Blogs from Grindelwald, South-West, Switzerland, Europe - page 4

The weather has improved somewhat and although it’s not a clear and sunny day, it isn’t raining. We caught the busy Grosse Scheidegg bus up as far as the Vogel Park (a mountain bird sanctuary) which is about 2/3rds way up the hill. We walked up the road further and took the 1600m track across the hills and on up to Bort. A lot of it was uphill, some through forest, over streams and steepish farmland. We even saw a deer in the wild. It is extremely beautiful at that level. The farmland is magical and dotted with chalets and wooden farm buildings. At the same level are the upper and lower glaciers in all their glory with the towering sheer rock walls of the Wetterhorn and Eiger to each side. It really is a most ... read more

What a thunderstorm we had in the night! House shaking stuff with wind and rain. It was not condusive to a good sleep. However, in the morning it had cleared with some low patches of cloud remaining. What to do? The Eiger Trail or over to the Neiderhorn away from the high alps. As the morning progressed the band of cloud coming over the Klein Scheidegg came and went across the Eiger. What the heck, let's go regardless. We got the Jungfraujoch train from Grindelwald up to the Scheidegg and on up to Eigergletscher where we began the Eiger Trail. The clouds came and went and mist swirled in around us and up the mountain face then disappeared. The track is not a hard one to do and passes directly under the North Face of the ... read more

The farmers have been cutting their grass for hay so the weather must be okay for a long hike. We took the chairlift to First to start the hike through to Schynige Platte. We did this hike 11 years ago with Kay, Kerry, Chris and Kathy so it brought back a few memories of sunburn, sore feet and racing to get to the transport before 6pm. This time we left plenty of time and we were doing it in reverse as we remember what a steep haul it was last time going the other way. First is at 2168m and we were to walk up to just below the Faulhorn at 2686m (about the height of Mt Taranaki). It is a well formed track up to the Bachalpsee (lovely) then on up to the Pass. From ... read more

4 dagen vrijaf omdat Jezuske zin had om naar de hemel te liften. Perfect excuus om de oversteek te maken naar de dichtstbijzijnde Alpenmuur en een circulair tochtje uit te zetten. Er is al zoveel geschreven over het beroemde trio Eiger, Monch en Jungfrau, dat we we wel eens zelf wilden zien en ruiken waar het bergtoerisme is ontstaan. Prachtige bivaks hoog boven de wolken, alpenweides vol kleurige bloemen, grazende steenbokken, azuurblauwe gletsjers en toppen die je nekspieren vermoeide uren doen kloppen. Geniet mee van een korte reeks foto's van het prachtige Berner Oberland in Zwitserland. 4 days off work cause Jezus felt like riding to heaven. Perfect excuse to make the crossing to the nearest Alpine Wall and draw out a circular multiple daywalk. There has been much written about the famous trio of ... read more

Since it looks like tomorrow (now today) is rain, we decided to take the Grindelwald Bus up to the Grosse Scheidegg Pass and walk down to Meirengen which is about a 16km walk. This is a "must do" hike as it passes some superb scenery. On arriving at Grosse Scheidegg you look back at the razor edge view of the Eiger and the Upper Glacier. You then pass the Wetterhorn mountain and begin the walk directly under the huge wall of rock which soars up to 3701m. We wound our way down the valley through open mountain territory then into forest and on down into pastures laden with alpine flowers at this time of year. No wonder the Alp cheese has such a distinctive flavour with so many different flowers for the cows to eat. Many ... read more