Hiking in Switzerland has officially been placed at the top of my favorite things to do list. It felt so natural to enjoy life outside in such a gorgeous location. The air was fresh, the landscape stunning, and the atmosphere so laid back and simply awesome. During our day hike in Engelberg we took a few deep breaths, stretched our legs, and enjoyed God’s beautiful creation.

Here is a Rodelbahn, or metal toboggan slide, built into the mountain. It was soooooo much fun. We each sat on a rectangular sled with our legs straight out and held onto a brake lever in the middle. We were pulled up to the top of the hill, and then set free to ride the curves back down, using the brake as little as possible of course!

At the peak of our hike, we came to a beautiful Tal, or valley, with a little lake. We rested here for a while and even took our shoes and socks off for a little bit of Kitzelpfad fun. The Kitzelpfad was a little path built around the water with various organic surfaces to walk barefoot on. There were sections of pine cones (soft ones), bark chips, mud, pebbles, and more. The path also dipped in and out of the water. We weren’t sold on the idea at first, as it was pretty chilly up there, but a nice Swiss man, who was working his way around the path, convinced us. He said the water was not so cold and that the Kitzelfpad was good for the Durchblutung, or circulation. So we went for it, and were glad we did. My favorite was the dark, squishy mud!

And here is Jason’s favorite cow friend. He fed her some grass and she munched it down. There were cows all over in little groupings on the mountain. They are brought up to the mountains for grazing during the warmer months in Switzerland. Because of the bells they wear, we could always hear the cows before we saw them–more cow bell anyone?

I had to take a photo of this building because it was so intricate and beautiful. All the outer walls of the house were made up of these little rounded shingles!

I took these last two shots as we were nearing the end of our hike. That gondola travels up the mountain to the spot where we went on the Rodelbahn. We avoided the gondola though–it was something like 30 swiss francs (about the same in dollars) for a round trip on that thing!
That’s all for now. Oh, here’s one more interesting fact about Switzerland for you all, courtesy of Swissworld
Most Swiss cheese doesn’t have holes. What abroad is commonly called Swiss cheese is actually Emmentaler cheese, a type of cheese named after the Emmental Valley. The holes are caused by carbon dioxide that builds up in the cheese as it slowly matures.

Tunnels:  More than 2500 km (1550 miles)  of tunnels form passages for cars and trains to travel through the mountains of Switzerland.

Recycling:  The Swiss are champion recyclers.  In 2004, 95% of glass, 70% of paper, 85-90% of cans, and 71% of plastic bottles were recycled.

Borders:  Switzerland is a land-locked country, bordered by Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Italy, and France.

Mountains:  One third of the country’s surface area is made up of them, and Switzerland’s tourism industry is fueled by these majestic peaks.

Population:  About 7.6 million people call Switzerland home.  Foreigners account for around 21% of residents.

Hiking:  Over 60,000 footpaths work their way throughout the beautiful landscape of Switzerland.

Our three days in Switzerland were tons of fun–we only wish we could have stayed longer.  Most of the photos above were taken in Engelberg, a small mountain town in the heart of Switzerland.  We enjoyed an amazing hike there with Jason’s uncle Laird.  I’ll be sharing some more Switzerland photos, so come back soon!

All facts above courtesy of Swissworld.