Before I write my last blog about our trip to the Alps, I want to share about the single best day of the trip. We’ll see what BTD applications turn up.
HH and I spent three days in the Alps in 1987. As we rode into Switzerland on the train, the views of the mountains were breathtaking. I raised the window and snapped three pictures. A Swiss lady angrily said “Put that window down.” I did so without arguing, knowing that I had two more days to photograph mountains.
However when we woke the next morning the cloud ceiling was low. It wasn’t raining. We could see lakes and trees, waterfalls and chalets; but the mountain peaks had vanished. We never saw them again.
On our tour this year, we were going to the Alps in four countries. The Bavarian Alps were beautiful. The Austrian Alps were beautiful. The Dolomites in Italy were beautiful. I could hardly wait to get to Switzerland.
But it was cloudy in Switzerland.
I began to joke with our tour director that there were no mountains in Switzerland. Several times we would cross the border seeing mountains in Italy and clouds in Switzerland. We were not unhappy; there were plenty of beautiful things to see at lower elevations, but when you take an Alps tour you expect to see the Alps.
We had three days in Zermatt, famous for the Matterhorn. The first day was cloudy. The second day the weather was supposed to clear in the afternoon, so we took a cog train up the Gornergrat, a nearby mountain with an allegedly spectacular view of the Matterhorn. The clouds began to part and we could see glaciers on nearby mountains. Then the clouds rolled back together and snow flurries started. We got on the train and headed back to Zermatt.
The third day we were leaving right after breakfast. We set the alarm for dawn, just in case the clouds had broken, but when we looked out the window there was the familiar low ceiling. As long as I was up I decided to do my Bible study on the balcony. When I finished I looked up and there was blue sky overhead.
I ran into the room and told HH to put the suitcases in the hall and grab our carry ons. We ran up the hill to the bridge over the river. (See what being in BTD good shape lets you do. I was running with my camera bag, and two tote bags) We got to the bridge, and there was the Matterhorn in the sunrise. Whisps of clouds were around, but as the orange of the sunset faded, the clouds disappeared. I took dozens of pictures. It was beautiful.
We walked back down the hill and had breakfast. For those who had gotten up late, or weren’t in shape to run up the hill, our Tour Director said the Matterhorn would be visible from the train station, but when we got there the clouds had rolled in. It was gone. This was just the beginning of the marvelous day.
We arrived in Interlaken, the town where HH & I had stayed in 1987. The clouds rolled around giving us glimpses of peaks by the lake as we traveled. As we were eating lunch, I saw a beautiful snow covered peak. What was that? I grabbed my camera and ran outside. After I took pictures, I asked the name of the mountain. It was Jungfrau. This was the mountain we were supposed to see in 1987, but never did! But wait, the day is not over yet.
There was an optional tour to an underground waterfall in a cave. We have been to lots of caves, and this extra excursion hadn’t appealed to us. The Tour Director said they would drop those not taking the excursion in Grindenwald. HH and I looked at each other. The name sounded familiar. We looked on the map. Grindenwald was a place that we were supposed to visit in 1987. We had been told to take the train there and we would find hiking trails. But we did not go because of the clouds!
We couldn’t believe it! The bus dropped us off at the train station! We hiked for two hours. The clouds rolled around. We could never see everything at once, but during the two hours, we saw ALL of the surrounding peaks that we had missed 28 years before.
I ought to work in at least one more BTD connection. Our tour director had told us that another way to find a toilet was to order something in a café. Then we could use their facilities. While we were waiting for the bus to pick us up, we stopped in coffee house in Grindenwald. They had green tea! I had been missing my daily glass of green tea on the trip. It tasted so good, and it got me into the toilet for free!
I believe that I am able to pray for anything and everything. God hears my prayers about all of the details of my life. But I did not pray to see the Swiss Alps. You see, I am aware that there are many people who could never afford to go to another country. There are many people who will live and die without ever seeing a mountain, and I had seen so many. While I could have prayed to see the Swiss Alps, I did not. I prayed that God would let me be content with the blessings he had already given me. He did make me content. Then he gave me one of the most amazing days of my life.
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