2 Weeks!

Its official, I have been living in the wonderfully amazing country of Switzerland for a  whole two weeks! It does not feel like it has been two weeks, it feels as no time at all has past. In some ways if feels as though i have been here for a lifetime, but when I look at the calender and realize that today is September first, everything changes. I realize that in such a short period of time, I have learned so much:
1. First and probably most importantly I have finally figured how to get home from the Luzern-Altdorf tell bus, with out getting lost, while carrying a map.
2. I have discovered how to get to Luzern by train, without getting lost.
3. How to figure out witch coins are witch without really looking.
4. The amount of German I have learned still continues to amaze me. I can hold a conversation, with about a 2nd grade level, and understand quite a lot if people speak slowly.
5. That you really should never say no to an adventure, because you never know what you'll miss out if you say no.

Today, I was able to go on a lovely hike with my host mom and her sisters dog. When we left, I had no idea where we were hiking, how long we would be gone, or really anything we were going to do. We drove just outside of Altdorf, to the Eggberge (it is a small gondola) where we parked and went inside to buy tickets. Once the gondola itself arrived to the building, from the top of the mountain, we boarded with the dog and rode up the mountain. It was one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen, as the gondola climbed higher and higher into the sky the town below became smaller and smaller. You can see everything from the top, and I was completely awestruck by the beauty of these mountains.

The spectacular view from the top, after the 5 min. Gondola ride
We then set off hiking to a little restaurant and over to another Gondola
Which would take us down the mountain. 

Oh the places you could go, but I don't remember which direction we went...

Notice the church in the background, I was surprised at how many people live this far up on the mountain. There are no paved roads, and you need a special car to get up and down the hill. While walking along, we saw a lot of other hikers, some mountain bikers, and a lot of local people. I cannot imagine living so high up, on a mountain with very seldom going into town

Happy cows are not from California, 

happy cows come from the mountains in Switzerland. 

Oh and did I mention the quantity of cows who live here, in Summer they wear these huge bells which make such a wonderful sound. They are all very friendly and love it if you will pet them on the head. These cows are completely pampered, they get to roam free and eat all the grass they could ever want. They are all dairy cows, I think, and are very well fed. 

Some of the bikers we saw, they had a really hard ride

 the hike had very few down-hill stretches. 

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The hike itself was very tiring, not only was it extremely hot, but we were hiking up hills and through the forest. We didn't see any wildlife, unless you count cows... but a lot of people and very beautiful scenery. After about 2 hours of hiking, we arrived at the little restaurant on the mountain, for something to drink and apple cake. There was a lake just below, but it looked really dirty, some of the mountain bikers were brave enough to jump in. After a snack, we set off for about another hour of hiking, finally some down-hill, until we reached a gondola and set off for home.