The second day of our vacation we stayed with my cousin in Switzerland. He treated us to a wonderful train ride up into the Alps. The cog railway train took us from Wilderswil to Schynige Platte where you could disembark and take off on a lovely alpine hike with views of Lake Thun and Lake Brienz by Interlaken down below and the Bernese Oberland with the peaks of the Eiger, Mönch & Jungfrau. For those who would like a link: http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/schynige-platte-sets-the-stage-for-the-eiger-moench-and-jungfrau.html Since this is more of a vacation report I am just posting photos that show some of what I experienced rather than award-winning photos (not that I ever make those anyway). For me it is just an attempt to share the experience just as I have enjoyed traveling with many of you via photos and descriptions you have posted. The train ride took about 50 minutes or so from the valley to high up in the Alps with breathtaking views all along the way. Hiking up that far would have taken me all day if I made it at all. These two views are just to show the train setting. I was also impressed with the small farm operations along the way. You might be way up in the mountains thinking the only thing to see now is the fantastic wild landscape when all of a sudden you see a small field of freshly cut hay being hand raked by a farmer. Another time you might see a small hut or two with some Swiss cows herding in for milking time. The Swiss alpine cows are so much fun because each carries its own musical instrument (a bell). The variety of sizes and shapes of the bells along with the various movements of each cow works together to create a beautiful Alpine symphony. I will be posting more photos of this lovely day later.