To the "top of Europe" we went today! We boarded our tour bus early in the morning and drove such a very pretty, scenic way up to the mountains. First there was a photo-op in Brienz, along the Brienzersee, or Lake Brienz, passing dairy cows with their traditional bells, typical Swiss chalets, and gorgeous green fields. Then on up to Interlaken, literally "between the lakes" of Brienzersee and Thunersee. Up, up the mountains to Lauterbrunnen. There we boarded a cog-wheel train, the Jung fraubahn, which was celebrating its 100th anniversary, for the rest of the ascent to Kleine Scheidegg station at an elevation of 6762 ft.

What marvelous scenery! Breath-taking vistas. Waterfalls cascading out of the sides of the mountinas. And then! there above us stood the peaks of the Eiger (Eagle), Monch (Monk) and the Jungfrau (Young Woman). Sunlit and majestic, they rose up over 13,000 ft before us, their ancient glaciers nestled between their peaks, immobile in ice. More photos, and then we all went to lunch in the Rostizzeria restaurant up there for a delicious meal of wurst, rosti, coleslaw and flan for dessert, with Rugenbrau beer to drink. And on the table were tubes of the mustard we had purchased!

I started to feel a little woozy - was it standing on the jiggly ride of the cog wheel train that made me feel like I was still moving? Was it the altitude that seemed to make the buildings move ever so slightly? Deep breaths of mountain air helped, sitting in the sunshine in just my sweater were the cures. The weather was ideal, warm and sunny. But as we finished our lunch, the clouds started to cover the Monch, roll into the valley. Rain had been predicted, but it had held off until the very end.

We boarded a different train for the trip back down, seeing different views as we descended. We met our bus in Grindelwald for the ride back to Lucerne. This time, instead of the scenic drive, we took a more direct route, through many, many tunnels. John, our guide, told us the Switzerland is like its cheese - full of holes! Most of us snoozed on our way back, and the rain which had held off all day, came pouring down. John said even Switzerland wept as this was our last night here.

After freshening ourselves, our Grand Circle program director, Ria, treated us to a final cocktail hour. Paula took the train in from Bienne to join us for dinner and was able to meet many of our group, who had been hearing all the stories about her year with us. We ate at the hotel's restaurant. Dad & Paula had a rather yummy meal of pasta and I enjoyed risotto. Then we had to say our goodbyes to Paula as she had to return home for work tomorrow and we to our room to pack.

TOMORROW: Altenberg, Germany and a visit with Lysann!