Braunwald, take II.

Last fall, the first hike that I took in the Alps was in Braunwald, and it still ranks as one of the more beautiful hikes on which I have been. (The background of my blog features a picture taken on this hike.) I even went back to the area a few weeks later for a second hike. It really is just gob-smackingly beautiful. It also helps that this area is quite close to Zürich, which means that you can even sleep in a little and still have a nice hike.

On Saturday the weather was absolutely perfect to take a hike (70-ish and totally sunny), so I decided to head back to Braunwald to take a different hike- the Panoramaweg. This hike was definitely not short on panorama, either.

The day was totally perfect. Not too hot, a little breeze coming up the valley, and what the weather services likes to call "abundant sunshine." Maybe a little too abundant, because I definitely got a little toasty, despite applying copious amounts of sunscreen.

Strangely enough, I also ran into one of my colleagues and her husband, who were hiking the same trail but in the opposite direction. It's a small world over here in Switzerland...

One of my favorite things is to stop on the trail to just listen and smell. I could hear the clanging of cowbells across the valley, the buzz of bees in all of the alpine flowers and the whisper of the breeze in the pine trees. The smell of pine wafted up from the forests and the sweet smell of the flowers and grass was really heavenly.

 
Yup. I think I like it here.