This past Saturday, I had a plan to visit the Aare Canyon Gorge. I took a train to the nearest town to the gorge (Meiringen) and asked for a bus to take me there. The sweet, old bus driver told me that the gorge is closed to visitors until spring.

I then took a train back to Brienz, as I had heard of a beautiful waterfall near the town. The bus to take me to the falls was down for another two hours, so I decided to walk instead. I walked around Lake Brienz and up the mountainside until I finally reached a sign announcing that I was indeed on the right path to Giesserbachfälle.

The walk took me a little over an hour, but it was well worth it. When I got to the falls, I was in complete awe of the sight. I could not believe that I was lucky enough to hear about such a magical place. At this point, I was beyond thankful that the gorge was closed because there was no way it could have compared to this hike along Giesserbachfälle.

I went up further and found a trail that went behind the waterfall. The spray of the freezing cold snowmelt hit my face as the wind blew the fall leaves from their trees. From the footpath behind the falls, you could see the bright blue waters of Lake Brienz.

I wish I could have stayed longer. I could have easily hiked the forest for the whole day, but alas there was homework to be done.

I hiked back up from the falls and down to a small restaurant I had passed on the way there. I stopped in for a glass of water and asked the owner if there was a bus to Brienz coming soon. Again, the bus would not be here for another two hours.

I left the restaurant ready to walk another hour to the train station. After only twenty minutes of walking down the mountain to the lake, the owner of the restaurant pulled up beside me and asked if I would like a ride. Her two little girls sat in the backseat with the sweetest smiles on their faces. Thanks to them, my hour trek only lasted 25 minutes and I made the next train with time to spare.

I am grateful for all of my big and small adventures throughout Switzerland. I hope to spend the rest of November traveling out of the country and all of December strolling through the various Christmas markets of the region. Wish me luck!

Best Wishes from Bern (and Beyond),

Emma Grace