an outdoor train network. Yeah! Passing the night under an awning in the rain sounded exhilarating! *note the sarcasm*. At that point even Aaron's resilient opptomism wasn't enough to keep us warm outdoors all night. We walked about 100 yards and came upon a Youth Hostel. It was modern, clean and actually not very "youthy". Our hopes began to rise as we walked to the reception desk. Then they plummeted as we were told there was no vacancy and the likelihood of finding any room in Interlaken was very small. But, God bless Aaron, with no chagrin he quickly asked if we could crash on the couches in the lobby. The young hotel clerk seemed a little incredulous and told us he would ask his manager, but he suspected we couldn't, because "then the couches would be full every night with people who didn't make reservations". We really appreciated that last bit ;). Well he asked his manager and a very sweet lady said we could sleep on the couches in the T.V room, because that would be quieter than the lobby and more private. She felt sheepish about offering us such meager accommodations, but we felt as if we were getting the President's suite! She ended up only charging us 10 Swiss Franks apiece, plus five for breakfast (which is a steal for food in Switzerland).
     That night ended up being a huge blessing in disguise, because we spent far less for the night than we would have elsewhere, we had a great meal, and we got an early start to Gimmelwald, our alpine village destination. After taking the train, the bus, then the funicular (a hanging cable car) we arrived at the sleepy, car-free, old-school village of Gimmelwald.
     We felt as if we were entering a postcard. Our little village was situated between the lush, green valley below us and the slopes reaching into the clouds. What blissful silence surrounded and welcomed our overstimulated minds. Here there were no museums, no lines, no must-see sights. Just the languid rhythm of daily life and hippy-hikers. Upon arriving to our hostel (the only one we stayed in) we found we were sleeping in the Lovers' Dorm. Yes, a dorm of bunk beds made for two all stacked sides-touching. That night we had to be villagent lest we accidentally snuggle up to someone else's "lover". We got quite the kick out of sleeping side-by-side with complete strangers- we only hoped that nobody would take the "lovers" name too literally.
     We hiked from Gimmewald further up the mountain to Murren. The walk itself was quite a sight for (literally) sore eyes. Even among the misty clouds, the welcome view of wildflowers and bell-laden cows clinging to steep hillsides made me feel like Hiedi. In Murren we bought a huge sausage dog (I think I now love sausage) from a woman and her blonde daughter. We found about a Folk Festival going on further up the mountain, so we traveled in the nearly- vertical train to check it out. What we found was a nearly tourist-free gathering of Swiss heritage. There was plenty of beer, delicious cheese toast, old men, and even a few Yodeling groups. We watched these groups perform their talented and surprisingly somber songs, as well as saw a few Alpine Horn players. What an experience to stumble upon!
   I now know all the hype about Switzerland is well waranted. I just can't imagine what it would be like with the sun out. It would probably explode your brain with too much beauty.