Kathy worked with Amely Wurmbrand, of Seattle, to put together a hiking vacation for her family in Switzerland this June. We covered a lot of ground! Boats, cable cars, busses, trains, mountain bikes, horse taxis, even a toboggan and zip line or two! But pretty much every day also had us covering ground on foot, through the amazing Swiss countryside.

Day 1, we leave Interlaken by boat to begin the Big Adventure. From left to right: Craig, Amely, Ryan, Brandon.

Crossing the Brienzer See to Meiringen.

Our walk began at the Reichenbach Falls, site of the final fatal struggle between Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and his arch enemy Professor Moriarty.

Upstream from the falls, we hike into high mountain territory.

One of a gazillion waterfalls we will see during this trip!

The rock climbing paradise of the Engelhörner in the background.

Energy to burn!

Our home for the night, the cozy and bucolic Chalet Hotel Schwarzwaldalp.

On day two, we climb higher still to the alpine meadows of First. The imposing NW face of the Wetterhorn looms above, the Mönch and Eiger in the distance.

Sampling some pure spring water.

Our second night, at the Berggasthaus First, the views are amazing.

Day three, we descended to Grindelwald in some heavy rain. Once there, we wiled away the time waiting for our train in the local city park.

Everyone gets in on the action.

Skipping ahead a bit, we ended up in Kandersteg on the occasion of a Swiss wrestling match, called "Schwingen". In this case, a bit unusual for Switzerland, it was an all girl's match.

Above Kandersteg, we hiked to the amazing alpine lake of Oeschinensee, and passed through pastures that obviously were the home of very happy cows.

Some irresistible boulders that simply HAD to be climbed along the way.

Yet another waterfall!

We stopped for refreshment at this establishment, probably at one time just the summer lodging for cow tenders. Now a small restaurant, he was just opening up for the season, and was distracted by his nosy goats.

As were we!

The clouds came and went, but the views were still awesome.

Down again...

... and more down.

Back in Kandersteg, our home for two nights, the charming Chalet Hotel Adler.

From Kandersteg we took the train to Zermatt, where we had time to hike up to the hamlet of Zmutt. Views of the Matterhorn en route.

We stopped to escape the heat in the lovely (and cool) chapel at Zmutt, said to date from the 1700s.

Hay barns on the steep hillsides.

Back in Zermatt, we found a not-so-Swiss eatery specializing in Asian cuisine, and it looks like Ryan loves his noodles! Hungry boy.

The Matterhorn from our hotel.

From Zermatt, we decamped via the famous Glacier Express, all the way to St. Moritz and the Engadine. Craig and Amely relax in the train.

Photo opportunities galore!

Our destination, not actually St. Moritz, but about an hour's drive further on, the end-of-th-road, village-that-time-forgot, romantic get-away of Guarda. The lovely Hotel Meisser, our home for three nights, has been run by the same family for 125 years. Everything about this unique hotel demonstrates their love of the place and its traditions, from the careful modernization of the ancient buildings to the gardens made to lounge and enjoy the views, to the world class cuisine. It was hard to leave!

More of the entrance.

Guarda is full of these ancient houses, more or less restored.

Every single corner you turn holds delight.

Someone got more creative with color.

The church in Guarda.

We took a walk on trails above Guarda, the wildflowers were going berzerk.

A short amble above the village.

In nearby Scuol, we rented mountain bikes for a couple of hours, and found this old wooden covered bridge above the River En.

We hiked above the spa town of Scuol, along a rushing stream. Sadly, the gorge trail we had envisioned was closed due to landslides, of which this evidence remains.

Pool time!!! The baths at Scuol.

Back in the Hotel Meisser for our last dinner.

And dessert! Strawberry mousse! Yum.

Our last day, we transferred over to Pontresina and headed up the Roseg valley on the "horse omnibus".

In the Roseg valley, close to the glaciers.

But all things must come to an end, and so we headed back to Pontresina and our last evening together. Thank you Rosenbergs and Wurmbrands all! It was an unforgettable week among you and the high peaks.