A tourist day

After our epic hike yesterday, which included just under one kilometer of elevation gain, we decided to have an easy day today. After filling our bellies again we walked down to the train station in our wandering around clothes and shoes. We boarded the train and it wasn't long before we were in Interlaken. It's a small town that lies between the Brienzersee and the Thunersee. A canal joins the two lakes. It's the jumping off point for all the tourists who arrive by train and want to explore the Junfrau region.

We started our day by crossing the canal and hopping on a funicular for the short ride up to Harder Kulm. It is perched on a small mountain that overlooks the city and the views are amazing. The ride up gets as steep as a 64 percent grade! Here are a few shots on the way up

Once you arrive, the views are quite spectacular - this is a shot of the Harder Kulm, with the Brienzersee in the background

The next shot is looking across Interlaken and back towards the Alps. You can see the entrance to our valley on the right hand side of the pic...it winds its way back towards the snow covered peaks. The high ridge in the top left is where we hiked two days ago, and the little thing that sticks up just to the left of the first snow covered peak is what we climbed to the top of...the view was pretty good!

A bit more looking around and it was time to head down again. The ride down was more interesting because you were facing the direction you were going. You can really see the colour of the lake, and the canal, in this shot

When we got back down we decided to stroll along the canal and take in the scenery. There is a mix of old and modern, the mountains always looming in the background

The ever present paraglider that land in a large sports field in the middle of town

The tree lined canal

We arrived at the town's sports centre and popped inside. We've really been missing our spin classes so we checked the schedule to see if we could squeeze in a workout.....we don't want to let Jane and Howard down. It wasn't quite what we expected, but at least we can say we did it!

A little further along the canal and we came across some colourful gardens, some interesting buildings, and the old town square

Jo attempted a selfie

But clearly she lacks focus

And old wooden bridge spans part of the canal

Hmmm, Where is Waldo part 2

Everywhere you go in the region you come across free running water. It comes down from the mountains and we fill our water bottles and hydration packs every chance we get. It's cold and so delicious!

We did a little bit of shopping and then, feeling tired, decided to walk back to the train station to head back for a relaxing evening. Just before we got there we spotted a pack of daredevils who were going to brave the current and jump off the bridge

Back flip

Ouch....that's gonna leave a mark!

We got to the train station and checked the schedule. There was a 30 minute wait until the train back to Lauterbrunnen, but there was a train going to Grindelwald in 3 minutes. Having passes, we decided to jump on and take a very different route back to our town.

We arrived in Grindelwald a short time later. It was over 30 degrees out and we were really hot. We headed to the local grocery store to load up on fluids as we expected our next ride to be hot. A short 10 minute walk downhill to Grund and we boarded the Mannlichenbahn.....it's a very small cable car that runs all the way up to Mannlichen. The journey takes about 30 minutes and you ascend from the valley floor to the ridge high above. Along the way you have an amazing view of the North Face of the Eiger, and if you look down you might catch some Swiss Mountain marmots

Upon reaching the top, you are greeted with some amazing vistas

We decided to lounge around a bit

As our spin workout didn't quite pan out, I decided to sign up for a mountain goat race....ok, it was more of a rodeo

A few more shots from near the edge

Looking back down to Grindelwald in the distance

Then it was time to load into a gondola to ride down from Mannlichen to the town of Wengen. This is a picture looking down the gondola wires....Wengen in the foreground, and Lauterbrunnen behind it on the valley floor. You don't get the true sense of perspective in the picture of just how far down it really is

When we arrived in Wengen we went for a short walk. There is a fantastic viewpoint which hides behind a little church. This shot is looking down into our valley. Unfortunately we were there at the wrong time of day so the lighting wasn't very good. If you look very carefully in the left centre of the pic, you can see the large waterfall that was in the valley we hiked into yesterday....and above it to the right is the ridge we climbed up then around to get there

A train ride down from Wengen and we were back in our town. We talked about what to make for supper and then decided to go out. One of our favourite places to eat is a little restaurant at a campground in the valley. We started with some big chilly beers.....to rehydrate from the heat of course!

And then one of my favourite meals arrived. Roast chicken breast with salad and rosti, served with fresh alpen butter. Mmmmm!

Jo even paid for my dinner.....a delayed birthday dinner that she was saving because she knew this was one of my favourites. Score!

After dinner it was a short stroll back down our valley. The sun was setting, but still shining on the towns up above

The farmers were calling it a day around that time. They are a hearty breed.....imagine what stories this woman could tell as she puts her hay rake away for the night

One last look up at Staubbach Falls

And then it was back to our place for a big glass of cold milk....to wash down the chocolate of course. Did we mention how good the milk is here, and very inexpensive compared to home. You could drink it by the gallon.

Well it's off the check the weather forecast for tomorrow, then time to sleep. The weather will dictate our plans tomorrow. It's been hot and sunny the whole time we've been here, but there is some rain and thunderstorms coming. Thunderstorms can mean snow in the mountains. We've been in a snowstorm in August here. That's why we always take full gear when we are going high....you can't be too safe up there. And thunderstorms in the evening are a real treat as you can hear the thunder echo up and down the valley...it's awesome!

Nighty night all!

The valley that keeps on giving

We started off the day with a light breakfast.....musli with a dollop of yoghurt and a spoonful of strawberry jam. Did I forget to mention the chunks of Swiss chocolate in the musli?

After filling our bellies we got our packs ready and talked about what to do. We had never explored the very end of the valley and it sounded interesting. We looked at some trail maps and did some reading. There were some easier trails that will get you there....but we don't do easy! We hopped on the cable car to Grutschalp again, then took the mountain train to Murren. Jo decided to make some friends before we hit the trail....I think she is on the left

Just before leaving Murren we spotted this stump near the edge and decided to take a few pics. There is a para glider flying by in the background of Jo's shot. You can see them all day long in the valley, as well as the B.A.S.E. jumpers....Jo still won't let me try that :-(

The valley we are going to explore today is just a little left of me in the picture.....but we are going to approach it via the green ridge that is top right in the photo

We left Murren not sure what to expect. We quickly found the trail.....we knew that we had a lot of climbing to do, but before we could start that, we had to drop down into another valley to get across a river, then we would start to go up. 

It doesn't matter where you go around here, you can be in the middle of nowhere and you still come across these wonderful little gardens. This one was perched right on the edge

As we dropped down into the first valley, the views opened up, and they were amazing. Here is a shot looking back up towards the area we explored two days ago

As there are 72 waterfalls in the valley, you can't go far without running across one...this one is carved deep into the rock

We made it to the bottom of the first valley and crossed over one of the raging rivers that the waterfalls feed

And then the climbing started. The trail went straight up the side of the valley. It was very steep and it never let up. Luckily we were in shade for a lot of the climb...the weather has been fantastic so far, but it was very hot today. We stopped at one of the small falls on the way up....Jo got a pic of me sitting behind the fall, but you can't really see the water in the pic - and no we're not going back to take another one!

A little farther up the trail we came across a memorial to a young German climber who had lost his life in the mountains here. Sadly there are a number of them in this region. The North Face of the Eiger is infamous in mountaineering circles and there are many tales of triumph and tragedy that surround that mountain. 

On a more cheery note, not much further up the trail we got a great view of the waterfall that we had crossed a little earlier on the other side of the valley. This perspective showed us just how big it is, and how much it has carved itself into the rocks.

There is a major tourist attraction in the area called Trummelbach Falls. It is a series of deep caves that have been carved into the mountain by the outflow from the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau mountains. You take a funicular up inside of the mountain and then walk down a series of steps and paths to view the raging waterfalls that are deep inside of the mountain. If you are ever in the area it is very much worth checking out.

A little further up the trail and we came across some Swiss vandalism....LOL

We finally reached the top of the climb and emerged from the forrest into an alpine meadow....we kept climbing but fortunately it wasn't anywhere near as steep as the last section was

Jo stopped to take some pics of one of her favourite wildflowers. They turned out quite well

As we kept climbing, the views just left getting better and better

The next shot is great because it gives some perspective to the valley. On the left side you can see the town of Murren which is perched on a shelf about 600 meters above the valley floor. In the background on the right you can see the town of Wengen which is perched on a shelf on the other side of the valley. In the distance you can see part of the town of Lauterbrunnen on the valley floor. That is where we are staying. 

Right beside the town of Murren you can see shear cliffs that drop straight down to the valley floor. It's a very popular spot for B.A.S.E. jumpers to launch themselves from....there is also a via ferrata that takes you out across that rock face. We did that one a few years ago - scroll down to previous years to see some pics. And if you look straight above that rock face as far back as the horizon....that's the ridge that we were on yesterday.

We finally hit the highest point of our hike and rounded a corner where we could see up in the valley that was our destination. To say that our minds were blown would be the understatement of the century. I took lots of pictures, but honestly, they can't capture what it was like to really be there and see it in person. Amazing views, snow covered mountains, multiple glaciers and waterfalls everywhere. We heard a glacier calving and the following avalanche from the other side of the valley. The large waterfall in the distance is called Schmadribach Falls, and we could hear it from miles away. We are not big arty types, but apparently the falls were made famous when they were painted by Joseph Anton Koch in 1794

Here is a short video to give you a feel for the scenery

The views were amazing, but we were still high on a ridge, beside a very steep drop and we had to pay attention while we worked our way down the trail. At points there wasn't even a real trail to follow, just some faint paint marks on the rocks. There were a number of spots where one wrong step would have sent you falling about 700 meters to the floor of the valley

If you zoom in you can see a few other people who were following us down this trail....they look like ants in the distance

After a long decent we reached our destination.....the Berghotel (mountain hotel) Obersteinberg. You can stay here for 69 Swiss Francs a night, with half board. It is rustic, there is no electricity and your room is lit by candles, but the views are fantastic as you look out at Schmarribach Falls. Falling asleep to the sound of a waterfall is an amazing experience

We weren't planning on staying at the hotel this time, but we always like to do our part to support the local economy. They have to fly in all their supplies by helicopter and they rely on hikers and climbers to keep them going. We did our bit by having some beer and a traditional dish of rosti.....it was SO good, and we really needed those beers!

While enjoying our snack a small butterfly landed on me and made its way inside of my glasses - if you look closely you can see it

Now maybe beer wasn't the best idea when it's over 30 degrees and we've just done a major hike.....but we're not big on details like that :-)

After we finished our snack we started back down the valley....there were many gorgeous views along the way, but the pics barely do it justice. You all have to come here to experience it yourselves! We also spotted some funny cattle and some goats on the way down

The hike back down was quite steep, and it was long. We were both feeling a bit tired and I kept saying to Jo "You have a recovery coming up....keep working!"

We made it back down to the end of the valley floor, walking past raging rivers and peaceful little Swiss houses, making our way back to where we are staying. A welcome shower and then a very tasty homemade dinner....and now we are spent! OK maybe just one more piece of cheese to go with the sparkling wine.

Thoughts and prayers with all those in Italy today! 

Nighty night!