To be honest, I didn't even know how to begin selecting pictures to include in this post. Every picture is gold to me. Lush green valleys, snow-capped peaks, glacier water incased by mountains--not to mention some pretty awesome candids of my sweet baby boy enjoying the outdoors--all made for some seriously incredible frame-worthy shots. And I know I've said this about other destinations, but Switzerland is just a dream. What on Earth is better for the soul than blue skies and crisp mountain air? Interestingly, one year ago we were trekking around the Highlands of Scotland. I thought those views and experiences were pretty amazing, but Switzerland proved to be quite an equal contender. Being up and amongst the Swiss Alps, it's easy to see why this region of the world has made such a name for itself. Oh, and the LAKES. How could I not mention the lakes? Move over Caribbean islands. Switzerland has the most unbelievable turquoise waters I have ever seen. But more on that later. Thomas, his parents, Theodore, and I spent five very full and exhilarating days in Switzerland. While none of us attempted the popular thrill of paragliding, we certainly didn't lack for a variety of means to experience the mountains. Between trains, cablecars, funicular rides, and hikes, we were afforded some bucket list-worthy views and memories to last a lifetime.

Day 1

I'll count our first full day in Switzerland as Day 1, since the previous day was spent mostly in the car. Oh by the way, if you're driving through Switzerland, be prepared to pay a whopping 40 Swiss Francs at the border for this privilege. (The conversion rate is 1:1 for USD.) So this is easily the most expensive country we've ever driven through, and the second most expensive country we've eaten our way through, next to Iceland. (Thai takeout for four people was right around 100 bucks. That's just crazy.) We owe a huge thanks to Thomas's parents for picking up the tab for the majority of the meals while here. Anyway, I digress. Surprise, surprise. Back to Day 1. We were staying at an Airbnb in Interlaken, which was an easy jumping off point to access all the fun of the region. Interlaken is an interesting town in that it is completely overrun by international tourists, leaving it feeling neither authentic nor quintessentially Swiss, but it there was no lack of restaurant variety due to this fact at least. So we started off with a train ride from Lauterbrunnen, which is an adorable town nestled in Lauterbrunnen Valley, and a quick drive from Interlaken. (Probably a better place to stay if you are striving for peak Swiss cuteness). My original thought for the day was to take the train all the way to the top to Jungfraujoch, which is the highest train station in Europe and located right smack dab on a glacier. Well, we were astounded to discover that it costs 200 Swiss francs PER PERSON just to take the train there. Considering we have flown all over Europe for less than a hundred dollars for a ticket roundtrip, this was mind blowing to us. So, plan B: Take the train to Wengen, cable car to Männlichen, hike to Kleine Scheidegg, and train back down from there. Much less expensive, and more adventurous! I'm always up for a hike.

One big happy family! (After we raced to catch this train that only runs once every 30 minutes).

TJ was settling well into his personal mode of transport for the day.

First stop, Wengen. We spent a short amount of time in this town, grabbing pre-made sandwiches at the grocery store before making our way to the cable car station.

And up we go again! First cable car ride for TJ! We disembarked at the top and found a spot with some pretty amazing views for a nursing session and picnic.

We definitely have ourselves a mountain baby! TJ was loving every minute of it.

Then we set off for the hike! It was really more of a ridge walk than what I would consider a true hike, but the views along the way did not disappoint.

TJ really loved hanging out in the hiking backpack that we borrowed from a friend. This piece of baby gear was essential for this trip. He had a nice little snooze in it while pack mule Dad did all the work during the hike.

And of course, one must end a hike through the Alps with a mountaintop "bier garten" visit. TJ agreed, so we had to put Thomas's beer well out of his reach. Sorry, bud. Even the Germans say you have to wait until at least 16 years old for beer!

Now back on the train to make our way back down to Lauterbrunnen.

Day 2

So what other modes of transportation are we missing at this point in TJ's life? Trains, cablecars, automobiles..but no boat yet. Let's check that off the list! Day 2 was spent ferry hopping on the beautiful Lake Brienz.

We stopped in the small lakeside town of Iseltwald for lunch.

We enjoyed our lunch of various types of fried fish caught from the lake, and these views certainly added to the ambiance. There wasn't much to see or do in the town itself, so as soon as we finished we caught the next ferry and made our way to the town of Brienz, with some lovely sights along the way.

Upon disembarking in Brienz, we made our way though this quaint little village up the hill to the church for some fabulous views.

TJ sure picked a scenic spot for a milk refueling. I've decided there are two different attitudes I could adopt about traveling with a baby. I could see it as an inconvenience and choose not to do it. We obviously don't have family living here in Germany to babysit, so a "Mom and Dad only" trip is out of the question. Or I could adapt and embrace it. I'm glad I chose the latter. Because, if you're going to breastfeed throughout the day anyway, you might as well do it all with a view.

I love this father and son action shot. Thomas is carrying him because, as per usual in Europe, there were tons of stairs here.

Day 3

Day 3 was another mountaineering adventure day, and the day of my favorite hike. We started with a cable car ride to stunning town of Mürren, where we had lunch looking out over the edge of a giant gorge, surrounded by mountains on all sides.

Apparently we didn't take any pictures of the view by itself, because when you have a baby dressed in lederhosen in the Alps, the scenery takes a backseat.

So after lunch we set out to hike from Mürren to Allmendhubel. The travel brochure we acquired stated that the hike was "slightly easier" going the other way. Well, I like a little challenge, so up we went.

Okay, so "slightly" may not have been the best adverb choice. I would say it would have been significantly easier to go the opposite direction. However, I also think we picked the steepest route because the hike was supposed to take an hour and a half and we made it in well under 45 minutes. Ten minutes into the hike I was sweating, rolling up my pant legs, and throwing my hair into a messy bun on the top of my head. Meanwhile, Super Dad Thomas was sporting a long-sleeved flannel shirt and a 20 pound baby on his back like it was no big deal.

But the views were worth it, right Thomas? They were definitely breathtaking--both literally and figuratively. Luckily, the terrain leveled out a bit as we neared the top

We made it! TJ woke up from his nap right as we got to Allmendhubel. There wasn't much here other than a restaurant and a playground, so we met up with Thomas's parents at the restaurant (who had taken the funicular up), snapped a few family pictures, and joined them on the funicular back down.

How could I not include this picture? His face! Priceless. After the funicular ride, we continued down the mountain via cable car.

Oh but one more stop before we descended all the way back down. We stopped for a short walk through the very small and quiet town of Gimmelwald. Rick Steves rambled on and on about this town, claiming it to be one of the few towns in Switzerland virtually untouched by tourism. He mentioned a quote, "If heaven isn't what it's cracked up to be, send me back to Gimmelwald." Well, we certainly did feel like the only tourists there. And the views were, again, incredible.

These cow bells were enormous! I pity the poor cow who has to wear the ones on the far left especially.

TJ says, "Okay guys, can we go back now?" After we saw enough of the town, which didn't take long at all, we got back in the cable car and enjoyed the scenic, but very crowded, ride back down the cable car into Lauterbrunnen Valley.

Day 4

It was very difficult for me to leave these mountains. I could have spent many more days here, hiking or simply just basking in the never-ending beauty of this region, especially knowing I'd be returning to a home amongst flat farm fields in just a few short days. But at least we had some fun stops planned along the way, so vacation wasn't over quite yet! On Day 4 we got up and headed straight for Lucerne.

I didn't really research much about Lucerne before we came here. I just remembered having an opportunity to visit this city back in 2009, when my post-college Europe tour stopped at Mt. Rigi for a night. I opted to skip the city that day and hike the mountain instead, so on this trip I was looking forward to finally visiting Lucerne. The old wooden Chapel Bridge is the most well-known structure of the city, and dates back to 1365.

We had a delicious lunch right on the water at Rathaus Brauerei. As an added bonus to the yummy pretzel, sausages, and cheese pie, I also sampled a little of the refreshingly light wheat beer, brewed in-house. After lunch, we had a little playtime by the water with TJ.

Then, per my request, we stopped for gelato before crossing the famous Chapel Bridge.

The paintings on top date back to the 17th century.

Lucerne was a lovely stop. But soon we were on the road again. Without a baby, we might have stayed longer. But alas, bedtime comes early for an eight month old, and we had one other stop to squeeze in before the end of the day. Since we were so close, why not check another country off the list? Liechtenstein, here we come!

This was more of a drive-by than a stop. Rick Steves says, "Don't go out of your way to see Liechtenstein." After being there, I'd have to agree. While it is pretty, there isn't much to it. The country itself is a little under 62 square miles, and its capital city Vaduz, where we stopped briefly, is tiny. But hey, how many Americans can say they have been to the country of Liechtenstein, much less before their first birthday?

So after a quick stop to snap a picture of the Prince of Liechtenstein's castle, we continued on to our final destination, a small Swiss town of Rorschach on Lake Constance (called Bodensee in German).

Day 5

I'm not really sure what drew me to Lake Constance exactly. Every American I have spoken with about this trip so far has never even heard of this lake. I think as I've been looking at maps of Europe for the past two years, I just kept seeing this huge lake on the border of Switzerland and Germany. Lake Constance is actually the third largest lake in central Europe, and is divided between the borders of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Further research through Google image revealed a large, beautiful lake speckled with sailboats, reminding me of blissful childhood summers spent at Lake Texoma. While traveling in Europe is always exciting, I still often find myself craving familiarity. I think that is human nature, is it not? Sandwiches on the beach followed by a refreshing dip in the cool lake water brought me some much needed relaxation and nostalgia at this point in the trip. Except that here, when I looked out at the horizon, I was staring at two different countries instead of Texas. And unlike the murky brown color of Texoma, the water here was as clear as the ocean. (Although I'd still take a Coors Light in a koozie whilst bobbing around on a life jacket-turned floaty seat with my best friends over any other lake experience. I guess it's true that you can take the girl out of Oklahoma, but you can't take the Oklahoma out of the girl.) And this cute babe...he certainly seemed to be in his element too.

To end the day, Thomas and I drove up to the top of a hill and watched the sunset over the lake.

Day 6

Our last full day of travel landed us back in Germany, but not home yet. We were making our way to Heidelberg, with a stop in Stuttgart along the way to visit the Porsche Museum. I'm not really a Porsche aficionado, so the guys no doubt enjoyed this stop more than me. We spent a couple of hours here and by early evening we made it to the cute German city of Heidelberg. Heidelberg is a University town situated on a river, complete with a hillside castle of course. As we were checking into our hotel, we were informed by a staff member that on this day there was a big celebration with fireworks to "celebrate the French burning our castle." Those were his exact words. How very unlike Germany to celebrate defeat, so I couldn't help but laugh a little when he said this. But this happened back in the 17th century, so I supposed it's now water under the bridge, fireworks on the castle. Since we missed fireworks for the Fourth of July, I was hoping to see these. Unfortunately we had a late dinner that night and couldn't make it out to the river in time to see the show, but we did enjoy a nice evening stroll and a view of the castle beforehand.

The next day we had breakfast and headed home to wrap up another epic European road trip. We had such a fantastic time in Switzerland, and TJ was a total travel champ. Let's hope he enjoys the next one just as much, because my Dad will be here soon and we have another exciting road trip in the works! Stay tuned to see where baby Theodore goes next!