Heaven on earth... Literally

So last weekend, Joe and I went to Switzerland! Favorite place I've ever been hands down. If you're thinking about coming to visit us in England, don't. Go to Switzerland.

Joe's best friend from high school and his family invited us to join them in Switzerland for a few days. Flights were fairly cheap, and it takes less than 2 hours to fly there, so we hopped on an early flight and arrived in Switzerland before 11 a.m.  I'll post some pictures, but they don't even do it justice. Look up pictures of Switzerland, and it will still be better than that.

 
We flew into Zurich and just walked around the city for a few hours before the Skousens arrived. The water, even in Zurich, is so clear, natural glacier water.

There are over 1,200  drinking fountains in Zurich, but they're not your typical drinking fountains, as seen above. A little skeptical about it at first, but it's a real thing. Try it out next time you go.

Just herding cows down the middle of a road in Switzerland, no big deal.  

 The Picture is a little hard to read, but we stayed in Murren our first night (look right beneath the red box). The only way you can really get up there is by an aerial tram. Throughout a lot of our drive to Murren, we drove next to Lake Interlaken (I tried taking a picture, but it didn't do it justice). The water is unreal! It is pure glacier water, so the color is a turquoise,  I've never seen anything like it.

(Bad picture of riding up in the tram) The next day, we rode a tram from Murren up to the very top, #1 in the picture above, which is Schilthorn. 

Schilthorn is famous for the filming of the 1969 James Bond movie was filmed, hence the standing picture of James Bond. There is a museum inside as well as rotating restaurant. 

Panoramic view of the swiss alps

I love this picture because it reminds me of the Sound of Music. Switzerland is amazing because everything is so green and vivid. This picture was taken on our walk down from Murren to Gimmelwald.

 

Gimmelwald is a tiny little town that was one of the stops for our tram. The people up here do not live like the rest of the world. While walking down, we saw families chopping wood, saving huge storages for the winter. Wood piles were everywhere. They also are a trusting community. Joe and I saw a sign  next to a home that was selling cheese. The home owners leave a note every day that says they are out working in the field, but to leave money inside the fridge for the cheese or sausage. Joe and I couldn't pass up some good ole swiss cheese so went inside.  The most surprising thing of all was the picture of Portland Temple that some visitors had left! The church is true.

 

Our next stop was the Nestle Swiss Chocolate Factory, Maison Cailler. Two reasons why everyone should go to this factory. 

1. The tour at the beginning is ridiculously well done. They put a lot of time and money into the tour.

2. They have an unlimited supply of chocolate samples at the end of the tour. Need I say more.

After the chocolate factory, we rushed over to the Chateau Chillon before closing time. We hit the jackpot on this one. That night, it ended up being this huge community event. Hundreds of kids and adults were dressed up in costume, and they had live actors and displays throughout the castle. This was a sword fight that we watched the end of. 

After church on sunday and saying goodbye to the Skousens, Joe and I drove to the castle in Gruyeres. There are about a dozen shops, a church, and the castle at the top of the hill - feels a little like Beauty & the Beast.

Our next stop was the Switzerland Temple! We arrived right when a ward got out of church, right next to the temple. The spirit at the temple was so warm and peaceful. Again, I love the feeling of security that comes from the gospel. 

 
Our last before going home was La Petite Venise in Colmar, France. Once again, another really beautiful town in Europe, with shops on the river.