Epic Moutain Hut

So this last weekend, a group of 11 of us went on an epic hike in the mountains. The description of the hike in the book said it was "medium" ... however, all 11 of us found it quite difficult. Of course, being cheap students we opted out of the cable car ride you could take at the beginning, and instead did a steep 3 hour hike, which may have contributed to our exhaustion...

We began in the town of Altdorf, at an elevation of 447 m. We then started walking, and quickly we knew we were heading up a mountain. Taking breaks often and struggling, we hiked for 4 hours before stopping for lunch. And then we kept on trucking, along a few ridges, up steep inclines and even through some snow. Then finally we reached our maximum elevation of 2291 m. We climbed pure UP of just under 2 km!!! Something to definitely be proud of!!

(at Surenenpass, the highest point we reached)

Unfortunately it was cloudy so we weren't able to see the vast mountains around us, but it still made for some really neat pictures :)

One of the neatest things about this hike was the sound of cow bells never ceased. We had been hiking for over 6 hours, were on the top of a mountain, in the middle of nowhere, yet still there were cows and sheep all around us. It's incredible how the Swiss use EVERY piece of land they can!! Though even in high altitudes, there are still lucious green fields everywhere, which is deifnitely the major difference between the Alps and the Rockies.

(a cow outside the Alpine hut we stayed at)

After reaching the peak, we had a 1 hour decent down to the Alpehutte Blackenalp, where we would be staying that night. Upon arrival, we found out that the very nice lady that ran the hut didn't speak a word of English. And between the 11 of us, none of us spoke German. So it made for interesting communication, which we don't often have to deal with in Switzerland since most people here speak English.

But we managed, and got across that we wanted dinner and breakfast and what time they would be served. Both of which were ABSOLUTELY delicious!! For breakfast though, it was funny because she served us "Cafe Milch," which was hot milk and instant looking coffee. But no glasses or mugs of any sort. Yet we had these bowls sitting in front of us. Eventually she took the hot milk and started pooring it into people's bowls. Aparently they drink their breakfast coffee from a bowl here!! :)

(drinking delicious warm Milch from a bowl)

That was my adventure last weekend. And now I head off on another this weekend. I am going to be going to Southern France and Western Switzerland to watch the tour de France!!! Always having loved watching it on TV, I am very excited to get to see it in person (though, I know it will only be about 2 minutes of excitement as the bikers rush past me in a blurry). I have not yet got a paycheck though, so I am beyond poor, thus I will be camping in evenings! So everyone wish for good weather in Southern France! And if you follow the tour, you can keep an eye out for me and my Canadian flag at:

Stage 13: Xonrupt
Stage 14: Colmar (start town)
Stage 15: Verbier (end town)

Things are still a little quiet and "lonely" here in Winterthur, but I am starting to meet some people, and hopefully I will start feeling comfortable here soon. Missing you all in Canada.