Interlaken

on the lookout on top of harder kulm

i'm not sure i could sum up the beauty that is interlaken in one blog post. or ever really. 

 we got to interlaken on friday morning around 5:00am. i hopped off the bus sans jacket and immediately began shaking from the cold. with florence still in the high 60s everyday, i forgot what cold feels like! we checked into our cozy hostel, balmers, and went right to sleep.

we didn't book any activities for the weekend so we were excited to get up and explore. we wandered in and out of chocolate shops and stopped in a cafe for some hot chocolate. we also walked down to the shore of Lake Thun. it was a gorgeous walk along the bright blue river that opened up to the most gorgeous view of lake thun. it was amazing. we got chocolate for lunch (naturally) and hung out at the hostel before getting fondue for dinner. 

on saturday morning we woke up and hiked to the top of Harder Kulm which was way harder then expected (har har). there is usually a funicular train that takes you to the top but we decided to walk hike  struggle to the summit. i'm blaming it on our lack of hiking gear. anyway, the views at the top were completely worth it. there was a lookout that spanned over the side of the mountain, allowing for amazing views of both lakes. the tip of that thing was a little scary when the wind picked up and it was bouncing all over the place. after the hike we stopped in utopia for some hot chocolate with caramel baileys amazingness. (we just went to the grocery store so we could make this stuff. currently drinking as we speak) utopia is owned by a cute woman from new jersey who now lives in interlaken with her husband and kids. after we warmed up and showered we went to a chocolate show at schuh. a woman showed us where coco beans come from and how they get turned into chocolate and finally truffles. i was was more concerned with the free samples. the ticket for the show also came with a voucher to spend in their chocolate store. 

i was terribly sad to leave the mountains but the drive home was so pretty it was almost worth it. almost. until next time, interlaken. 

so many cows!

look at that water!

on the shore of lake thun

on top of harder kulm

straight ahead is Jungfraujoch, the highest point in europe