My brother is one of my favorite people.

Well, I have five brothers, and they’re all my favorites for all kinds of different reasons, but the one I want to talk about today is Tal.

And Tal married a Swiss girl named Anita.

And the two of them, along with their daughter have built a pretty wonderful life in Switzerland.

After hitting the Italian Dolomites (back HERE), we headed their way to spend a day with them:

In their magical Swiss wonderland.

Switzerland is on the very tippy-top of my list for favorite places in the world. So let’s talk about this:

Things to do in Switzerland

Specifically, things to do in Flims, Switzerland.

But first, let’s back up for just a minute, back to when we left the little town of Ortisei and started our drive.

We drove through the Alps of Italy, Austria Liechtenstein and Switzerland en route to meet up with my brother.

And THAT isn’t an ugly drive 😉

Glistening towns, all nestled with a church in the middle (and of course, the flowers spilling out of all the windows).

As we drove it was almost as if the mountains were breathing on a cold day, little wisps or cloud trailing upward and lingering hugging the trees.

Through all kinds of tunnels:

We even followed a rainbow for a little while.

We arrived in Flims, the town where my sister-in-law grew up, and we were so excited to meet up with Tal (Anita was meeting us later), big hugs all around and straight to his fav kabob place:

Once again, the weather was supposed to be cloudy, but we lucked out.

…and those clouds parted right in time for our perilous cliff climbing (as Dave would call it…it was a little scary I’ll admit, but also incredibly exhilarating I must say).

We rented some gear in town, and hiked up to the base of the Flimerstein. (Isn’t that the best name? It’s a gorgeous mountain with steep rock walls overlooking the valley.)

Tal got us all situated, our hearts pumping…

And we carefully started making our way up, hooking our carabiners at every turn.

I was seriously on the top of the world, my heart racing, in LOVE with that adventure.

Dave was not quite so in love, thinking through every possible scenario that could go wrong (he’s such a protector), but was a pretty great sport;)

And the kids all loved it. Tal was the best guide.

We made it!!!

(At least to the first plateau…next time I’m staying on that mountain all day 🙂

Loved sitting up there with Tal pointing out all his favorite parts of the valley below.

Then we scaled back down.

…Ever so carefully.

Phew!

Made it!

See those pine trees up there on the left below? That’s where we were.

Next we went to Lake Caumasee (the one we visited last time we were here with all the girls, link below if you want to check it out).

Can you even believe that gorgeousness?

The kids and Tal all stripped down to their swimsuits and swam in that cold, gorgeous water…to the dock,

then to the island,

…then to the little jump-off board while Dave and I just sat huddled together talking and basking in God’s creation.

THEN it was time for “THE HUT.”

We had heard so much about this place that they love, and we were so excited to drive up that mountain and share that special place with that Swiss family of ours…and reunite with my sister-in-law and my sweetie niece we all love.

This is a place they bought that has been passed down through family, right on the mountain, hundreds of years old, no electricity or plumbing, just sheer nature.

It’s their little get-away from the city and I don’t know how to even describe it, it was like straight out of the book “Heidi” or out of some whimsical fairy tale.

Maybe that’s because of how they took care of us up there (right along with the ambiance).

They were waiting there with open arms and a hot Swiss dinner ready for us, their little porch all set up in red and white, furs on the chairs, steaming food, Swiss beverages and Swiss chocolate for dessert.

A foggy cloud lingered on the tip of the mountain and the grass was so green and the city sparkled in the valley below. Loved having my niece show us around…the barn, how the cat gets up to the attic, where they sleep…

…and doing the dishes in the special basin Tal rigged up complete with a drying rack.

It was the perfect “Swiss experience.” I think they could have the most amazing Bed & Breakfast deal going on if they wanted to. We stayed until the sky was dark and we had to pull ourselves away.

The next morning we loved lingering at their condo in the city, another beautiful spot with huge windows looking over the Swiss countryside.

Wow. Loved being part of that home.

We bid goodbye and headed to Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald: our last stops (coming soon), filled up with the love for that awesome Swiss family we adore.

There is nothing like family.

Other Switzerland posts:

Rain, Fog, Chocolate and Beauty all around in Switzerland

(We went to that same lake with all the girls back in that post)

A video of our Swiss adventure

MFME in Switzerland & Germany

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