Switzerland Day Three - Schilthorn

What a beautiful day! Jet lag still has us in its grasp and James and I had a hard time falling asleep last night. I set my alarm but forgot to change the time zone so we didn't wake up until we heard the bells ring 10:00. I love those bells! They sound so beautiful. 

The view from our porch

When we did wake up the sun was shinning and it was a beautiful cloudless day. We ate a quick breakfast and left hurriedly so we could make the most of the clear skies. Jungfrau is the highest mountain in the area but we aren't planning on going up there on this trip. Instead we headed for Schilthorn, a 9,700ft mountain at the end of our valley. 

View from the Schilthorn

As we drove deeper into the valley we saw more and more paragliders launching themselves from the cliffs and floating down. Christian was entranced and is desperate to go. James has promised that we can all go tandem paragliding on our next trip to the Alps. (And since it is written here he can't pretend to forget!) While James and Camille purchased the train tickets the boys and I watched the landing field where all the paragliders landed. We also saw some people walk by in base jumping suits (not sure what they are called) but we didn't see them in the skies.

Paraglider

To get to the top of the Schilthorn we had to take four cable cars which swung out over increasingly steep cliffs. I know it sounds silly since I want to go paraglidding, but cable cars always make me a little nervous. These ones weren't too bad though and the view was amazing. 

Riding in the cable cars

Cable car from Murren to Birg

The boys enjoyed the ride to Schilthorn

Cable car to Schilthorn

Jon on the first cable car

At the top of the Schilthorn we went right out to take some pictures. The view was amazing! The skies were clear with only an occasional small cloud drifting by below us. In addition to its fantastic views, the Schilthorn was also the main site for the James Bond movie, In Her Majesty's Service. So all over the viewing platform and store were facts and stories about the shooting of the movie, the actors, and the stuntmen.

My boys on top of the Schilthorn

View from the Schilthorn

James on the Schilthorn

A stray cloud passes through

View from the Schilthorn

After a short viewing session it was time to enjoy lunch at the rotating restaurant, Piz Gloria. The rotating tables were full which was just as well since even sitting next to them made me dizzy. That movement and the difference in air pressure was enough to have me feeling quite ill but I felt much better after our lunch. Lunch was not exceptional but the waiter was very kind and cheerfully got Will another burger after a misunderstanding about the order. James was amazed, "That's the first time food was returned in Germany! And they gave us ice!" I keep having to remind him that this isn't Germany. Germans may not have great customer service but the Swiss have been absolutely wonderful, very patient and friendly.

Lunch at the Piz Gloria

Will on the Schilthorn

View from the Schilthorn

View from the Schilthorn

 The theme of the Schilthorn is 007 and there was a museum dedicated to the movie on the second floor. I was a little nervous about this since the hallway into it had some movie posters that showed rather of a lot of the Bond girls. "Girls have butts!" Christian was amused to discover. On that subject, the bathrooms were also Bond themed. The ladies room had the silhouette of a naked Bond girl on the door and silhouettes of Bond in various poses on the stall doors. The men's room had Bond on the front door and Bond girls on the stalls. When you flushed various movie sounds would play, anything from a gun shot or the theme song, and in the mirror Bond would sometimes appear saying his trademark phrase.

Camille with James Bond

On the Schilthorn

Sonic in the Alps

View from the Schilthorn

Anyway, the actual museum was not nearly as risque as the bathrooms and it was very interesting. There was a helicopter and a bobsled that the boys could ride and many interactive displays. I have not seen In Her Majesty's Service myself but after reading about the incredible stunts (including an actual avalanche) and the difficulties the stuntmen faced it is one I want to watch soon.

Christian on a bobsled

Will flies a helicopter

After the museum we took a walk along the mountain ridge and admired the view one last time. And of course we had a snowball fight. The kids were starting to get a little cranky and we were all rather out of breath from running around at such a high altitude so we decided to head down to the next mountain. On the way out though Christian found an amethyst rock that he bought with his own money. He loves it!

James in the Alps

Jon hits me with a snowball

Boys on a dangerous ridge.

James leads the boys to safety

We took the cable car down to the next mountain and stopped at Birg, which is 8,800ft high. The Birg station is much smaller than the one at Schilthorn but I think the view was actually better. We definetly had a better view of the three mountains, Eiger (Ogre), Monch (Monk), and Jungfrau (young girl). As I understand it, the ogre is trying to attack the young girl but the monk is defending her. Although since the Jungfrau is the tallest mountain around I'm not sure why she needs defending. 

From left: Eiger, Monch, Jungfrau

Birg station

View from Birg

The Birg also has the Thrill Walk which is an incredible and terrifying walk around the mountainside. It is a steel gangplank built along the cliff, underneath the viewing platform. The entire thing hangs over the long drop to the valley below and if that wasn't terrifying enough there are little adventure areas where you can really get a sense of the height and subsequent long fall. Jon and Camille stayed up at the top while the rest of us climbed down to the walkway.

The first challenge we came to was a cable rope bridge which was terrifying! Of course Will and Christian couldn't wait to try it and quickly went across too. Then James went over and finally I braved it. I didn't dare look down or I knew I would love my nerve but I did make it!

Christian crosses

Will is fearless

James crosses the cable bridge

James and Christian make the crossing

I finally try it

James gets the shot

No big deal

Christian loves it!

As we continued our walk we came across more adventures, a glass walkway, thick rods with seemingly wide spaces, and other things like that. The real test though was at the end where we found a wire tunnel hanging out over the drop. It was small and meant for kids so James and I were off the hook! But Will and Christian went through it again and again. They loved it! But even watching them scared me!

Walking on air

Crossing the tunnel

Christian has no fear

Will goes through the tunnel

Walking back up to Birg station

The Thrill walk was incredible but by the time we got back to Birg station we were ready to head home. The cable cars were very crowded but we managed to squeeze in for the long ride down. By this time we were hot from all our climbing around so we dropped Camille off at the chalet and took the boys back to Grindelwald for a swim in the town pool.

Cable car ride from Schilthorn to Birg

Cable car going from Birg to Murren

Sonic riding through a cloud

This pool was amazing. On one end there is a huge tunnel waterslide that is completely black inside. Part of it did have flashing lights but they were only for color and did not illuminate anything. The ride was slow but a lot of fun and the boys went down dozens of times. There was also a deep end of the pool with a diving board and the boys loved jumping off it. All three of them tried to do a flip and all of them landed flat on their back. It looked so painful!

Jon trying to dive

Because of the deep pool the boys had an opportunity to learn how to dive. James demonstrated and all of them tried but Jon worked at it the longest. He practiced over and over again. He had some trouble getting his legs to straighten but he did have a couple of good dives! I was so proud of him. I hope we can go again so they can practice some more! Christian and Will also tried and Christian had one or two good dives. He is so athletic and can do almost anything!

Jon learning how to dive

Jon's legs get in the way

The pool was heavenly but it was getting late and time to head home for dinner and bed. After the kids were settled James and I tried out a new game called Skyward. We did terribly for the first game but it was a lot of fun so hopefully we'll get to play tomorrow too. So far this is turning out to be a wonderful vacation. :-)

Goodnight!