Schiltorn

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Geo: 46.6858, 7.8307

Yesterday started as promised so we showered and breakfasted pronto then drove out to Scheltenberg, the base station for the cable cars to take us the 30-minute ascent to the peak of Schiltorn. That in itself was a beautiful journey but once up at the top it was wall-to-wall mountains as far as the eye could see, many covered in snow.

Thankfully there were fewer tourists than had been up at Jungfraujoch on Saturday so it made for a more relaxing experience. We walked around the viewing platforms taking in the spectacular panorama but unfortunately the three peaks of Jungfrau, Monch and Eiger were topped with clouds throughout. Indeed, as time past more cloud came in and out to spoil the view so we were glad to have had an early start.

The mountain of Schiltorn was the setting for the James Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" in 1969, George Lazenby's one and only appearance in the role and is also famous for its revolving restaurant, Piz Gloria. The mountain relies heavily on its 007 connection as a tourist attraction with the famous Bond theme played several times whilst en route in the cable cars, even down to 007 stencilled on to cappuccino and the burger bun we had for lunch. One thing we have come to appreciate about Switzerland is that they do tourism really well - everything just so, neat, tidy, spotlessly clean - but it comes at a price, and your Swiss francs don't go as far as euros in most other European countries. We decided to push the boat out on this occasion.

When it became evident that conditions were not going to improve, we decided to start our descent. On arrival at Murren for one of the cable car changes it was bright, sunny and much warmer, so we decided to stop for a drink and a look around. Wise choice since it is quaint and charming with lots of the traditional alpine chalets you associate with Switzerland.

We got back to Lazy Rancho late afternoon to begin prep for the move to Austria, taking down the awning, packing away, settling the bill. The site has proved excellent in many respects and we would thoroughly recommend it, hoping to return again in the future. We have chatted to many friendly Brits over the past week, several stopping by to say farewell on noticing that our departure was imminent.

The day ended with a fantastic sunset - the snowy mountains completely devoid of cloud by this time but glowing with a pinky tinge. Who needs a site with entertainment when you have Mother Nature's floor show?

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Photos

Him, me and mountains
A friendly Japanese guy took this for us

Mountains as far as the eye can see
The three peaks of Jungfrau, Monch and Eiger were topped with cloud throughout sadly

David on Schiltorn
He loves mountain scenery!

Comments

[Barbara]

Wow!