This travelogue documents a trip through Germany and Switzerland, beginning in Bacharach on the Rhine River. Key stops included the villages of St. Goar and vineyards in the Rhine Valley, the city of Lucerne in Switzerland on a large lake with villages and mansions dotting the shores, and the mountain village of Gimmelwald in the Jungfrau region, known for its isolation and unique architecture. A highlight was visiting the Jungfrau Glacier, Europe's highest point, which involved taking a train up the mountain and going on a glacial hike with views of the glacier and surrounding peaks.

1. Alps, Lakes, and Villages
Sean’s Travels 2011

2. Our first stop was Bacharach, Germany (Rhine River).
Vineyards (Riesling)
City wall
Our hotel

3. Our room had a nice view toward the vineyards
Hit this fence
with car…oops

4. First thing’s first though. Introduction to travel buddies.
Nathan Jon
Kelli
Me

5. The wine in the Rhine is very unique and tasty. We found a
wine tasting bar immediately.
Oo! Castle!

6. Per usual, there is odd decoration in SE Germany.
As odd as Jon…

7. But they got the architecture right.
Oldest building
in town. Built in
late 1300’s!

8. The main attraction in the Rhine is ferrying the river.
Feudal lords were able to tax river
transportation, so every village has a
castle overlooking the river.
Nowadays, villages all make their
own wines for income.

9. St. Goar, a picturesque village, was our ferry destination.
This is about all we saw…

10. We found ways to enjoy this village nonetheless.
Honest coincidence, the
first place we ran for cover
was a beer tent.

11. The second place we had to run for cover was a family-run
brandy shop. Honest coincidence again.
The owner took pity on us
and gave us a tour of his
brandies. Very good stuff.

12. All-in-all, St. Goar was awesome.

13. Hit the road. Next stop: Luzern, Switzerland.
Confusing, but we mastered
the German and Swiss roads.

14. Luzern was my first introduction to Switzerland. Let’s just
say it was a good first impression.
People were really into this
bridge. All wood, really old.

15. I personally enjoyed the building
facades.
In Luzern, all buildings must
have residential units so
that it does not become
overrun by commerce. This
is likely a reason why
buildings have unique and
decorative fronts.

16. And the food.
I ate a lot.

17. Ferry time again.

18. Luzern is on a large crystal-clear lake in the Alps.

19. Traditional Swiss villages dot the shores.

20. And the occasional mansion.

21. We stopped in a village called
Vitznau and had lunch.
There was
more than
beer, I just
don’t have
photographic
evidence.

22. Naturally, we also went swimming.
We avoided areas
with this sign.
Terrifying…

23. Luzern is also the location of the
lion stone carving, dedicated to
the bravery and loyalty of the
Swiss army.

24. Then we went here.
(This is my “‘nuff said” photo)

25. Lauterbrunnen is a farming village in a green canyon valley
framed by waterfall covered cliffs.
Actually, it’s an extreme
sports village. At any
moment someone will be
base-jumping off this cliff.

26. But we stayed up here.

27. We got there via gondola.
Yes, I intentionally chose
the dark, ominous photo.

28. The cliff-side villages are very
traditional, which made them
very fun to stay in.
We stayed in a village called
Gimmelwald.

29. Mostly they are farmers as well (livestock and hay).
Originally, people settled
up here for the benefit of
more sun than the valley.

30. Isolation seems to have had interesting
affects on decoration taste.
I knew they existed…

31. Our room had an ok view from the balcony.
The Orion constellation was
right above the mountain
tops .

32. And of course, we had Swiss hot chocolate (this place put
house-made brandy in it too  ).

33. More scenery shots from Gimmelwald.

34. Cool shots around Gimmelwald.

35. One of our excursions was to Jungfrau Glacier. This was
definitely the most incredible thing we saw on this trip.

36. It was basically like that.

37. We set out early, just as the sun was coming up over the
mountains.

38. The glacier is far above the tree-line, over 11k feet in
altitude.

39. In fact, it’s the highest point in Europe.

40. But the Swiss created a train system to get there almost 100
years ago.
Up the mountains (like a roller And through the
coaster) mountains.

41. Shortly after arriving, we set out on a glacial hike.

42. To a ski-lodge overlooking the glacier.
Where we had goulash and beer. Perfect.

43. A few more glacier shots.

44. Later that day, we saw some people doing this.

45. Monkey see, monkey do.

46. Sweet.
YouTube video of me flying soon to come.

47. Munich.
(actually, my camera was stolen)

48. Auf Wiedersehen!
Yes, it’s real.