We awoke to beautiful blue skies and fantastic 360-degree views. After consulting all the hiking routes suggested on the Gimmelwald website, we decided to take Hike 5, the Scenic, described as an easy 1 1/2-mile loop.

The hike begins near the funicular station at the top of Allmendhubel, so we hiked up to Murren via the steep path behind our guesthouse and spotted some local fauna along the way.

Once we got off the funicular, we discovered a fantastic playground. The entire area was imaginatively designed including everything from zip lines to groundhog tunnels to a barn with plastic cows to "milk".

As we hiked, we stumbled upon an inn located in what felt like the middle of nowhere, Pension Suppenalp. Lunch was served on a patio with an unbeatable view (pretty much the theme of our time in the Alps). Surprisingly this was one of the best meals of our trip. I had a traditional Swiss meal of rosti, which is basically hash browns with cheese, eggs, and bacon on top. The kids topped off the meal with a delicious slice of chocolate cake with extra whipped cream.

The rest of the day was spent enjoying the scenery: the profusion of wildflowers in bloom, the sound of cow bells tinkling in the pastures, the view of the Jungfrau, Monch and Eiger mountains looming above us, the paragliders drifting down through the valley.

We ended the day at the other restaurant in Gimmelwald at the Mountain Hostel. The restaurant is primarily a pizzeria but there is also a daily pasta special on offer. The pizzas were delicious and just what we needed after a day spent in the fresh air. Then we were off to bed to rest up for another day on the trails tomorrow.