Day 3 - Kandersteg & Oeschinensee

July 2 - Day 3: This was our first full day of our trip where we could relax and enjoy our new surroundings. Many of us woke very early (5am) and willed ourselves back to sleep. By 8am, getting up was harder then if we had just gotten up at 5!

Another interntational breakfast in the cafeteria at KISC and then we were off for a Swiss adventure. Sure we had a map. Sure we asked for directions from the front desk. We still got lost. :-)

An "easy 15 min walk" to the gondola turned into a 45 min hike up and down the mountain. One wrong turn and it was all over. But we recovered quickly, found some local hikers who pointed us in the right direction, and finally the gondola was in sight.

We hopped on the gondola and were once again awed by the incredible mountains and awesome landscape. Sheep and cows and goats grazed on the side of the mountain below us. A few adventurous hikers were carefully making thier way down a very steep and rocky hillside. And after a too short gondola ride, we were at the top.

And who could have guessed.... there was a super fun Alpine Slide at the top! So we all buy tickets and some of the nervous nellies pair off to ride together and off we went up the hill with me snapping pictures all the while. Donna was in front of me and she went around the top turn and then stalled just before the down slope. I was so busy taking pictures that I didn't realize in time and couldn't stop and strongly encouraged her to keep it moving! No whiplash was invovled so it was all good! This was super fun and even our nervous nellies had a great time.

With lots of laughs behind us, we set off for the glacier lake - Oeschinensee. Of course, it was a longer walk then we all thought it would be and it was all down hill. Which was fine for the way in...

Over the last hill a beautiful blue lake came into view,complete with grazing cows and waterfalls. None of us could beleive it - it was so picture perfect.

We enjoyed our packed Swiss-inspired lunch (would all the cheese here be called swiss cheese?) under the trees and then a few of the girls were feeling adventurous enough to brave the chilly water. Donna and I longingly watched the couples dining on the restaurant deck, wine glasses in hand, but we resisted and focused on the lovely scenery instead.

If this place was in the States, a few things would be different....

• First, you would have to pay an admission fee to even see the lake


• There would be a roped off area for swimming with lifeguards to spoil the fun


• The row boats would have to be on the other side of the lake, well away from everything


• And I doubt the cows would have been welcome to swim along side the customers

After a lovely afternoon, we decided to head back. Janet and Donna opted for the taxi service (which was 8 CHF to get to the lake and 10 CHF to get back!) Katie, Jessica, and Trina decided to walk back to KISC through the hiking trails, rather then the gondola ride. Off the rest of us went, back down the gondola, back through town, and back to the Scout Centre.

The hiking crew returned a short time later, with a few more scrapes and bandages then they left with, unfortunatly. Katie slipped and slide a bit down the mountain, skinning both knees. Luckily, there was a hiker from Denmark nearby who had some bandages with him. Katie was patched up and the girls made it the rest of the way home in one piece. Katie would not be the only one of our group to take a fall during this trip.

Dinner was spaghetti with meat sauce and was delicious. After dinner, several members of the group enjoyed an international camp fire at the Centre, while others enjoyed resting and reading.

Tomorrow is a travel day... boo hoo... but it is also the day we get to see Our Chalet!