Gimmelwald, Switzerland
As was common on this trip, we were plagued with bad weather in Gimmelwald. We were able to walk around a little in the rain and take a few pictures, but most of the day was spent in the hostel ( http://www.mountainhostel.com/ ) playing cards with people from all over.
Yup-Swiss cottages like this really do exist.
Got milk? Like Swiss cheese and Swiss chocolate? Thank these guys. Those cowbells make great, low, resounding clangs when they walk around, and go non-stop when they are eating grass. When we eventually went on our mountain hike and were high up in the alps, we could easily see the value of these bells. If it is cloudy or hazy, the bells would help the farmer locate the herd.
It was gray skies and clouds like this that caused us to leave Gimmelwald a day early, in a hurried rush to go in search of bluer skies in Germany.