Meeting the Cheese Lady of Gimmelwald

*MEETING THE CHEESE LADY OF GIMMELWALD*⁠ (#TravelStoryTime)⁠ 🧀👇⁠ Right now, it's easy to feel angry while scrolling social + to find examples of how divided we are. And so, I want to share a short little travel story about connection.⁠ 🌍⁠ This photo was taken circa 2010 in the quiet car-free mountain village of Gimmelwald in the Bernese Oberland. To this day, I have never been anywhere quite like it.⁠ 😍⁠ It is truly the middle of nowhere in the most beautiful way. To reach it, you have to ride a gondola up into the mountains at 4,500 feet. Once there, immersed in the clouds and sitting at the foot of the UNESCO-listed Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn, you'll think you've reached heaven.⁠ 🌈⁠ Along with hiking, one highlight for me was meeting other travelers at the Mountain Hostel. Since there is nothing to really do in the village, everyone drinks lots of wine and plays games together in the common room. 👈 Because of this, it's also a GREAT spot for solo travelers.⁠ 🤸‍♀️⁠ At one point while there, a group of us were hungry for some real Swiss cheese. When we asked the hostel owner where the grocery store was, they told us we'd need to actually go a few houses down to the cheese lady, Erica.⁠ 🧀⁠ There aren't many restaurants in Gimmelwald, so you'll typically eat in your guesthouse and get food from one of the local farms -- like Erica's. She even took us into the small wooden building (pictured here) where she ages her cheese and sausage and let us sample some of the varieties.⁠ 😋⁠ It was such a memorable travel experience that truly gave me a taste of local culture. Not surprisingly, it was the best cheese I had during my entire 3-month EuroTrip.⁠ 🎒⁠ What is your favorite "middle of nowhere" destination?