Woke up in Pension Gimmelwald to steady rain and fog. From our window, we were able to see many waterfalls running down the sides of the mountains in between passing clouds of fog. Went downstairs to check in and realized when the receptionist asked us for a 20chf deposit for the room key that we could only pay her in Euros. In the chaos of last night, we forgot to stop at an ATM to get Swiss francs. We had used the leftover francs from Judy and girls and from our last trip here to get food at the rest area and pay for the cable car ride up here. We always do extensive reading on the places we are going so we are prepared when we arrive, but today we felt like pretty stupid tourists!
Although we didn’t have 20chf for the room key, we did have enough money to take the able car to Murren to go to the ATM and Coop supermarket. Dressed in warmup pants, sweatshirts and rain jackets for the first time on our trip, we ventured out into the rain. Today we got our first look at where we are staying. Pension Gimmelwald is a cute mountain chalet. Our room on the first floor has low knotty pine ceilings, so low that Joe has to duck a bit inside so he doesn’t hit his head! Although we have a sink in our room, there are shared bathrooms and shower stalls down the hall. The Pension has a restaurant downstairs and an Honesty Shop, where people can drop some money in locked box for snacks. Outside there are tables on the patio that we will hopefully be able to sit at on a nicer day. It’s really a cute place! Gimmelwald is a tiny farming town with one main street and only a handful of buildings, most of which are farms or lodging for visitors. We walked through town in less than 5 minutes from one end to the cable car station at the other end! Unfortunately, even in five minutes my socks and sneakers were already wet. As I discovered later, the tops of my sneakers are mesh and provide no protection from the rain.
We decided our best bet today was to head to Murren to check out the town, get some money, and possibly do some hiking. Murren is still a quaint small town, but it is much bigger than Gimmelwald. From the cable car station, we walked in the rain to the Information desk at the Sportzentrum (sports center) and picked up some maps. Decided we would get some lunch at the Coop and try to hike, even in the rain. Although still expensive in terms of supermarket prices, the Coop was cheaper than going out to eat. We grabbed some loaves of break and prepackaged deli meat and made ourselves sandwiches outside on the street. We must have looked ridiculous ripping the bread with our hands and eating on the street corner, but the sandwiches were delicious! I actually found turkey here…a rare treat.
We wanted to hike after lunch, but the rain picked up and we were starting to get a little cold. Walked through the rest of Murren, and then decided we had no other option than to head back to Gimmelwald. To save a little money, we took the 25min. downhill path to our hotel. Even in the rain, this area is still beautiful. We took some pictures of the waterfalls in the distance and read about avalanche zones and barriers along the way. Arrived back at Pension Gimmelwald around 5pm, pretty much soaked from the waist down. Spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in our room catching up on our travel log, news at home, eating the rest of our sandwiches, and making plans for tomorrow.
Decided to go to the restaurant downstairs for a bowl of broccoli saffron soup. It was an interesting mix and an acquired taste, but it was nice to have something warm on a cool evening without having to leave the hotel. Met a Mormon couple from Colorado who were very excited to tell us about their trip to Jerusalem last year and their vacations to St. John’s Black Forest cake from the supermarket and went to bed hoping for some better weather and dry sneakers in the morning.
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