Spiez and Spiez Bay on Lake Thun.
It’s important to note that Switzerland is well-known for
its elaborately marked hiking trails and signage, so there is
no need to worry about getting lost. Our hike took us up
the mountain through Gimmelwald’s farm land and into the
woods where we saw incredibly tall trees, dense forests, per-
fectly framed views of several Alp summits and farm cows
that wear cow bells because they roam the mountains as they
see fit. The path eventually opened up to the Spurtz Waterfalls
where you can walk underneath the falls for a unique view of
the valley. After a mostly uphill hike, the fall’s cooling mist
and enchanting views were a fun reward.
Bern
Although we wanted to escape cities, we decided to do a
day trip to Switzerland’s capital, Bern. Built around the Aare
River, the city is known for its uniform medieval architecture,
including Zytglogge, a medieval clock tower with moving
puppets that plays every hour; Münster, a towering 15th
century Gothic cathedral that tourists are allowed to climb to
see the city from above; the Federal Palace of Switzerland, which
houses national Parliament; several museums, from modern
art to natural history; and the Rosengarten, an elaborate rose
garden that sits atop a large hill that is well worth the climb.
All of this and more can be seen on a self-guided walking tour
of the city. The city is large, so we budgeted an entire day and
stopped by the tourist center first thing to gather helpful maps
with points of interest organized by efficient routes.
A small thing that can often be taken for granted when vaca-
tioning, Blake and I enjoyed the people watching in Bern most
of all. We toured the city on a Friday, so the entire city was
buzzing. Once the sun was high in the sky, we witnessed Swiss
citizens of all ages jump in the river and float from one end
of the city to the other. It seemed as if the entire city stopped
and took a plunge. A few young, brave fellows even jumped
from one of the lower bridges into the icy, glacier-fueled waters
below. The joy and relaxation we saw that day truly represented
what we found to be so unique about Switzerland’s people. In
their culture, there is a time for work, but there is more time
for family, the outdoors and pursuing passions. Although we
didn’t know it at first, we realized that kind of lifestyle was the
real escape we were looking for all along. Blake and I didn’t
see a fraction of what we wanted to in Switzerland, but the
people, views and history we did experience far surpassed our
expectations and left us wanting to make visiting the country
an anniversary tradition.
WWW.WVEXECUTIVE.COM
FALL 2018
119