When I die, it is my wish to be cremated and have my ashes scattered in a place of beauty.  A visit to the immaculately groomed Lauterbrunnen Cemetery this morning had me considering a change of plans. Each grave is artistically adorned with a micro garden of brilliantly colored flowers. Each marker is distinctively designed and speaks to the loved one who rests there. It is located at the entrance to a valley which most reminds me of Yosemite.  Jeanine and I were amazed by the number of people interred here, mostly women, who lived past the age of 100, a testament to the healthy life style of the people of this region.

Traveling further down the valley we visited Trümmelbach Falls, a series of ten glacier-fed waterfalls inside a mountain made accessible by a tunnel-funicular, built in 1913, and a series of passages and stairways carved into the rock. The sound of 20,000 litres of water per second carving its way through the mountain was deafening and it was easy to imagine how this wonder of nature was created over the millennia.

Further still up the Lauterbrunnen Valley we boarded a cable car which took us to the quaint little town of Gimmelwald, easily the most authentic Swiss alpine village we visited.

Another cable car delivered us to Mürren, where we paused for coffee and snacks. An upscale and beautiful town with dozens of restored and modern hotels it was less appealing to us than Gimmelwald and after a brief tour we continued up to Allmendhubel where we began our hike of the Mountain View Trail to Grutschalp. Walking the trail normally takes 2 hours but with so much to see and photograph it took us closer to 3 hours.

Our hike ended with a symphony of cow bells by the happiest orchestra ever to play the instrument. If you believe nothing else about Switzerland, know that it is home to the most content cows on Earth.