While I was off having fun in America, Sarah went on a trip to Beatenberg with her class. She had a great time and had lots of fun stories to share when she got home. She took about 200 pictures, most of which were either blurry or only of things that she would find interesting, like the underside of chairs?. But still, the sheer volume ensured that there were plenty to document the experience. Their first stop, before they even arrived at their hotel/house was Ballenberg outdoor museum. 
We have been there a couple times as a family, and it is a great way to get a feel for all of Switzerland in one day. They have taken authentic old houses, like the one pictured, and moved them from their original location to this park. They have houses and barns from all over Switzerland, and they put ones from the same region together. Inside some of the houses there are people weaving rugs, or making cheese or baking bread. And there are also animals, like these adorable piglets!
That evening they arrived at their house. They had to take a mountain train, and then walk from the last station up a little path. They were really up there. But the higher you are, the better the view.
After all that outdoor activity, the kids were a bit tired. But just to make sure they went to bed without too much silliness, they had soccer and ping pong tournaments after dinner. Her teacher is one smart cookie. 🙂
The next morning they played several organized games with the goal of bringing the class closer as a group. 
Then they built a fire and grilled sausages for lunch. In the afternoon they walked up the “Beatusweg” which has lots of signs along the path telling about St. Beatus, the patron saint of the area. There were also gorgeous wooden sculptures carved from fallen trees along the path.
That evening they played some “courage testers” designed by the teacher. There were Mohrenkopf’s filled with spicy onions, strange concoctions of fluids, and other odd things to eat and drink. Nothing dangerous or illegal 🙂 but just yucky enough to make the kids unsure if they wanted to try them or not.
The next day they woke up to snow!
That’s weather in Switzerland for you. Herr Trinkler took that opportunity to give the kids another courage test; walking barefoot in the snow to the bus stop. But no one made it, it was just too cold. They rode a boat to the other side of the lake and hiked up to the Beatus cave.
On the way there was a beautiful waterfall.
Sarah really thought it was beautiful because she took about 20 pictures of it. 🙂
St. Beatus was a monk who fought and destroyed a dragon, thus freeing the people in the area. As a reward they offered to build him a grand house, but being a humble monk, he chose to live in this cave instead. And thus he is now the patron saint of the area.
He is also buried here, and Nick’s greatest frustration is that Sarah’s picture didn’t get the complete inscription. He can read most of it, but there are a few important words missing. 
On the way back home they stopped to play at the lake shore. There Sarah found these beautiful stones, but she left them there for someone else to have the fun of finding.
The next day they went down the mountain again to the big indoor swimming pool, complete with waterslides. Sarah wisely did not bring along the camera. 🙂 That evening there was a “dance”, which basically meant that music was playing while kids stood around and chatted.
On Friday they spent most of the morning packing and cleaning. Sarah took this opportunity to document every single thing about the house, including the art on the walls, and many of the door handles. She even managed to get a couple shots of the outside. (And yes, I have permission to tease her about that. In fact, she asked me specifically to mention it.)
I am glad she had such a great time. Much better than Nick’s experience, or mine. I came home after the first day with a fever!