We had the opportunity recently to take a little trip away to the Valais, also known as Wallis in German. We had planned the trip for us and the kids, but my mother-in-law ended up visiting us at that time, so we all went together. What a great trip we had! I was amazed at how quickly we arrived: it was a total of 1.5 hours by train! Since the construction of the Lötschberg-Basistunnel (a tunnel through the base of a mountain), a train ride that used to take 3 hours, now takes half the time. But, who am I kidding? Even if it had been a 3 hour trip, I wouldn't have minded. The Swiss trains that connect main cities have a special car for kids and families. It has a small play area with a slide and a boat. It is always a hit with our girls when we travel longer distances by train!
We stayed in a small town called Susten. It is positioned in a valley between mountains. I happened to find an Airbnb that was walking distance from the train station, and that even had a playground and a hot tub. Score!
The weather has been all over the place in Switzerland this year, so I wasn't sure if we would have much luck with a clear day on Saturday. But, lo and behold, we scored a cloudy day with periods of sun, which is perfect for spending in the mountains! My mother-in-law showed us an area of the Valais that was her playground every year when she visited family in the summertime: Riederalp. We started our adventure in Mörel, a town at the base of the mountain. We took a gondola up to Riederalp. I've taken gondolas in the past, but going up with children is a different kind of scary! I was holding on to both kids very tightly 😅
In Riederalp, we had lunch at a small bakery/inn/pub. The view was absolutely stunning! We even saw a group of paragliders start their decent from the bakery to the bottom of the mountain.
From Riederalp, we took an open ski lift all the way to the top of the mountain to the lookout point (you can just imagine the look on my face as I had to go on a ski lift with small children!) At the top, there was snow, and spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and of the Aletsch glacier below. The kids especially liked throwing the snow around since we didn't get much snow at all this year in Bern!
We really lucked out with the weather because as we left on Sunday morning, the rain started coming down and would have made for a wet and miserable time in the mountains. I am so thankful for the opportunity to learn more about where Justyn's family is from and to have heard stories from his mom about her special memories of growing up in this beautiful part of Switzerland!
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