Those who visit Schynige Platte with the cog railway feel as if they were in the "Belle Epoque". The nostalgic train travels the seven-kilometre route in 50 minutes. The wooden benches in the carriages and rolling stock from the 19th century are reminiscent of bygone days.
We arrived at the top and picked a trail to explore. We chose a panoramic loop that would take us up to a nice view point and follow a ridge trail before descending down into alpine meadows. It also had the option of a short side trip to climb up to a rock peak.
But first, we had to pass by the restaurant where all the tourists eat.....and their furry friends
Then we started up the trail. The views got pretty spectacular right away. Looking left you can see the Thunersee off in the distance, far below
The area has all kinds of really interesting rock formations
As we got higher the views got better. Lakes and lowlands in one direction, snow covered peaks in the other
After snapping a few pics at the viewpoint, we set out on the ridge trail. To say that the views were spectacular would be an understatement......but don't take a wrong step!
The ridge trail really turned into a knife edge ridge with amazing views in both directions. But you best not take your eyes off the trail while moving. Much better to stop when you want to look around. It would be fun up here in winter, as long as you know where the edge of the cornice is!
You couldn't decide is you should look left, right, ahead or back.....you just had to soak the amazing scenery in. The pictures don't really do it justice. It is simply amazing up here!
Oh, by the way, look at that pic up above again, see the highest rock peak on the left.....that's our next stop!
A little tunnel on the way up
We made it to the summit and the view was jaw dropping. Here is what you see looking back in the direction that we came from. If you look at the top left you can barely make out a little hut with a flag pole. That is the first lookout we stopped at, the we made our way down the trail that runs along the ridge before climbing up to this point
Here is the view looking ahead. The ridge trail continues
Heading back down to the ridge trail again
Jo stops to ponder.....hmmm, what kind of rock is that???
Some more scenery shots....and me with a scenic background
We connected with the next part of the ridge trail and I just couldn't resist....turn up your volume LOL
They say that the world needs more cowbell.....but imagine walking around all day with one of these on
We continued along the ridge before turning inland. The trail continued through what could be described only as a Hobbit's playground. Interesting features all around. We found a shady spot and sat down to enjoy our picnic lunch. A small folding cooler and some gel ice packs are a great thing to take on vacation!
Hmmm, just what is a Lager Hell? I thought it was pretty tasty myself
We even came across this very strange BBQ area...not quite sure what the mushrooms are all about
We hiked a little further and arrived back at the train station where we waited to board the cog train for the one hour trip back down the mountain
Once at the bottom we boarded another train to head back up into our valley for the evening. We decided to cook our own dinner tonight. We had a tasty homemade salad and who can guess what the main course was?
It turned out really well......and we have leftovers for tomorrow's adventures, whatever they may be. As soon as I'm finished this it's nighty night......see you all tomorrow.
