A luge, terrifying gondolas, cute cows & Bond

On day 4 of our Rick Steves tour, we headed into the Black Forest for a little bit of adventure, which included a luge ride, tour of the Open Air Museum, and drive into Switzerland.

The luge was interesting--I was expecting something like a halfpipe where you sit on a sled and just go out of control down the hill. This one was similar to a roller coaster and with cables attached, so there was really no chance of you falling out of it. Forgot to get a picture of me in my car, but included one of other people so you get the idea.

From there, we went to the Open Air Museum, where a cute little old lady guide showed us around and explained how people lived back in the day. I hope I look as good as she does at her age, whatever that is! The Black Forest is also obviously known for black forest cake, and our guide surprised us with a cake and Cherry schnapps after we toured the museum.

Later that day, we headed into Switzerland and had to take two gondolas (AKA cable cars) up to our hotel in Murren. I was a bit nervous, but apparently they can carry very heavy loads! We then got settled into hour hotel rooms and regrouped in the hotel restaurant for a nice fondue dinner.

The next day, it was raining, so we had to swap itineraries with the following day. We headed to Trummelbach Falls, which was awesome--it makes Multnomah Falls look like an amateur. There are different levels you can climb to and we kept running into tourists from China and India. The Asian tourists were hilarious because they kept FaceTiming people, using selfie sticks, and one girl was even fixing her makeup.

From there, we took the bus to Lauterbrunnen to explore the town and meet up for lunch. After lunch, I decided to try to find a Geocache so that I could get a Switzerland country souvenir. Totally lucked out and found a cache close to the bus!

On Thursday, we woke up to light snowfall, which made the scenery even more beautiful! We took two gondola rides up to Schilthorn, which is where they filmed part of the On Her Majesty's Secret Service Bond movie.

The entire place is completely themed out with Bond paraphernalia...even the bathrooms! When you flush the toilet, it plays the Bond theme and ends with a shotgun sound. Kind of hilarious.

Some of us had boozy coffee in the rotating restaurant at the top, took a ton of pictures, then headed back down the mountain to Murren to explore more of our hotel's little town. Later that day, we took a funicular up the mountain, then some of the group took a long trail down and others of us took a shorter trail down. I don't think I've ever seen such beautiful countryside in my entire life!

We stopped for boozy coffee there as well, took some awesome pictures, and headed down the steep hill. Met some cows along the way, and while it was enjoyable, I was in a lot of pain by the time I got to the bottom. My quads, hamstrings, and knees are definitely hating me right now. Sadly, I'm the youngest one in the entire tour group, with the exception of the tour guide!

Side note: We need more cowbell!!