BILL, GRAHAM AND MARIA'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURES

IN THE SWISS ALPS

TREKKING IN THE BERNESE OBERLAND

AUGUST 11-25, 2017

(click or tap the thumbnails for a larger image)

Some of my hiking companions in San Diego frequently talk about the beauty and wonders of hiking in the Swiss Alps. The three of us decided to see it for ourselves and now we know those comments were not exaggerated.

We used the travel company, IbexTreks, to help with our trip by making all the hotel reservations (breakfast and dinner included) and providing  some written suggestions for hikes with accompanying maps. We arranged our own air and ground transportation. I took advantage of the non-stop flights from San Diego to Zurich courtesy of Edelweiss Air while  Graham and Maria flew from Los Angeles with United Air.  I bought on-line a 14 day unlimited Swiss Travel Pass  and Graham and Maria bought half fare passes for ground travel (the half fare was probably a better deal). Our tour started on Monday, August 14 and concluded on Tuesday, August 22.

The name, ibex, comes from the wild goats that live in these alpine regions. The males have long curved horns, the females shorter ones and they are famous for the ability to walk on very steep rock walls.  We saw displays of antlers in several buildings.

The  name, Bernese Oberland, refers to the mountainous terrain which is roughly south of the lakes at Interlaken and north of the Alpine barrier, runs generally east-west and is in the Bern "canton" (county?).

The local currency is the Swiss franc, CHF, and the exchange rate was about $1US=0.96CHF. Switzerland is a very expensive place to visit! Only the "CO OP" markets seemed to have reasonably priced (by our standards) items for eating and drinking.  

FRIDAY,  SATURDAY AND SUNDAY AUGUST 11, 12, 13, 2017  ZURICH

I departed San Diego on August 11, arrived Zurich on August 12 after a 12 hour non-stop flight and  stayed at the hotel Ibis Zurich Messe Airport for two nights awaiting Graham and Maria's arrival on Monday morning. I had my first positive experiences with the Swiss rail system and was soon off to check out the  views of  Zurich from Oetliberg and then down to the River Limmat for strolls  through old town. The river flows north out of huge Lake Zurich.  In old town I observed for the first time that some people drink water straight from the decorative fountains.  Wow, this was a bit startling to me after my travels to third world countries. Heck, I would not drink like that in the good old USA!

MONDAY AUGUST 14, 2017 ZURICH TO GRINDELWALD

The three of us met at the airport/train station (Graham and Maria were completing their brutal 18 hours from Los Angeles) and were soon on our way to our first destination, Grindelwald, via Bern and Interlaken Ost and our first good views of the Alps.   Also, on the last leg of the train journey I was shocked to note that the train's toilets dumped onto the tracks. In Switzerland no less!!

We were soon checked into our Hotel Alte Post for  two nights and had some time to walk around town and familiarize ourselves with a typical small mountain town . We noticed that  here and in the other places we stayed there are large numbers of tourists from China, India and Middle East countries and English is rarely heard and even more rarely with American accents

TUESDAY AUGUST 15, 2017 GRINDELWALD

After breakfast at the hotel we were ready for our first trekking adventure in the Swiss Alps. We took a bus (9.4CHF at half price) to the little community of Grosse Scheidegg and from there did a roughly westward hike of about 8.9 miles and 2200 feet of total elevation gain past the First gondola station, the Bachsee lake and steeply down to Bussalp where we were just in time to  catch the 3:30 bus back to Grindelwald.  At the gondola station Graham and I did a walk on the "Cliff Walk".  Along the way to Bussalp we got our first good looks at the ubiquitous cows with their bells.  We decided that the "hills were alive with the sound of music" and that sound was the dinging of bells as the cows grazed on the lush green grasses.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 16, 2017 GRINDELWALD TO WENGEN

On this day we departed the Hotel Alte Post and were off to our  next destination, Wengen. We took separate routes on this leg with Graham and Maria catching the 8am train to a little place, Alpiglen, and then a hike to Kleine Scheidegg via the Eiger Trail which follows along the base of the famous Eiger Mountain. I chose to take an easier method and rode the bus down from Grindelwald to the  gondola station at a place called Grund and then via the world's longest gondola ride up to Mannlichen.  I had the gondola car all to myself for this morning ride.  

Grindelwald is in the Lutschental valley and Wenden is located above the Lauterbrunnen valley.  These deep valleys are separated by very steep ridges and hiking from one valley to the next might require ascents of 4000 or more  feet in elevation.  Fortunately, for us senior  citizens, there are always means of transportation other than by foot!

I walked from the gondola station at Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg and waited there for Graham and Maria to  arrive down from the Eiger Glacier Station which is a stop along the Eiger trail. There is a hotel and restaurant at Kleine Scheidegg but the main activity has to do with the train station. The train that goes up is the famous Jungfrau (more on this  later) and the route down goes to Wengen. There are magnificent views down into both of the aforementioned valleys from this area.

 By 3pm we had completed our train ride down from Kleine Scheidegg and were checked into our rooms at the Hotel Alpenruhe.  At dinner time we realized that we were the only guests in the dining room and the meals may have been prepared by the lady who owns the hotel (we were never sure who did the cooking).  Anyway, the food was excellent which compensated for the lack of friendliness from the owner.

THURSDAY AUGUST 17, 2017 JUNGFRAUJOCH

We decided to devote this day to a trip to the Jungfraujoch via train from Wengen. Hence, we returned to Kleine Scheidegg and then switched trains to board the special train that climbs up and through the Eiger and Monch mountains and finally exits the tunnel between the Monch and Jungfrau peaks. The "joch" in Jungfraujoch refers to the ridge between the peaks.  The cog rail tunnels through about 5 miles of solid rock which was blasted by Italian laborers starting in 1896 and completed in 1912. There was a very brief stop along the way so we could check out the views from 10,000 feet elevation at the Eismer station windows.   Finally, at the top there is a bunch of stuff to see including the ice palace, memorials to the laborers, a chocolate (Lindt) store (free sample!) and, of course, shops to buy things. An elevator ride then took us up to the Sphinx viewing platform (Top of Europe) just below an astronomical observatory. Our final activity was to take the high speed elevator back down from the Sphinx and walk outside in the permanent snow and ice and to stand at the head of the impressive Aletsch Glacier  which flows  generally towards the south of the Alps. We had reservations for the 1245 return train and on the way down we had a glance at another window, the Eigerwand,which looks out the north face of the Eiger. I was disappointed that the train did not stop there because this window was featured in the movie, North Face, which portrays an historical event during which four climbers died in 1936 while attempting to climb the mountain.

FRIDAY AUGUST 18, 2017 WENGEN TO MURREN

Our next destination, Murren, was also perched high above the Lauterbrunnen valley but on the opposite side from Wengen.  We decided to walk down to the  valley floor to the town of Lauterbrunnen and then an easy, mostly flat, hike up the valley to Stechelberg.  Graham and Maria then made the steep ascent up to Murren while I wimped out and took the gondola from the valley floor up  to Murren by way of Gimmelwald.  We were all checked into our Edelweiss Hotel by mid-afternoon and thrilled with our rooms and the spectacular views from the decks down into the valley. Murren was my favorite of all the places we stayed because there was almost no auto traffic, the village was lovely and views were great.

SATURDAY AUGUST 19, 2017 JAMES BOND AND 007

On this day we experienced our only bad weather with lots of fog and some rain.    Regardless, by 0830 we were on the gondola heading up to a spot called Birg which is just a gondola station on the way to the summit of the Schilthorn. We started our walk at Birg and ascended about 1200 feet in 1.8 miles to reach the summit and the "Piz Gloria" restaurant, shops, gondola station and viewing platforms. The climb was very steep and over a rough trail in light rain and fog. Fortunately, on this day the "Inferno Races" included a half marathon which used the same trail and it was well marked for the runners. Of course, the summit was completely socked in with fog so we were deprived the great views which apparently would have included a glimpse of distant Mt. Blanc in France.

The big attraction up here is based upon the movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" in which James Bond does battle with the evil Blofield who had a secret hideout high in the Alps.  The Schilthorn station, which was still under construction during filming, was used extensively in the movie for  the secret hideout.  Today there is a 007 museum, photo ops with cardboard cutouts of 007 and even the toilets have 007 themes! The name, Piz Gloria, was from the original Ian Fleming book and it was the name of Blofield's hideout.

At around 1230 Graham and Maria departed back to Birg by gondola and they walked from there back to Murren. I hung out  for awhile to watch some of the racers finish and to check out the 007 museum.  One of the racers told me the race started in Lauterbrennen (2642 feet elevation) and ended at Shilthorn Peak (9810 feet) in 13 miles. His "mediocre" time was 2 hours 40 minutes!

SUNDAY AUGUST 20, 2017 MURREN TO KANDERSTEG

We departed Murren at 9am via the  gondola back down to Stechelberg.  We then retraced our steps back down the valley to Lauterbrunnen where we caught a train for Kandersteg, our next and final destination.

We again followed the Lutschine River as  we walked this truly amazing valley with its 1000 foot limestone cliffs, waterfalls and green meadows.  It reminded me a bit of Yosemite Valley with the glacially carved rock walls and and valley floor.  On this  trip we did not see many pleasant, bubbling streams.  Instead, the streams were mostly raging torrents of milky water carrying the silt from the glaciers. Indeed, one goal for today was to  stop and visit the Trummelbach Falls.  These falls actually go through tunnels in the cliff and are viewed via an elevator ride and then walking to various platforms.  I thought  the place was a bit frightening with a deafening roar from the falling water and dark gloomy viewing platforms.

On this  walk  and all our walks we observed para-gliders soaring high among the peaks and very close to these canyon walls. Also we were  startled several times by the sudden sounds and appearance of "base jumpers" who had jumped from the  cliffs and opened their chutes mere seconds before they would reach the ground.  Oh well, different strokes for different folks.

At 1pm we had departed the train station at the  town of Lauterbrennen and were on our way to Kandersteg with  transfer stops at Interlaken Ost and Spiez. At days end we were checked into our Hotel Blumlisalp and ready for happy hour and dinner.

MONDAY AUGUST 21, 2017 KANDERSTEG

This was the last day of our scheduled tour! Today's destinations were the Oeschinensee Lake and the Frunden Hut. We reached the lake at about 1030 and then Graham and Maria headed up to the Frunden Hut which is 3200 feet above the lake.  I hung around the lake, had lunch at a place called Lager and then looped back to the lake where we met for our return walk back to the hotel. They did not go all the  way to the hut because the exposure was a bit too uncomfortable for the last leg of the walk.  The photo below shows how the hut seems to be isolated on top of the cliffs looking down on the lake.

We wrapped up our adventures together with a champagne happy hour and then one of our best dinners. Courses included a cream of carrot soup, a melted cheese/pickle dish (very good), a fresh salad with bacon, breaded pork chops with fried potatoes and chocolate mousse for dessert.  We said our farewells before bedtime because Graham and Maria were departing very early by train back to Zurich airport and then flight to LA.

TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY AUGUST 22, 23 2017 KANDERSTEG

In order to accommodate my Friday non-stop  flight to San Diego I remained another two nights at the  Hotel Blumlisalp.  On Tuesday I took a train ride to the  south side of the Alps to the town of Brig.  I was curious to experience the ride through tunnels in the Alps and to see the other side of the mountain.  Prior to arrival at Brig there were excellent views down into the Rhone River valley where the river flows west to join Lake Geneva.  Brig is a  pleasant town but the main attraction for me, the Stockalper Palace, was closed on Tuesdays! I walked to the edge of town and looked south towards the Simplon Pass highway which goes into Italy. I concluded my visit  in Brig with a snack for lunch and then I was back on the  train and returned to Kandersteg by 3pm. It was interesting to me to observe that travelers drove their autos onto the train for journeys through the Alps  to and from the south side of the mountains.

Wednesday morning I walked back to the train station where I connected  with a van for a 0950 departure to a place called Selden.  The lady at the hotel made reservations for me for the  van ride. My destination was the Gasternal Valley which is said to be one of the loveliest and least changed of all the Bernese Oberland valleys. The Gasternal was only a 30 minute van ride from Kandersteg up the Kandertal Valley and then through the narrow Kus gorge and finally into the "hidden" Gasternal. This was, indeed, a lovely area and there were relatively few other visitors. As was the  case for all the places we visited; this was  definitely NOT a wilderness experience.  I was reminded of the  uniqueness of our  own country with its vast unchanged wilderness areas such as those of the California Sierras.  I did a 3 hour walk back to Kandersteg passing through the Kus gorge, through some almost "jungle" forests, stopping for a lunch snack at the Hotel Waldhaus, past the Sunnbuel gondola station where I decided not  to catch a bus and arrived back to  the hotel for a very good final dinner.

I took some photos of the folded rock formations visible  in some of the high peaks.  Unlike the granite of our Sierras the Alps are mostly sedimentary rocks and were formed from the collision of the  African and Eurasian tectonic plates which squeezed up the layered rocks which originated in ancient sea floors.

THURSDAY AUGUST 24,  2017 KANDERSTEG BACK TO ZURICH

I had a  leisurely 3   hour train ride back to the Zurich airport where the free van from Hotel Ibis Messe Airport picked me up for one more night's stay. While waiting for the train at Kandersteg I had a brief chat with a young man who was a "Boy Scout" from Portugal.  There is an international scout camp at Kandersteg and I saw lots of boys and girls with their scouting uniforms during our stay.

After checking into the Ibis Messe I had time for the, now familiar, route 11 trolley ride back to old town and the river walks.  The weather was quite different for this visit as it was soon raining with lightning and thunder.  I had Swiss francs left  to spend and a bar/restaurant helped me out by charging 20 CHF for a rum and coke (with almost no rum)!! As I said at the beginning of this travel blog-Switzerland is NOT cheap.

FRIDAY AUGUST 25,  2017 ZURICH TO SAN DIEGO

My return flight did not  depart  until 2pm.  Fortunately, I had plenty of time at the airport to get  checked in because it  was a bit of  a challenge and lots of walking between check in and departure locations. Anyway, the security and passport control were uneventful. In fact we noticed that in Switzerland the hotels never asked us to show passports. I liked the observation platform near the  boarding gate and I had good views of the Zurich surroundings with gently rolling hills and the Alps barely visible in the hazy distance. There was a bit of excitement when we passengers realized that Al Gore was on our flight to San Diego.  He was very polite and gracious to  those of us who spoke to him.

The 12 hour flight back to San Diego was long and uneventful.  We even arrived about 30 minutes early and this  excellent adventure was over!

THE END

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