Another cow

Alpine cow.

Paraglider

Paragliding is very popular in the Alps. This guy flew right over the hiking party.

Alpine excursion

A few days after we returned from Italy, Zak's whole lab went on an overnight outing to the Alps. The first day: a hike and social activities. The second day: a meeting and factory tour. They started the hike here in Kiental, and ended 6.5 hours later in Blausee in the neighboring valley.

Alpine view

The Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, previously seen in this post in May, from the stairs below our house.

Heron on Lake Geneva

A view of Lake Geneva. On the other side of the lake is France.

Mont Blanc

The view of Mont Blanc from our balcony at dusk.
(We are indebted to Chris for identifying this for us in May.)

Alpine flora

 

Zak and I took a long hike over the hillside above Kleine Scheidegg after descending from the Jungfraujoch. 

The snow was still melting on the lower elevation trails, but a large variety of plants were already showing

spring growth. These fuzzy Alpine anemones (Pulsatilla vernalis) were particularly charming and abundant.

Animalwise, we saw six marmots and two pairs of rock partridges.

Alpine trains

On Thursday, we took the train to the Jungfraujoch, the highest train station in Europe at 3454 meters above sea level.

Alpine train tracks consist of two smooth rails and a center climbable rail. The track to the Jungfraujoch runs through 

a tunnel dug into the Eiger and Mönch mountains. Construction on the tunnel began in 1896 and was completed in 1912.

Wengen

We spent two nights in Wengen, a small town of ski chalets. Gimmelwald, the village we stayed in in January,

is down the valley and on the other side of the divide.

 This is the summer map of the area we visited. Wengen is about in the center of the map, with text in black.
The Jungfraujoch is in red at the top. Clicking on the map will make it larger.

Thun skyline

This is a view from one of the south-facing windows of the Schlossmuseum. Lake Thun is barely visible.

Alpine sky

When it was clear, the sky was the most intense shade of blue.

Snow bike

Zak on a snow bike. He said it was easier to steer than a sled.

The pyramidal structures behind him are part of the avalanche prevention system.

Chamois

I was surprised and thrilled to see this chamois when out for a hike on Tuesday.

Gimmelwald mountain view

Gimmelwald has about 120 residents. It's perched on a ledge above the valley floor, and is 

accessible by foot or gondola. 

Gimmelwald mailman

On Monday, our first full day in the Alps, we trekked up the hill from our village of Gimmelwald to Mürren. 

About halfway up, we encountered the mailman on his way down in his postal sled. The three of us sledded 

down this path several times, about a 10-minute ride.

Skating

Katie and Zak had a skating rink all to themselves yesterday in Mürren, a ski village in the Alps.