Fortune Favors the Brave.

Okay.  Okay.  Okay!!  I’m sorry I’ve been M.I.A. for a couple of days but, I was in the Swiss Alps and was completely cut off from all electronic devices for a good 48 hours!  It felt like the apocalypse had hit.  But…seriously…I was living in a hamlet for two days on the side of a cliff…not a town, not a village, but a hamlet.  There was the mom and pop hotel/café that we were staying in and two (count them) TWO houses within a ten mile radius!!  And. I. Loved. It!!  I slept outside on the balcony of our room both nights, bundled up against the crisp, cool, mountainous, night air listening to the sound of a river that ran directly under us (Marla, I know you can appreciate this…as we are both a fan of the “Sleep Pillow” sound app on the iphone…I didn’t need it and I slept like a rock!!)

Now, I’m not one to brag about my faith, or get very preachy or didactic…but…I’m sorry ya’ll!!  I just spent two glorious days in the most beautiful and serene place I’ve EVER been and I just can’t help but shout it from the mountaintops (i.e. the interwebs)!!  I serve a God that created this!!  I know…you can’t get it from the pictures, you just can’t.  But, it was magnificent.  Sometimes I would just look up at the sky and smile and shake a finger and say “good one, you’ve really outdone yourself with this one.”  It’s places like Stechelberg, Switzerland that remind me that we’re created to create.  We’re made in His image, and He’s the greatest artist of all time!!

Okay, so, we got to Switzerland and were welcomed with a fondue dinner…um…yeah!  Then, I slept on the balcony all night to the beautiful sounds of the mountain town.  Ally thought I was crazy for sleeping outside but…she totally joined me the next night because of how amazing it was!!  Everyone was jealous of the two adventure girls.

On our free day in the Alps we rode up to the peak of one of the mountains in our range by way of gondola (fun and scary) the cool part, which you kind of get to see in the pictures is that one of the gondola stations is where part of a James Bond movie was filmed!! 007!!  You’ll recognize it.  Then we hiked to the Trummelbachefalle and saw the awesome power of the waterfall that fed the huge rushing river that ran through the valley.  Awe inspiring.  Truly.  We also frolicked in a meadow. So.  There you go.  Pretty much the most awesome day ever.

On a sadder note…my MacBook Pro is no more…I’m actually writing this (and every subsequent post for the duration of the trip) on Ally’s Mac…mine had an unfortunate run in with a glass of Merlot and didn’t make it out of the fray alive…I don’t want to talk about it.  On the other hand, I’m one step closer to the Switzerland ideal of becoming a nomad with no material possessions, and trekking through the mountainous wonderland with nothing more than some old hiking boots, a walking staff and the stars to guide me…

                                                                 Peace, Love, and Travel,

                                                                 Reba

Me and Jack anxiously anticipating getting off of the bus to go exploring.

Our host, Otto and his wife, Marrianne giving us a fondue demonstration.

Oh.  Hell.  Yes.

Don't judge.  You'd have done the same thing...

Rushing river.  Right by our hotel.  This is the one I could hear from my balcony.

The view from our balcony.

Sleeping on the balcony!!  All bundled up!!

Getting ready for the gondola ride.

007. Gondola Station.

This is it!  Recognize it?

Hiking.

This kid had the fashion down to a T!  I love him.

You could feel the water rushing through the rock under your feet.  Pictures just don't do it justice.

Nature.  Wow.

These were all over the hillside.  They're dugouts for emergency shelter during an avalanche.

Frolicking!!