Grindelwald - Grosse Scheidegg to First

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The weather has cleared and the Eiger, Monch, Jungfrau and Wetterhorn mountains are out again in all their splendour. It looked like a good day to walk from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg and down to Wengen, but, the track was closed. As the day wore on the mountains clouded over and the sun eventually disappeared. We instead, headed up to Grosse Scheidegg after lunch and walked to First which turned out to be all uphill. Being up high on the opposite side of the valley from the principal mountains is the best place to view them from. You are high enough to be on the same level as the glaciers and see just how much they have receded over the years. We remember taking the boys to the Upper Glacier and going into an ice cave. The glacier is now well back up the valley and it's difficult to imagine that a glacier can recede so much in 20 years. It surely does point to climate change.

We got the the First chairlift back down to the village. This is surely one of the "must do" trips as far as scenery and engineering is concerned. It is a 25 minute journey from the chairlift top in the high mountains down to the village at the valley bottom. You pass through snow fields with marmots, down over streams and waterfalls, a lake, trees and finally to pastures with bell clanging cows. Lovely.

We completed the afternoon with a hot chocolate at the village. This is a good time to make mention of hot chocolate differences between Italy and Switzerland. Italy has fantastic chocolate that is a thick, very thick brew. So thick, that you can actually stand up a teaspoon in it. It's more like a hot chocolate blancmange! If you are a chocolate addict then this is the drink (?) for you. Switzerland hot chocolate is like we have at home. A standard milky chocolate drink. If you're lucky it'll be nice and hot, but mostly they are barely hot.

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Photos

Looking at the upper glacier
Looking over the village of Grindelwald, the Eiger and the upper glacier. Note the glacier is half way up from the valley floor where it used to be 20 years ago.