We woke up late today. Big surprise. After a feast of a breakfast again (same as yesterday- eggs, toast, juice, coffee) we decided to hike to the Gurten Park with two other guys from the hostel, Martin and Pete.
The Gurten Park is a reasonable hill just South of Bern. We had no idea how to actually get there, so a good amount of time was spent wandering around the outskirts of Bern, following the Aare River, and trekking through what may or may not have been private property. Sadly, the day was hazy and so photos don't capture the truly splendid experience.
Beforehand, we stocked up on trail mix at the Migros grocery store, and filled our water bottles in one of the lovely public fountains. We found our way to the river, where we retold our adventures from yesterday and I snapped some photos of the areas I mentioned. For example...
To note, we passed the Bern waterworks (maybe a branch, maybe the only one- not sure) and nearby we saw a little hut right on the riverbank with a lonely window in which was placed an LCD computer monitor showing water flow data and some other statistics, as well as a small seven-segment LED display below it showing the water temperature- 16.95 degrees Celsius, which converts to 62.51 degrees Farenheit. Brrr!!
From there, we trekked on, following the banks of the Aare for quite a while. When we arrived in a field and noticed that the path ended in someone's driveway, we began to wonder if we shouldn't break out a map. This proved to be a good idea, and after a good long walk, including a misdirected hypotenuse, we found ourselves at the base of the Gurten, ready for the hike up the hill.
It was certainly an uncomfortable time, as the humidity was quite high, and the sun was quite bright. After what seemed like ages (but nobody had the sense to actually time our struggles), we arrived at the top. What a view! I stitched together a terrible, hasty panorama of the vista, which doesn't even begin to do the scenery justice.
We managed to hop down the hill in a fraction of the time it took us to get up, just in time to escape a rainstorm. Luckily, Michael, Marc and I had packed our umbrellas, but Martin and Pete weren't so lucky. The storm passed quickly enough, so most of our walk back to the hostel was comfortable enough. The five of us headed back to the train station to pick up dinner at the grocery store, then arrived back to the hostel at about 9:00pm to spend the rest of the evening.
So to recap, we scaled one of the treacherous bear-ridden Swiss Alps with nothing but some trail mix and a bottle of Evian water for five people, then descended in a muddy river of runoff during a thunderstorm to stagger back to our hostel, tired and hungry, to pass out on a straw-covered dirt floor.
We leave for Interlaken tomorrow! Our plans have officially changed- one night in Interlaken, which we hear is too touristy, and two in Gimmelwald. Interesting fact: As of 2003, Gimmelwald had a population of 130 people, the majority of which have one of three last names. They're known for their dairy products. Exciting!
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