The Kreisers Invade Switzerland

Last weekend I was one lucky girl as my wonderful cousin Pam and her son Jonny came to visit me during my limited time left here. The days were packed full up to the brim, and even with early mornings and late nights, they always had smiles on their faces. Here's just a brief overview of our amazing (and very short!) time together.

Awesome Day 1: Swiss Day
We headed out to the train station and got on our first of many trains that day. The Kreisers were ready!

First stop? Where else... Gruyere! Beautiful hill top castle and town, with a cheese factory at the base/

Inside the cheese factory, we got a little demonstration!

After the cheese, we hiked the little trail up to the actual town of Gruyeres. It's small and cute and everything you've ever wanted in a Swiss town.

We took a tour at the castle on the top, and it was a pretty neat place to see. The views weren't bad either!

Then we had lunch in the sunshine, resulting in a pretty solid sunburn (for me) and suntan (for the cool cousins).

After a hike down and a train, we stopped at the Callier chocolate factory. I have no idea how I missed out on taking any pictures. I guess I was too preoccupied eating chocolate? Sooo yummy. Then back on the train, and in search of some cows. You can't have Swiss day without cows! We managed to find a group of them, aren't they cute?

We finished the night with pizza and beer on our balcony, watching an incredible sunset.

Awesome Day 2: We were on a big adventure to the top of the alps! A bus, 3 trains, another bus, and four gondolas later, we were on top of the world on the Shilthorn. Being on top of a huge mountain like that is incredible, awe-inspiring, and mind-boggling, no matter how many times you've been before. You can't help but remember how very small you are compared to everything else in the world, and how insignificant you are in the amount of time you exist and the influence you have. Mountains and glaciers that soaring above you, making you take picture after picture after picture, desperate to capture the moment you are there, and then realizing again and again that pictures will never do something justice. Then you give in and just stand there, staring until your hands and ears go numb and its time to go home. Do you know that feeling?

We were lucky to eat in a ROTATING restaurant, which meant we got another hour, warm, eating, looking at the amazing views.

Then another jaunt outside, to see more pictures and birds, and breath it in one more time

We stopped at Gimmelwald on the way down to see another quintessential Swiss mountain town. Jonny and I had a great time taking pictures before heading back to Interlaken for a walk and a bit of dinner.

Finally, on her last night, Pam found her very own shop. What do they sell, you might ask? You'll just have to guess that one yourself :)

Seeing my family and getting to filled a jam-packed fun weekend with them reminded me how much I miss my family, but I was so grateful for our little time together. They wandered to the next town Monday morning as I made it to school for work, and their adventure continued. Any more family want to come visit? Your time is limited, but I'm a great guide!