Switzerland part I – Cheese and stormy mountain adventures
This past year has been full of life changing events, travels and adventures just happening one after another. It has already been a year since I went exploring the beautiful mountains of Switzerland, an adventure I realise I never shared with you all.
Nendaz
Nendaz is located on a terrace above the Rhone Valley near the capital of the Valais and during the warmer seasons it is a holiday resort popular with bikers and hikers. This was our first stop and as the theme for all my travels seem to be mountains (and more mountains) I was very excited to finally come here. Just our bus ride to Nendaz, a village surrounded by mountains, blew my mind.
≫ You can read more about Nendaz here
We arrived in the afternoon and freshed up in our rooms, hade a welcome drink at the hotel and went off to dinner. The mountains that I saw everywhere immediately took my breath away. We stayed at the beautiful Hotel Nendaz 4 Valles and it is surrounded by gorgeous nature, the view in every direction was truly magnificent and the sunset was absolutely breath taking.
Cheese & thunderstorms in the mountains
We get up unspeakably early and the fine weather from the day before is no where to be seen. We all get into a car that take us on winding, steep roads up the mountain Balavaux. Here they keep cows and make their cheese. Something that Switzerland is very know for, as they should be – they do it well!
The sky is grey and thick clouds dance around the surrounding peaks. A heavy rain falls and we all crowd inside the little hut to learn about the delicate art of cheese making. We don’t spot the cows, which in this weather is quite understandable. It’s interesting though, and the cheese is delicious.
Little did I know that when this trip was over, I would actually be tired of cheese – a thing I did not think was possible.
Weather in the mountains is fickle. One minute we can barely see anything and it’s pouring down, the next it slows down, the sun peeks through the clouds and a rainbow appears. The next minute it’s dark and pouring again. We eat breakfast up here and I look out the window and admire the view, then I take a sip of my coffee and when I look up it’s just white outside the glass – the magnificent view from seconds ago is gone.
Now I love dramatic weather but I’ve never experienced it up in the mountains before. It’s a short hike from the hut to where we’re supposed to take a lift down the mountain. Hiking up in the mountains sets my soul on fire, but this morning I am a bit scared as well… Suddenly thunder starts rolling in and we see lightning. I love a good thunderstorm but never have I felt so small before, as I do when the sound of thunder rolls through the peaks and I realise how exposed we are up here.
We’re fine though and make it to the lift. It’s closed in waiting for some of the fog to clear so we sit down inside the restaurant connected to the lift while waiting for it to open again.
Then we silently ride down and leave the storm, cheese and mountains behind us.
We are a bit wet and tired but getting to take off our wet jackets and have lunch gives us some renewed energy which is well needed. We are off to a wine tasting at Le Verre d’Ici to explore local wines from the region. No rest for the wicked huh?
Mind you, I can’t complain about sitting down to taste some good wine after hiking mountains during a thunderstorm. It was quite the contrast from our morning adventure, and I do enjoy wine but don’t know much about it and frankly I have a hard time tasting the different nuances and flavours described to me.
The wines were very good though, that much I can tell you!
We all went out to dinner in the evening but before that I spent some time in the spa area at the hotel. I relaxed in their outdoor pool while a light rain fell and I marvelled over the view and the mountains…
What a lovely evening and perfect way to say goodbye to Nendaz!
Shout out to 
Your photos are way too magical darling <3
Oh thank you so much dear! <3 I personally feel that my photos don't do the magic of the Swiss mountains justice... But hey, Mountains are just too grand and magnificent!!