The past week has been busy; we went up the Brienz Rothorn to drop Silvan off at the Alp, we went to the Rosenlaui Gorge, spent a day at the Ballenberg Open Air Museum, I went to Thun for a day, and we celebrated Switzerland’s birthday!
My first day in Hoffstetten we went up the Brienz Rothorn in a steam train to drop Silvan off at an Alp. As usual the walk to the top (from where the train drops you off) was exhausting but well worth the effort. From the top we walked down the little winding path through pastures with cows grazing to where Silvan would be staying for the week. This Alp farm milks about 18 cows and all together they have about 30 cows. They spends 5 weeks at their highest location on the Alp and 3 weeks before and after that they spend at a lower location on the Alp, the rest of the year they spend on the home farm in the town. When the cows are on the Alp they use the milk to make Alpine cheese. The Alp farm consists of 4 different buildings built into the mountain, the house, the barn and kitchen, the hen house, and the cheese cellar. These buildings are really neat because they are very different than the rest of the buildings that I have seen here, and they are generally built into the side of the mountain rather than being fully above the ground. From the farm we took the train down the rest of the mountain. When we got back to town we had milkshakes with Remo then sent him off on the train to his grandparents.
On Tuesday afternoon Irene and I went to the Rosenlaui Gorge. This could arguably be more beautiful than Niagara Falls. To get there we drove up and up and up winding roads through beautiful scenery until we reached a little waterfall (it's not that little, maybe a little big waterfall could be a better description…). Here we started our walk. At the waterfall we entered the rock and began a winding ascent through the Gorge that the water had carved out of the rock. The path is about half way between the rushing water below and the daylight above. Eventually we came to steep stairs that lead to the top of the waterfall where the Gorge begins. On the walk through the woods back to the car there is a field where people have started building rock figures, the area is full of rock figures! So, I left my mark, in the form of a rock figure, in Switzerland.
Wednesday I went to the Ballenberg Open Air Museum. The Museum is an open field where they have relocated buildings to from all over Switzerland to preserve the history of Switzerland. So, I got to see all the different styles of building from all different regions of Switzerland all in one day! Plus, inside the houses they have different exhibits showing different things about the history of Switzerland; from how they lived and farmed, to the hairdresser and barber, to how they made charcoal, chalk, cheese and power, to the production of lumber and silk, as well as the traditional outfits, costumes, and music. My favourite exhibits in the museum were the traditional outfits and music, the hairdresser and barber, and the house from the southern Italian part of Switzerland. 
Thursday I went to Thun and Interlaken. Thun is a beautiful city on the lake, there I went to 2 castles and the cathedral as well as a stroll along the lake and some of the shops in the old town. Interlaken has turned into a crazy tourist spot; the number of tourists is unreal. Which is funny because they aren’t on a lake or anywhere magnificent; I think it is so popular because it is right in the middle of the 2 lakes so you can easily get to either location. During my stop in Interlaken I decided to check out the Casino since I have never been to a Casino; I am not really sure why people like casino’s, maybe I will have to try going to one in Las Vegas or Niagara to see the thrill of it?
Saturday, August 1st was Switzerland’s birthday. For this we went to a brunch at a local farmers. The brunch was actually held in his new barn. The barn is only one year old and his cows are currently up on the Alp so they were about to clean up the barn to host about 250 people for brunch. Irene and Mark were helping serve brunch so I hung out with the boys and made friends. For brunch we had roesti (potatoes), eggs, a bacon roast, bread, cheese, yogurt, birchermuesli, fruit, and dessert. After the brunch the kids had a lot of fun playing with loud fireworks then we had supper with the neighbours. At night time we went into Brienz to watch the fireworks. The fireworks are set off on a ship on the lake! From the lake you can see fireworks all over the place! It was a bit of a rainy night but apparently on a clear night you see everyone on the mountain having a fire and setting off fireworks.
Lately I have been thinking about the things I miss most about home so I figured I would start a list. At the top of my list is chores on Sunday night with dad and my uncle, my comfy pull over sweater, and hugs. Next is ice caps, bacon, and the my dog. I am sure that reading this list you are thinking I don’t have my priorities straight, but with the internet today it is easy to stay in touch with my friends and family as well as getting updates on how people are doing. So, I don’t miss people as much because I can always give them a call. I still miss some of my typical summer events but there is always next year for those. Chores on Sunday’s can’t be replaced, they are the perfect combination of my love of family and animals. I didn’t bring my pull over sweater with me because I figured it wasn’t very practical for traveling, and that is true. But, when I am cold and tired nothing of more comfortable than my pull over sweater! Except for hugs… People here don’t hug like we do. Mmmhhm ice caps and Timmies, can anything really top a Timmies run? And bacon! From what I have seen people tend to have a piece of bacon meat but not crisp thin bacon like we have, and I haven’t seen any Canadian back bacon. And Misty, unfortunately I don’t get to talk to her like I do with my mom. But, Switzerland is pretty amazing so I think I can survive another 3.5 months with out this.
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