Mountains – the highs and the lows

Fall has finally found us. The day after our arrival in Zinal, Switzerland, the sun came out and melted the snow, at least at our altitude. We have had a few beautiful fall days in the mountains (and one rainy day, too). The mornings and evenings are quite brisk, and since On a mountain topwe are in a valley, the sun doesn’t rise over the mountains to the East of us until 10:30am, and it sets behind the mountains to the West at 3:45pm. Between those hours, it is gorgeous, even warm. But, even though it is still light out when the sun is behind the mountains, the temperature drops instantaneously. We have gotten to be very good at Swiss-style dressing – lots of layers.

During the sunny hours, the kids and I hiked down into the valley where a beautiful river flows through the town. We also took a cable car to the top of a nearby mountain for a Mountain Slidefabulous view. We found several great playgrounds (I’m still amazed that they build a playground at the top of a mountain!). There have been so many beautiful simple moments with things that both the kids and the adult can enjoy. But it isn’t without effort.

“Hiking” with the kids really means walking slightly farther than they are used to, which isn’t very far. In order to go anywhere in the mountains, you are automatically going either up or down. And getting back to our apartment means climbing up for about a quarter mile, the last part of which is rocky, so the stroller doesn’t work. Getting three kids, including a two-year-old, up the hills (and then up three flights of stairs) is quite a workout! No wonder you don’t see many overweight Swiss people.

SwimmingWhen it isn’t sunny out (i.e. the other 7 waking hours), there are still lots of options for the kids. They spent one morning at a supervised children’s program, so I had two hours to myself! We have gone swimming every day, and I have three little water bugs. There is also an indoor playroom for children with lots of toys. All in all, it is a fantastic vacation. The only thing that could make it better is if Joe could be here to share it with us.

Don’t miss the pictures of our mountain adventures in our gallery.

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