Day 1: Meiringen
We arrived in Meiringen late on Monday evening after a long day having travelled via Amsterdam to Zurich and onwards by train. Aware that we had various options over dinner for walking to Grindelwald, we browsed the route guides, only at this point realising that the most scenic route involved a train journey of over 90 minutes to reach the start. We were somewhat confused by this as we’d figured with it being a walking tour we’d be going door to door. Oh well, live and learn!
We reviewed train timetables and headed for bed. A rather hot night, the church bell ringing loudly every 15 minutes did nothing to support a good night’s sleep!
Day 2: Schynige Platte to Grindelwald
Alarm set for 6:30 am, our plan was to shower, sort our cases for pick up, have a quick breakfast and get the train. In the event, it all just felt like it was going to be a bit of a rush so I suggested to Bruce that we just skip breakfast and get an earlier train. One of my better ideas, we grabbed a couple of croissants to eat on route to the station and checked out. Two fairly short journeys before the main event: the mountain railway!
Schynige Platte: The Cogwheel Railway
Picking up this train at Wilderswil, I had no concept of the train I was about to get. It was like something out of a fairground, open air carriages, doors closed by the guard just before departure.
Off we went, trundling up the mountain at a reasonable pace. We shared our carriage with a family from Texas so swapped stories as we went. The higher we climbed, the better the views. The scenery opened up and the mountains were resplendent! What a day for heading out!
Getting Away from the Crowds
Hordes of people disembarked from the train and headed off in various directions, the least amount appearing to head off on the mountain path for First.
From the off, the mountains in view looked majestic. I was impressed by the scale of them, stopping to admire the scenery that just got better and better as the day went on. The path was good, the temperature warm but manageable. We’d dressed sensibly with long sleeves and shorts, and as always I was clarted in suncream.
The landscape was lush and green, the alpine flowers in abundance, just beautiful.
Our path was gently undulating but predominantly ascending for around 7 miles.
I’d debated footwear, ultimately deciding upon boots as I wasn’t sure how the path would be. No regrets, they were comfortable.
Initially confused by our route guide, we didn’t need it as we progressed, the trail being so well way-marked with the yellow sign posts and painted rocks.
With only a few short rougher sections, my trail shoes probably would have been okay, however the snowy stretch might have resulted in wet feet.
Continuing beyond the snow, we came upon a mountain café. Here we stopped for a lunch of sausages, bread and beer.
Beyond the café, the path went steeply up. I found these ascents interesting; my legs were fine, but I was breathing harder : more quickly than I should have been, possibly due to the additional altitude.
It was worth every bit of effort as yet again we were rewarded by stunning views, down to the lakes …
And over the mountains …
Up, up, up we went, finally reaching Faulhorn where I opted to bypass the hotel as I’d done enough ‘climbing’ for the day and had no inclination for coffee.
Having reached the highest point of our day, around 2667 metres, we finally started descending. This descent was steep and I was grateful of my walking poles to support me.
The mountain views continued …
And as we got lower, towards the lake, the crowds increased. Many people appeared to have taken the gondola up to First before having a walk up. It was quite surreal going from relative isolation to hordes of people once more.
First Gondola
We were both relieved to reach the gondola station at First. The queue moved blessedly quickly and before we knew it, we were on the descent. This was a lovely long journey that took around 25 minutes. We were entertained by the folks taking part in activities: paragliding and ‘gliding’ being two of the more impressive things on offer.
Leaving the gondola, we stopped for refreshment ahead of the walk along to our hotel, a lovely base for the next 2 nights. An evening stroll afforded beautiful views of the Eiger in the fading light.
Day 3: Bāregg Hut from Pfingstegg (Grindelwald)
Having concluded after our brief meandering yesterday that we’d like to explore Grindelwald a little more, Bruce sought out a scenic short walk for today, stumbling upon this stunner!
We walked a few minutes along the road from our hotel to Pfinstegg where we caught the cable car to gather gain some easy height. Thereafter, we exited the gate and started along the path towards the mountain hut, Bäregg.
The Eiger
The Eiger dominates Grindelwald from every direction and it was pleasing to see another aspect of it. We followed a good path along, drinking in the views as we went.
We made good progress, enjoying lighter rucksacks and less weight on our feet today having ditched everything non-essential, including the boots.
Head for Heights?
For the most part the path was good with no exposure issues. However, there was a short section where the drop was significant – you wouldn’t bounce – and I felt slightly unnerved; I did feel better when there were a couple of wires alongside higher up by way of a barrier. Weirdly this feeling doesn’t happen on the descent, only on the ascent; it appears to be something connected with peripheral vision. One day I’ll try blinkers like a horse to see if that helps!
Bårrgg Hut; The Views!
We reached the Bāregg Hut and settled in to marvel at the views over a meringue.
Suitably high on sugar, we set off on our return journey to Pfingstegg. We’d come up in peace and now met lots of people heading up as we descended. They appeared to be slower on the ascent as we had been, breathing heavily as they went.
Is that a trumpet? No, it’s an Alphorn!
As we came nearer to the forest we caught music in the air; it sounded like someone playing a trumpet. However, the music continued, as did we, and we came upon an alphorn, a beautiful instrument that the players explained allows sound to carry for many kilometres.
Back to Pfingstegg
The cable car descent was quick and easy, so much better than hoofing it down the path, making the most of our Swiss Half Fare Travel Card. Back in Grindelwald, we enjoyed our afternoon browsing shops and enjoying refreshment.
A much easier day, our legs got a bit of a rest.
Strassenfest Grindelwald
On checking into our hotel, we were advised that there was a street party on Wednesday night and it may not be as quiet as normal. This sounded like fun and we were delighted to be able to partake of the festivities.
We maybe felt less delighted when the accordion player that had roused the crowd so well over a few hours burst into a rendition of AC/DC’s ‘Highway to Hell’ just before midnight when we’d retired to bed! 😂
However, prior to this we’d enjoyed it.
Clare, happiest outdoors! 