I’ve been hiking with my Tuesday ladies for a solid year now. It’s my favorite day of the week, for sure. We drop the kids off at school, carpool out to some cool Swiss or German destination, then hike all day, eat a late lunch, then hustle back, exhausted and filthy and happy, to pick up our kids. It’s been such a fun part of my life here. Europeans really make the most of their environment and are outside constantly. Every once in a while on a Tuesday, a hike totally blows my mind. This was definitely one of those times.

We took the Ebenalp gondola up to Wasserauen, hopped off, heard the gorgeous sound of cowbells in the air, and knew it was going to be a great hike. Sure enough, a few minutes down the trail, we were greeted by some beautiful Swiss cows. These beauties were clearly enjoying the day too, lounging in the sun happily, eating the Alpine grasses. This, to me, is BLISS. Bliss, I tell you! Gentle breeze, the sounds of cowbells, sunshine, hiking with friends, happy cows. Ahhh.

I had hiked to the Aescher Hotel before with Mary Jane once, my mom once, and the Honkens once. This was the first time for some of the girls in our hiking group. It never gets old, the looks on people’s faces when they see Aescher for the first time. It’s on most “Things to See Before You Die” lists for a reason. Wowza. Anyway, we passed by Aescher this time and continued our hike down, down, down to the Seealpsee, somewhere I had never been. I was blown away, yet again. Photos do not do it justice! Surrounded by grazing, happy cows and white-capped mountains, this Alpine lake is stunningly gorgeous. To me, it doesn’t get any better than this. I imagine heaven to be like the Alps in the summertime. What lucky girls we are.