My that's a big schnitzel you have!

Woke up to another glorious day in the valley. Having done a big hike the day before we tossed about various options as we ate another yummy breakfast

 

After eating and pondering over a few more cups of coffee we decided that we'd start the day with a train trip into Interlaken. It's the transportation hub for the area and it's quite touristy, but still worth exploring. We wandered along the canal which runs through the town, joining the Thunersee and the Brienzersee. Soon we were exploring the old part of Interlaken

 

 

 

 

 

While we were exploring we spotted a BMW dealership. We figured that since we were in Europe they would be more reasonable. We checked it out.....but the price was kinda crappy

 

A bit more wandering and taking in the scenery

 

 

 

 

By now we were craving a coffee. The first place we stopped had a very grumpy waiter so we decided to move on and found a place that served really good iced lattes, mmmm. Then Jo sniffed out a chocolate shop (from a quarter mile away) and we couldn't resist. It was very good. We were getting a little hungry, but we decided to pass on the......

and on

 

Even from downtown Interlaken you can glimpse views of the treasures that our valley holds

 

From far away they don't look very big

 

Jo wanted to do a bit of shopping before we got back to the train station

 

Then we hopped on the train again and headed to Grindewald. It's in the next valley over from where we are staying. It's also quite touristy and between Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen in size. There is a lot to do there and it gives a different perspective on the mountains.

 

 

 

We stocked up on picnic supplies and headed to the Männlichenbahn.....a small 4 person cable car system that runs from just below Gridewald up to Männlichen on the ridge high above. The cable car ascends over 4,000 feet and the ride takes about 30 minutes so we were able to enjoy our lunch as we rose up in front of the north face of the Eiger. This is the actual view from the cable car

 

Hilarity ensued in the cable car......lets just say that one of the riders almost had a Depends moment! Once we arrived in Männlichen the view was amazing. Standing on the ridge you could see back down to Grindewald on one side, and down into the Lauterbrunnen valley on the other. Here is a shot looking down, first to Wengen, and then to Lauterbrunnen even further below

 

We hadn't come prepared for a real hike, or even to be in the mountains today....but the weather was just so nice that we couldn't resist. We set out to hike the Panoramaweg, an amazing hike that takes you from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg. The entire time you are walking directly towards to north face of the Eiger...which is a personal favourite mountain of mine. The fact that we were in regular clothes and flip flops didn't matter to us.....but we did get some funny looks along the way. But we were too taken with the scenery to notice

 

 

We did manage to squeeze in a little fun along the way

 

 

And one must always remember to take some time to become one with the mountain

 

The views got better and better as we got closer to the Eiger, which translates to Ogre

 

 

Here you can see the buildings of the Jungfraujoch in the centre of the picture

We eventually reached Kleine Scheidegg and hopped on the train back down to our sleepy valley. We were all tried as we had been on the go for about 7 hours, and it had been very hot.....it was 34 degrees up top today. So the ride down was a little quiet

 

We had great intentions of heading back to Interlaken for supper but we were too beat so we chose the patio at the Hotel Oberland in Lauterbrunnen and we were very happy with our meals

 

 

Just before we were about to order dessert.....yes we earned it! The skies opened up as another mountain storm rolled in. It had been 34 degrees not long ago, and now thunder and lightning crashed up and down the valley....then the rain hit hard. I felt something hit me and looked down to find a piece of hail on my lap, and we were under and awning. Soon hail the size of ice cubes was crashing down all around us....talk about one extreme to another. But that is what being in the mountains is like, and why you always have to be prepared for anything. We knew it was coming, and we knew that we would be down before it hit.

We waited for it so slow down and then began walking back to our hotel. Jo ran ahead and Delanie and I laughed at her....but once again the tables were turned. As soon as Jo made it to the cover of the hotel the skies opened up again and Delanie and I had to run for cover. It was another near Depends moment.....and for the second time today, it wasn't me :-)

We got back to the hotel, showered, and now we are relaxing in our rooms with the windows open, listening to the storm still echoing up and down the valley, and the sounds of music and yodellers coming from the community centre across the road......another wonderful day in Switzerland.

P.S. if you didn't notice it the first time, go back and look at the license plate on the BMW

P.P.S. today's title started yesterday at supper when Delanie said "can you take a picture of my schnitzel?" We laughed at that. Then while at dinner tonight, a man at the table next to us ordered schnitzel and lets just say, well, someone made a comment about it being the biggest schnitzel they had ever seen....yes it was another Depends moment.

How will we top it tomorrow.....stay tuned and see

 

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Initiation Day

When we woke up the sky was clear blue. But as we ate another storm rolled in and we could hear the thunder echo up and down the valley again. But as quickly as it moved it, it was gone again. We got geared up to hit the trails.

Over the last few days I had mentioned a number of suggestions for some first easy hikes to let Delanie get adjusted to the time zone and the elevation. Well Jo agreed that they were great ideas at the time, but as soon as we hit the trail today Sergeant Mousseau decided that she had a better idea.......hike, and don't stop until I tell you that can! There will be no reprieve for you Delanie, get a move on!

The first part of the hike from the Lauterbrunnen Valley up to Wengen is in the woods, and very steep. But there are some nice views along the way

Starting out

The view back down into our valley after gaining a bit of altitude

 

It didn't take long and we arrived in the town of Wengen. Even the cats have to climb here

 

We stopped for some lunch supplies in the town square and plotted our next assault

 

Up! Cried out sergeant Mousseau....there will be time to rest later. So onward, and upward, we went. It wasn't long and our valley was a distant memory.....and this is what laid ahead

 

The trail kept going up and up, past waterfalls, higher than the mountain train tracks.....past the Wengen World Cup Downhill Ski course. We were now in the high alp....and we were not the only ones here at this time of year

 

There were cows a plenty grazing in the high alp. Every one of them wearing a bell. A veritable cacophony of sounds....or a cack a phony according to Jo. Now when hiking in the mountains you must be prepared for all eventualities. We were prepared with plenty of water, first aid kit, gore-tex jacket and pants, a warm layer, survival supplies, and most importantly......gummy bears!

 

The trail never let up, it just keep climbing. Jo kept calling out.....left right left right double time now. At one point Delanie had heard enough. She elected for a horizontal rest

 

A few stiff pokes with a trekking pole from sergeant Mouuseau and she was up and hiking again. We were getting higher and higher and closer to the real mountains

 

We decided that we should stop and have something to eat before we got all the way to the top. We found a great spot under the shade of a few trees, with a very nice view

 

 

 

Then it was time for the final push. We were getting closer to Kleine Scheidegg. In this pic you can see the famous North Face of the Eiger

 

Soon the historic hotels of Kleine Scheidegg were in view

 

It didn't take us long to do the last little bit. Not a bad hike at all.....11.14 kms all uphill, with a total elevation gain of 1,527 meters....that's over 1.5 kms! When we reached the top sergeant Mousseau finally let her guard down and congratulated Delanie on her first hike in the Alps

 

We considered starting the 2.5 hour hike back down, but elected on taking the train instead. Delanie was chillin

 

Until the train police came along and gave her a stern warning about having her feet on the seats. Now we don't speak Swiss, but I'm quite certain that those weren't all polite words.

It didn't take long and we were back down in out sleepy little valley again. Some well deserved showers and a nice meal and we were just about done. But we ended up going for a two hour post dinner stroll along the valley floor as it was such a nice evening.

What will tomorrow bring.....dunno. But surely it won't blow as much as today did, lol

 

 

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Growing old but refusing to grow up!

Waking up in such an amazing place on my birthday makes me realize just how lucky I am. But even though my birth certificate says I'm a year older, I refuse to give in!

The day started with another yummy Swiss breakfast. If you are ever fortunate enough to come to the Jungfrau region of Switzerland you must come to Lauterbrunnen. And if you do, I can't recommend the Hotel Staubbach enough. I discovered this gem almost by accident back in 1999 when I was in this part of the world to do Ironman Europe. This is now my fifth or sixth visit....I've lost count. This valley and this hotel both feel like home and the staff go out of their way to make you feel like that.

 

 

After breakfast Jo and I hopped on the train to Grindewald for a short visit. It's much more touristy than Lauterbrunnen but it has some amazing views.

After a short visit we were on the train again to Interlaken where we met Delanie. She had liked the earlier versions of the blog so much that she wanted to be a part of it.....so she hopped on a plane and jetted over to get in on the action.

We hopped back on the train and headed back to our idyllic valley. Although she had been up for over 30 hours already we decided that a short walk was in order. The skies were getting a little dark and they both asked if it was going to rain....no more than 1 or 2 millimetres I said, having checked the forecast. As we walked along the valley floor we heard the first clap of thunder. Jo asked if we should head for shelter. I made fun of her....as I usually do. Well it turns out that this time she was right. Moses couldn't have protected us from that mountain storm!

Fortunately we had already found shelter at the local campground. Under the shade of a huge awning we watched and listened as the thunder storm echoed up and down the valley. Oh look, what's that over there....a bar, well ok, if we must

 

We decided to wait out the storm and figured that we would just eat there.....ok well we already knew that we really liked it there. It was a very good birthday dinner.

After a few more frosty ones.....yes Sensei I had one for you.....the storm had passed and we went for a short walk along the river. Both the river and the waterfalls (72 in this valley) had swollen from the rain.

 

Eventually the skies started to clear, although some clouds lingered in the valley

But eventually they gave way, treating us to the usual evening view looking south down the valley

 

What adventures will tomorrow bring......hmm, let me ponder

 

Thanks again to all my family and friends for the birthday wishes. Wish you could all be here to share in the adventure!

 

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Hiking the Swiss Alps

It was well after 11:00 by the time all the fireworks and guns stopped going off....but it was a great celebration of the Swiss national holiday so we can't blame them. We got up refreshed and went down for breakfast. It's really hard to complain when you have breakfast and the view out your window is Staubbach Falls. I will try to remember my camera tomorrow morning.

After breakfast we geared up, including lots of sunscreen as they were predicting a scorcher today...and they were right! Off to the train station we went to pick up our passes. You can buy a pass that is good for six day and it gets you on all the local trains, buses, cable cars, gondolas and lake ferries....it's a great way to get around.

Passes in hand we crossed the road and took a cable car up to Grutschalp where we started today's adventure. We had spotted a few new trails that had been opened up since the last time we visited. We figured that it would be a good warm-up day. Boy were we blown away.....the scenery along these trails (Mountain View Trail and The North Face Trail) were nothing less than stunning. They had it all....forests, alpine, wildflowers, amazing views, incredible terrain and on and on.....I will let a few of the many pictures that I took today show you what I mean.

We came across many cows in the high alp.....they all have bells on

 

Wildflowers as far as the eye could see

These places appear in the middle of nowhere, offering food, drink and conversation. Some of them also have rooms where you can spend the night.

As we started to descend from the alpine and get back into the woods we found a perfect place to stop and enjoy the lunch we had brought with us

 

The view

Then just as we hit the trail again our worst nightmare came true........a Swiss traffic jam!

It was total gridlock mon!

Luckily we were able to make our way around the traffic jam and carried on back down into the town of Murren which sits on the precipice above the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

Murren from above

Downtown Murren

After getting back to Murren we hopped on the train that rides along the edge of the cliff and then took a cable car back down to our valley. After getting all cleaned up we hopped on a different train and went down to Interlaken for some supper. Now we are back in our room listening to the sound of the running river. Tonight we will sleep well.

 

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