For the last part of my parents' visit, we planned a trip with lots of hiking in the Alps. We usually go to the Jungfrau region, because it is the closest to Basel and it is spectacular, but we thought we would go to a new region, St. Moritz. None of us had ever visited this region before, so it was nice to explore together. The hotel we stayed at included unlimited lift tickets and we definitely took advantage of them. The second we had our lift tickets in hand, we went up the nearest lift. The weather was a little ominous; it started to rain as we rode to the top, but once we stepped out of the lift, it stopped, and we saw a beautiful rainbow!
Me & Nate:
In the evening, the sky cleared, so we went for a walk around this lake and the reflection was gorgeous.
The next morning we rode a different lift to a higher peak. It was really fun to be up IN the mountains. In this picture, me, my parents, and even Jake are sitting on the highest rock around...
Much to our surprise, our trail was covered in snow! My dad and Jake led the way and we followed begrudgingly. I wasn't thrilled at the idea of hiking through the snow, but it actually turned out to be a lot of fun!
Around the first corner, we came upon even more snow and the trail was practically non-existent! We just kept hiking down because we knew we would eventually hit some trail...
And fortunately, we did find the trail and a beautiful lake.
After we finished that trail, we went up another lift (we really took advantage of the unlimited pass!) and when we got to the top, it looked like a blizzard was going to start... so we decided to take the lift down instead of hiking.
The next morning, we rode on our last lift in St. Moritz. My parents & Jake: (I think my parents missed their Jack Russell, because they gave Jake a lot of love... and he loved it!) 
Look at the color of this lake... just like the Glacier Freeze flavor of Gatorade!
We started on our hike and the first part of the trail was covered in snow again! 
We had beautiful views the whole hike.
Feeling on top of the world... or just on top of the rock!
After a great time in St. Moritz, we headed to Zermatt and we drove over some incredibly beautiful and incredibly scary passes... yes, that is a huge drop off on the right side of the road.
One of my dad's goals is to drive over all the passes in Switzerland. I think he is happy to check another off his list!
When we got to Zermatt, there was a bit of a traffic jam...
Nate had to pick Jake up because he (Jake, not Nate) was scared of all the goats!
When we woke up the next morning, the Matterhorn was completely visible! It was in the clouds the rest of the day, but at least I was able to take a shot of Nate with it in the morning. I think Jake needs doggie sunglasses!
As usual, we took a lift to the top of a peak (no on could pay me to hike this high!) and enjoyed the view before hiking down.
Me & my parents:
Nate & Jake: (Jake is thinking, hurry up and let me off my leash!)
Once again, my dad is leading the way in the snow.
We were quickly out of the snow and on the grassy trail. It was a great hike along the ridge.
My dad & Nate:
We took a little break and everyone, except me, thought it would be refreshing or thrilling to put their feet in an ice-cold stream. It didn't sound as appealing to me. Nate is getting ready...
Then Nate screamed, "Ahhh!" ... I think it was miserably cold, but he can say he did it!
My dad wanted to show that he was even tougher than that, so he jumped (with his full body) into a freezing lake! He's crazy for even wanting to do that!
It was nearing the end of our hike, so we just sat by the lake and enjoyed the view. 
While we were there, the Zermatt marathon was going on, so we watched all of the exhausted marathoners go by. I can't imagine running up a mountain for the first half of the race, plus it would be extra hard with the thin air! They must have been tired because a lot the "runners" that we saw were actually walking. Click on the picture to see them coming down the trail...
Our last morning in Zermatt, Nate and I were able to take a picture together with the Matterhorn!
We then headed back to Basel and we were all a little tired after traveling for 3 weeks straight, so we took a shortcut by traveling on a train with our car. It's like when you drive your car on a ferry, except we drove it onto a train. It was quite the experience; almost like a ride at Disney World. For most of the time we were in a pitch black tunnel (which was kind of scary) and it was so loud that we couldn't even talk to each other. Our windows were open and we were getting blown away, but my dad finally rolled up the windows toward the end and it wasn't so bad! 
Before going back to the States, my parents came to Basel for a couple days. It was great to relax and show them around the city in which we now live. One afternoon, my dad and I played tennis on the Roger Federer Center court in Basel. This is the place where he played when growing up. It was so neat to play there, especially after he had just won his 15th Grand Slam!
It was great having you here, Mom and Dad, and it was sad to see you go. We love you and we're looking forward to being with you again at Christmas!
Me & Nate:
In the evening, the sky cleared, so we went for a walk around this lake and the reflection was gorgeous.
The next morning we rode a different lift to a higher peak. It was really fun to be up IN the mountains. In this picture, me, my parents, and even Jake are sitting on the highest rock around...
Much to our surprise, our trail was covered in snow! My dad and Jake led the way and we followed begrudgingly. I wasn't thrilled at the idea of hiking through the snow, but it actually turned out to be a lot of fun!
Around the first corner, we came upon even more snow and the trail was practically non-existent! We just kept hiking down because we knew we would eventually hit some trail... 
And fortunately, we did find the trail and a beautiful lake.
After we finished that trail, we went up another lift (we really took advantage of the unlimited pass!) and when we got to the top, it looked like a blizzard was going to start... so we decided to take the lift down instead of hiking.
The next morning, we rode on our last lift in St. Moritz. My parents & Jake: (I think my parents missed their Jack Russell, because they gave Jake a lot of love... and he loved it!) 
Look at the color of this lake... just like the Glacier Freeze flavor of Gatorade!
We started on our hike and the first part of the trail was covered in snow again! 
We had beautiful views the whole hike.
Feeling on top of the world... or just on top of the rock!
After a great time in St. Moritz, we headed to Zermatt and we drove over some incredibly beautiful and incredibly scary passes... yes, that is a huge drop off on the right side of the road.
One of my dad's goals is to drive over all the passes in Switzerland. I think he is happy to check another off his list!
When we got to Zermatt, there was a bit of a traffic jam...
Nate had to pick Jake up because he (Jake, not Nate) was scared of all the goats!
When we woke up the next morning, the Matterhorn was completely visible! It was in the clouds the rest of the day, but at least I was able to take a shot of Nate with it in the morning. I think Jake needs doggie sunglasses!
As usual, we took a lift to the top of a peak (no on could pay me to hike this high!) and enjoyed the view before hiking down.
Me & my parents:
Nate & Jake: (Jake is thinking, hurry up and let me off my leash!)
Once again, my dad is leading the way in the snow.
We were quickly out of the snow and on the grassy trail. It was a great hike along the ridge.
My dad & Nate:
We took a little break and everyone, except me, thought it would be refreshing or thrilling to put their feet in an ice-cold stream. It didn't sound as appealing to me. Nate is getting ready...
Then Nate screamed, "Ahhh!" ... I think it was miserably cold, but he can say he did it!
My dad wanted to show that he was even tougher than that, so he jumped (with his full body) into a freezing lake! He's crazy for even wanting to do that!
It was nearing the end of our hike, so we just sat by the lake and enjoyed the view. 
While we were there, the Zermatt marathon was going on, so we watched all of the exhausted marathoners go by. I can't imagine running up a mountain for the first half of the race, plus it would be extra hard with the thin air! They must have been tired because a lot the "runners" that we saw were actually walking. Click on the picture to see them coming down the trail...
We then headed back to Basel and we were all a little tired after traveling for 3 weeks straight, so we took a shortcut by traveling on a train with our car. It's like when you drive your car on a ferry, except we drove it onto a train. It was quite the experience; almost like a ride at Disney World. For most of the time we were in a pitch black tunnel (which was kind of scary) and it was so loud that we couldn't even talk to each other. Our windows were open and we were getting blown away, but my dad finally rolled up the windows toward the end and it wasn't so bad! 
Before going back to the States, my parents came to Basel for a couple days. It was great to relax and show them around the city in which we now live. One afternoon, my dad and I played tennis on the Roger Federer Center court in Basel. This is the place where he played when growing up. It was so neat to play there, especially after he had just won his 15th Grand Slam!
It was great having you here, Mom and Dad, and it was sad to see you go. We love you and we're looking forward to being with you again at Christmas!
