I woke early the next morning, curious to see what this place looked like, my arrival in darkness and fog shrouding the place in mystery. I hopped down from my bunk bed perch and flung back the curtains at the window.

The parting curtains revealed a landscape so breathtakingly magical that I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning catching my first sight of the presents piled under the tree. Sturdy little cottages dotted green slopes, embraced by magnificent mountain peaks under a cobalt blue sky with thick bunches of brilliant white clouds.

Quickly I shoved my feet into shoes, grabbed my jacket and rocketed downstairs, shooting out the front door and into... a fog so dense I could see only a few yards in any direction. I couldn't be live the view I had seen just a minute before was totally obscured.

Both disappointed and amused, I found my way through the mist to Ester's Store, where the welcoming scent of fresh baked bread met me at the door.

Fresh Breakfast from Ester's Store
Bread, warm from the oven, eggs warm from the hens, milk warm from the cow--it just doesn't get any fresher than this. There's also green herb-topped fresh cheese, and the most delicious fresh fruit yogurt you'll ever taste.

I boiled my eggs in the stainless steel splendor of the hostel kitchen, and was soon enjoying a hearty breakfast. Then Kim and I donned jackets and headed back outside to explore...

Next: Discovering Gimmelwald