Grindelwald, Switzerland, Day 1

At the beginning of August, we hoped to go to the Olympics with some of our extended family in London.  Unfortunately, we didn't think Kellan would be able to sit through an event and even though mother-in-law Karen had offered to babysit, we couldn't be guaranteed she could get into Germany on time since she was coming via pass.  So, we planned a kid-friendly trip to Switzerland instead that would allow us some flexibility if Karen couldn't get here right away.  While it wasn't the Olympics, our Switzerland trip was possibly one of the best trips I have even experienced.

We arrived via car in the evening.  About a six hour drive with a stop in Frankfurt for lunch.  K got into his jammies and enjoyed the backyard of our chalet.  For my FedEx Cologne friends, if you are considering a trip to Grindelwald with kids, the chalet is the way to go.  We enjoyed breakfast and dinners at the chalet, which was super easy and it was very cost-effective.  Let me know if you'd like more info on where we stayed specifically!  I highly recommend it!

The first day, we took a gondola up to Männlinchen.  At the top there are play areas for kids, restaurants and beautiful hiking trails.

K loved the "shwide," as he calls it.

There was a short but strenuous hike up to the top of a peak just next to the gondola exit.  Matt put Kellan in the backpack and we huffed up the very steep trail.  We were rewarded with some spectacular views.  It was at this point I kept feeling a strong urge to sing (and who I am kidding of course I was singing it) "The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music."

As you can see in one of the above pictures, K fell asleep during our first hike.  Our second hike was on the Panoramaweg.

This hike was pretty easy and gorgeous.  It was safe enough for Kellan to walk around most of the time, too, once he woke up.

At the end of our hike, we took a train back down to our chalet.  At our chalet, we had some beers and enjoyed an easy, home-cooked dinner while Kellan played in the backyard.  An amazing first day.