Today we went inside a glacier

Today our plan was to drive to the Rhone glacier, about a two-hour drive from Lenk. As we moved all our stuff upstairs, the morning took an unfortunate turn. Both Sofia and Cristina had some kind of digestive bug. We went on with the trip, but we had to stop along the way so Sofia could throw up. She never did, but she felt like it. That's the worst. And even worst than that is when you're driving on mountain roads where there is nowhere to pull over. A plastic bag has to suffice. Cristina's situation was made worse by the curvy roads, which didn't make her puke, but gave her a migraine. But you'd never know how lousy some felt by these nice photos!

The road through the passages passes some impressive overlooks. Behind us is one of the hydroelectric reservoirs in the Furka area.

.

The road up to the glacier

It was amazing to see the Rhone glacier. It's hard to grasp how big it is, and wild to realize that's it's slightly moving all the time. You could see how much it has melted, though, which was depressing. Glaciers aren't living things, but when we went inside it and I touched the icy walls, I felt like I was touching a beached whale. Something so massive and powerful, but dying. Kind of sobering.

At the hotel near the Rhone glacier

The path down to the ice grotto, a manmade cave cut into the glacier. We passed this group of nuns along the way.

This is the part of the glacier with the grotto. They drape white fabric over the glacier here. Not sure exactly why. The outside was pretty dirty looking.

Inside the 2014 grotto

Snow!

Inside the 2013 grotto

Even though the glacier has melted considerably over the past 150 years, it's still darned big. When you see people hiking on it, it gives it better scale.

Here's a good graphic that shows how the glacier has melted since the 1865:

Rhone glacier melt

Best thing you can do with silly sunglasses is take a picture of them and move on. No need to purchase!

On the way back to Lenk we stopped at the Thun lake to stretch our legs.

Sofia was feeling better, but still under the weather. It felt good to get back to Lenk.

For dinner, Stefan and Karin made a traditional cold dinner called beirchermuesli. It's basically yogurt with oats, nuts, and seeds, and fresh fruit. The farmers typically eat a hot lunch, and then a cold dinner like this, with bread and butter.

Dessert was an apple pastry with an edible seal of Lenk.