Thursday May 17: The Swiss Alps

Today we started another day on our tour with breakfast in the hotel and the proceeded to load our bus for a departure of 8:30 am. W took a short drive from our town of Singen to Schaffhausen where we took a 30 minute stop to admire the Rheinfalls, an awesome waterfall. From here we continued on to our destination for the next two nights. As we began to get closer to the base of the Alps the excitement began to build. We drove through a few tunnels and note other side of one tunnel was the beautiful scenery of the Alps and at the foot of them was a gorgeous lake. As we continued to wind up the mountain the sights of God's creation became even more visible. Everyone had their cameras out trying to catch these moments. Multiple times it was said that no picture could ever describe how truly amazing this was. Jean Paul was nice enough to stop for about 2 minutes so everyone could file off to capture the view of the blue water surrounded by the push green of the valley and the snow capped mountains. We continued to drive up until we hit the point where we could no longer drive. Here we got on the train to continue the up ward climb. Along our way the group saw natural waterfalls flowing out of the mountains. The Falcon Hotel was where we would be staying for the next 2 nights. This hotel is located in the small town of Wengen. At this hotel we were graciously greeted by Sena the owner. The quaint hotel has been serving Hesston College for a number of years. The rest of the afternoon was free for us to do what we wanted. Som walked around the town, took pictures, napped, sat in awe of beauty, read, and visited with others. We had the privilege of giving a mini concert for the other guests this was held in the garden area. After our concert we listened to Kara Stutzman present about Wengen and we also had a little jam in the salon. From here we proceeded to enjoy our three course meal provided by the hotel. The wonderful food and fellowship with one another were greatly appreciated. Today was truly an amazing day. We got to witness the hand of God's creation in a land that is filled with many wonders. For most of us we are still in complete awe of the sights and it feels as if it is surreal. Tomorrow many will continue to explore and take in the sights. God's glory is truly shown in this place. -Sarah Unruh, Hillsboro, KS