After a somewhat delayed start to our trip (they couldn't start our plane) we touched down in Zurich just after midday. From the airport we had a much smoother, but probably more expensive train trip through Bern, down to Interlaken, finishing at Wilderswil, at the beginning of the Lauterbrunnen valley, and the starting point for our exploration of the Jungfrau region. We'd seen lots of photos, but nothing really prepared us for what we were going to see over the next five days.
Before heading to our first hotel for the week, we decided to make the most of the reasonable weather and travel up the cog railway to Schynige Platte, allegedly one of the best views in all the Alps, and also the starting point for our first big walk of the trip. Having watched the forecasts, we weren't sure whether we'd see anything, so we thought it was worth a trip up while the sun was out.
Halfway up the mountain, the view of Interlaken.
Us at Schynige Platte, a little cloudy but the wide-ranging views were still magnificent.
We realised while we were up at Schynige Platte, that the Faulhornweg, the walking track we'd intended to follow the next day, was closed. So we decided that given our early start, we'd sleep in a little and head to Grindelwald on the train. We returned to the lovely little village of Wilderswil where we checked into our hotel, The Alpenblick, and tucked into the obligatory beer and schnitzel for dinner.
We got on the train and over to Grindelwald around mid-morning, and thought that seeing as though we missed out on our walk, that we'd catch a gondola up to First, at the end of the Faulhornweg, and visit the Bachalpsee, a beautiful lake up in the hills.
Fee takes a drink from the ice cold stream of water melting off the snow above. As we approached the end of the walk we were lucky enough to see what we thought was either an Eagle or Hawk, stalking a mountain goat. Luckily the goat ran away.
The stunning Bachalpsee, with its mirror surface, was still partly frozen.
After a big day Fee took the chance to take a little kip in the sun.
Looking over the Bachalpsee to the Wetterhorn (left) and Schreckhorn(right).
A curious friend popped its head out to see if we had any food. The marmotte went away empty handed.
Get in! Lunch was very well received after a long walk. Everything here is big - big beer, big bratwurst, and big mountains. We filled our bellies, and headed back down the gondola to Grindelwald, where we checked in to the Hotel Fiescherblick. Our room (and our balcony) was just above the tree on the left.
The view of Eiger from our balcony. Just stunning. After coming back from Bachalpsee, we spent the rest of the afternoon napping in shade, gazing totally contentedly at the mountains and glaciers. The next morning we got on the train an headed up to Alpiglen, a farming village at the foot of the Eiger (or 'Ogre'). For many the north face of the Eiger (that you can see below, is the holy grail of mountaineering, a near vertical wall of rock, ice and totally unpredictable weather.
Looking up at the monsterous Eiger. There's no real way to explain the sheer scale of this place, its unbelievable. The walk to this point had probably taken the best part of an hour and a half of uphill slog, but the views in every direction were to die for. You can see in the photo above how quickly the clouds can form around the summit. The photo below shows the view back to the Wetterhorn and Grindelwald, which is the village at its base. If you squint you might be able to pick out the church near where we stayed.
Our first achievement, reaching the saddle ridge before traversing over to the Eigergletscher station.
When we reached Eigergletscher, we were greeted with one of the most awe-inspiring views I have ever seen. I was almost out on my feet, but this caused me to nearly run up the short slope to the spot where Fiona is sitting. From the left, we have the rear of the Eiger, its glacier and Monch (Monk). Again, there is no way to convey the sheer size of the view in front of us.
Above and below, us on the moraine wall (the hills of rock carved and crushed by the glacier) below Eigergletscher. Below you can see the view across the Lauterbrunnen valley to Murren, where we would end our trip.
We'd previously thought that the weather came from behind the mountains, however we were surprised to learn that it actually comes from the mountains. Apparently in those clouds, it could very well be snowing or hailing, despite it being nearly 30 degrees where we were.
A well earned T-Shirt tan!
After our second night in Grindelwald, we set off for Murren, visiting Mannlichen along the way. This view of the Eiger was taken on our way up the gondola to Mannlichen.
View of Eiger Moch and Jungfrau from the summit of Mannlichen. From there, we traversed the Lauterbrunnen valley below with its magnificent waterfalls, and headed up to Murren.
A beautiful walk through the pastures behind Murren, such a tranquil, beautiful place. This was our last day in Switzerland, and this perfect day did nothing to make us want to go home. As you can see below, we were also making plenty of friends.
We walked from Murren down a mountain track to the train station, where we sat and daydreamed our last few hours away under the warm sun, gazing over perhaps the most amazingly beautiful place we have ever seen. This trip, at least for me, was one of the best things we have ever done, and we are determined to return before we come home.
