Traversing the Swiss Alps

We woke up in Lech, Austria and got on the road for a long drive through some beautiful country. Our destination: Wengen, Switzerland.

It took us 6 hours, and it was incredibly beautiful, despite the rainy weather.

If we just listened to Google maps, it would have only taken 3.5 hours. But it would have been all highway driving. Our friend Tom Bowers, who spent a lot of time in the Alps as a downhiller on the US Ski Team, told us to take the mountain passes instead.

We took the Klausenpass to Altdorf and the Sustenpass to Interlaken. And we are so glad we did.

Here is the start of the Klausenpass as you look back. That hairpin turn is all cobblestone, not asphalt:

Just past that spot, we encountered our first Swiss cow, taking a walk on the road:

Further up, we hit the equivalent of traffic on the Swiss 405:

Cam was spontaneously breaking into "The hills are alive with the sound of musiiiiiiiic"

We passed through some beautiful tunnels.

This one has a waterfall over it:

We traversed up some serious switchbacks on single lane roads. Look closely in the center of the photo for the tunnel:

Here is a cliff side road with a huge drop off the ledge:

Massive waterfall off the port bow!

We made it to Lauterbrunen then parked the car and took a train up to Wengen. The town of Wengen does not allow visitors to bring cars into the town. This is the view of the Lauterbrunen valley from the train up to Wengen:

Imagine Yosemite, times 1,000, with no crowds. Maybe it is just the time we are here, but it is so empty and peaceful here. And the scenery is inspiring!