Switzerland 2024

Day 1 – Arrival

I flew from Luton to Geneva, from where it was five trains to my home for the next eight days, Wengen. All went smoothly except for the planned visit to the supermarket at Geneva airport for a few supplies – it was closed for refurbishing. A series of tight connections meant that there were no other opportunities, and I knew that the supermarket in Wengen would be closed by the time I got there.

Heading up the valley from Interlaken towards Lauterbrunnen
Swapping trains in Lauterbrunnen
Ascending out of Lauterbrunnen
Looking up the valley as we gain height towards Wengen
View from the balcony of the apartment

Nothing to drink and nothing to eat in the apartment (including nothing for breakfast), but I had enough on the train, and as a result planned an early departure in the morning to grab breakfast along my route to my morning’s outing.

Day 2

I set off early and took the train from Wengen down into Launterbrunnen where I bought myself some breakfast and ingredients for lunch from the Co-op, before getting the cable car up the other side of the valley, then the train to Mürren, and the third of four stages of the Schilthorn cable car up to Birg at 2684m.

Back door view
Wengen from the challet
Challet centre of photo, under the Jungfrau
Wengen railway station
Stunning morning from the cable car station at Birg

Before I begin my hike proper, I take the opportunity to explore the Thrill Walk…

Looking down on the Thrill Walk – next challenge is to find the start through the building works.
Looking down the rock face from the cantilevered platform
Two options here: guess which I took?
Then a section with a glass floor
Finally a little wire netting tunnel
Not very comfortable but I went through
The view back to Mürren and the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau range beyond, from the end of the Thrill Walk as I start my hike proper
Looking up to the top of the Schilthorn.
Some impressive rock folds looking back up to Birg
Beautiful reflections in Grauseeli
I’m heading for that ridge on the right, with Bryndli at its end
I’ve reached the ridge after some challenging descents. A good spot to enjoy the views and have elevenses. As I’d approached this spot, I’d heard a huge rumble, rather like the rolling of thunder in the mountains. As I had my snack, an American walked into view and told me it had been a large rockfall on the mountains opposite.
Cattle with bells below the ridge
A look back up the Schiltbach valley to the Schilthorn, summit out of sight
Along the crest of the ridge
Bryndli ahead
Views back from Bryndli. This was an impressive viewpoint, and celebrated as such, but in practice no better than the walk I’d just done, and the extra ascent to the little summit wasn’t really merited for any additional gain – it’s perhaps more of an objective for those climbing up from the valley bottom.
Quite a few paragliders about – rather disconcerting when their shadow suddenly passes overhead
Approaching Mürren

I took the two cable cars down to the valley bottom at Stechelberg (this will be replaced by a single very steep cable car by the time I next come here), a bus to Lauterbrunnen and train back up to Wengen. I stopped in the Co-op to buy some dinner, and then rested at the apartment for a while.

I then went out for my final outing of the day: I took the cable car up to Männlichen, with a short walk to the summit (the sign said 20 minutes but it was a steady 10) and views to possible walk later in the week, then walked to the restaurant for a snack, then the gondola down to Grindelwald, and then the new (to me) Glacier Express gondola up to Eigergletscher station with the weather deteriorating: temperatures fell to 4 degrees as it started to rain gently – I had the 26-seat gondola to myself. Then trains to Kleine Scheidegg and another to Wengen, by which time lightning was flashing and the thunder was crashing almost as noisily as this morning’s huge rockfall. Fortunately the rain was only gentle till I got home, after which the heavens opened.

Looking up to Männlichen from Wengen cable car station
Panorama from Schynigge Platte around to the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau
Down past Wengen to the valley bottom
Gondola to Grindelwald
Heading down
And back up, towards Eigergletscher station
A small glacier, but no doubt contributing to the cold air
A cold and gloomy scene as I await the descending train
Approaching Kleine Scheidegg
At Kleine Scheidegg, time to change train
My home for the week, just left of centre, from the train

Day 3

Another beautiful morning, today travelling to the Rinderhorn by two trains, bus, funicular and gondola, for a walk along the ridge to Gemmenalphorn, returning by a slightly lower level route – rather rushed as I decided at short notice to try to get the 1258 boat afterwards, as it would be a two hour wait for the next. I made it to the top gondola station with 90 seconds to spare.

Descending from Wengen at the start of the morning travels
Funicular from Beatenbucht
Gondola from Beatenberg
The only gondola system I’ve been on which stops the gondolas bottom, middle and top (rather than letting them run continuously), and runs them in batches. It seems to be a cable car system run on gondola equipment. The shadows also look like a group of Tardises.
From the ridge, towards the west end of Lake Thun
The delightful Justital, a hanging valley unsuspected from the lake.
The east end of the lake and view up the Lauterbrunnen valley, with Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau topping the horizon. It was just possible to spot Wengen when not obscured by cloud.
The ridge ahead gets lumpier
And the sign soon warns that ordinary shoes aren’t appropriate
Wonderful views (and sounds from cowbells)
Panorama view from Gemmenalphorn – time to retrace me steps a short way before descending to the alternative route back

Second half of the day was catching the 1258 boat which took a pleasant if circuitous route to Spiez, where it was a steep walk up the hill to the railway station. I then had the choice of trains to take me to either Stockhorn or Niesen mountains. I decided the former could be more interesting, especially if, as seemed increasingly likely, the top was in cloud, as it had a halfway option. I was the only passenger in the cable car up Stockhorn, which told its own story. I decided not to bother with the top, and do a circuit of the lower lake; with the weather closing in, I dropped plans to visit the upper lake too, which proved wise as the cloud thickened and the rain started as I returned to the cable car station.

My boat approaches right on time – a timetable that fits with the funicular timetable.
Approaching Spiez
Waiting for the other boat to clear the jetty
Ascending the path to the railway station. There are a lot of open air swimming pools hereabouts.
Walking from Erlenbach railway station to the Stockhornbahn cable car station. The mountain top (about 600m of it) is hidden in clouds.
The pleasant Hinderstocksee
The walk round is fairly short, but enough to be worthwhile.
And includes unlit tunnels for extra excitement
The view down, and it’s starting to rain – not heavy but enough to get me damp on the return walk to the railway station.

Day 4

An early start today, catching the 0540 train, and after four trains the 0727 bus from Reichenbach to Griesalp, the steepest bus route in Europe with a gradient of 28%, with vertical rock faces on both sides, towing a trailer. I’m not sure where the other passengers went as I seemed to have the early part of the walk along the Via Alpina to myself, gradually climbing to the Sefinenfurgge pass at 2612m, descending into Sefinental at 1259m before a final little ascent to the very busy Gimmelwald cable car station. A great walk.

Our trusty bus
The top of the narrow and steep road – other motor traffic is prohibited on a timetable as there is no prospect of passing the bus.
After a short walk I’m greeted by a huge array of destinations: I’m heading for Sefinenfurgge and then possibly Mürren (though I later changed that to Gimmelwald which was the same distance but more descent). I got to the top of the pass ahead of schedule but then added a few longer stops to enjoy the views.
Ahead is Gamchigletscher: my route will curve around to the left.
Gaining height
Looking back down the valley
Towards the pass
Destination out of sight but the way ahead clear
The final stage is made easier by these 254 steps to the top of the pass
The narrow pass has no flat ground – it’s up and then immediately down, but with a bench to admire these views, where I stopped for my third sandwich. If you look very, very hard, you can just see the bench I sat on on Sunday, and more realistically the ridge leading to Bryndli.
From the pass, looking down a rather shorter flight of steps, followed by a good deal of loose stone.
Looking back up to the pass
The high mountains in the clouds was a slight shame but the views were spectacular anyway.
I stopped at the Rotstockhütte for cake and a drink, and lingered over them a good while before continuing on my way.
Panoramic view as I made my descent into the Sefinental – I thought it would be more interesting, or at least more different, than continuing along to merge with Sunday’s route from below Bryndli.
The Sefinen Lütschine tumbles energetically along its deep valley, with walls up to 2000 metres high.
As I start the final ascent, a surprise was crossing the Schiltbach (which I crossed on Sunday with its views back to the Schilthorn) where it forms this impressive series of falls (there are more behind me) which have carved away at the rock.
Approaching Gimmelwald and the Sefinental from the right joins with the other valley to form the Lauterbrunnental.

Day 5

A gentler day with a walk up to the next railway station at Allmend (just 192 metres up) in the morning, and in the afternoon a visit to Pfingstegg for a ride on the Fly Line and the rodelbahn, both good fun, before heading to Interlaken to meet Mark.

The chalet with our apartment on the right, first floor (which is ground floor when approached up the ramp on the right), with the balcony where I had most of my breakfasts and dinners
At Allmend station
Wengen from Allmend
And after descending 200 metres on the train, the view from Wengen station
Ascending from Grindelwald to Pfingstegg
Last bit of the Fly Line, a sort of combination of elements of rollercoaster, chairlift and zip line, whizzing around through the trees in a harness dangling from a twisting metal route.
Waiting in our harnesses to be attached to the Fly Line
Being winched up to the top after the twisting descent through the trees
Looking up from about the same point
The rodelbahn is a 750m circuit on which one slides on these little carts in a metal track.
Part of the rodelbahn metal track, looping down the hillside in its impressive surroundings

Day 6

A long day out with a rather frustrating start due to a missed connection, so we missed out on an intended visit to the Gelmerbahn and hike round and down from the lake, but did get a bus over the Grimselpass (with a scheduled stop at the top for a visit to the café). After lunch at the station, we had a short walk into Oberwald to visit the ski museum, walked back along the baby Rhone, and then the intended highlight: a fabulous trip on the Furka steam cog railway, plus plenty more of Switzerland seen during our big loop home.

North from the top of Grimselpass where our bus stopped for 28 minutes – time for a drink and brief look at the views in inclement weather
Heading down in the bus. The steam train line can be seen inclining upwards from Gletch on the far side.
The ski museum
The Rhone in Oberwald
The station in Oberwald
Our train arrives
We were in the front carriage
We ended up with six first class seats to ourselves so had plenty of room
Where the Rhone glacier used to be
Our train waits at the summit for the train coming up from the other direction
The other train in the distance
In places the scenery felt almost more northern England than Alpine – until longer views opened up
Some of the cattle that had to be herded off the line by the fireman
A last look back as we head for the mainline Realp station to travel to Wengen via Brig, Spiez, Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen.

Day 7

First stop today was the Stabbachfall in Lauterbrunnen, before a walk along the valley to the Trümmelbachfälle.

The Trümmelbachfälle are ten cascades of the Trümmelbach which drains the glaciers of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, located inside the hillside where the beck has carved deep holes for itself. Then we went on to the Schilthorn where it was fairly clear at the third stage, Birg, but largely cloudy by the time we reached the summit.

After a wander around Mürren we took the Allmendhübel funicular up to the restaurant at the top for ice cream and drink, then walked to Grütschalp for the cable car down to Lauterbrunnen.

Views from Birg, third cable car station on the way up the Schilthorn (head just disappearing into the cloud)
At the top of the Schilthorn, and unfortunately the clouds are closing in for a while
There’s a good deal of sunshine, but the views are very constrained
A brief opening in the cloud shows views to the north, and produces hope of a more general cloud clearance, but it’s just a very short interlude
After exploration on foot around the summit, a look around the very expensive summit shop, and a tour of the James Bond exhibition, the clouds still hadn’t cleared, so we descended to Mürren and had a wander around – by now, of course, much of the cloud had gone, which at least made for some glorious views from Mürren
The funicular from Mürren – now the only summer mountain transport route (railway, cable car or funicular) in the valley that I had never used. We took it to the top.
Just in case you are lost – though the spelling of the funicular station and mountain restaurant as Allmendhubel, and the hill on which they sit as Allmihubel could cause some confusion. We had a drink and ice cream at the mountain restaurant, then set off for our afternoon hike, heading north and gradually descending from 1932m to 1486m at Grütschalp cable car station for our descent to Lauterbrunnen
The challenge with this walk was to stop taking multiple copies of almost the same view – the scenes were so beautiful they called to be photographed
Looking across the valley to Wengen
I pause on a bench to admire the view
The Observatory on the Jungfraujoch
Mark heads down
The little train that runs from Mürren to the top of the cable car
Later, the view from our dinner table

Day 8

On our way out, we passed preparations for the Jungfrau Marathon which was running this morning, and which would be coming through Wengen and past our house on its route from Interlaken to Eigergletscher station.

We started the day going the longer way round to First, on the railway via Kleine Scheidegg to Eigergletscher station, just for the pleasure of the journey. We narrowly missed seeing a big rockfall on the north face of the Eiger, which created a dust cloud which rapidly precipitated a layer of cloud across the valley through which we descended via the gondola on our way to Grindelwald. We then took another gondola (which stopped a couple of times with us gently swinging in mid-air) up to First, passing the interesting-looking ziplines.

The main focus of the day was a long walk from First to Schynigge Platte which was as glorious as I remembered from 15 years ago, but hard work on a hot sunny day.

Our house at km 32 of the Jungfrau Marathon. Maybe another year. Just need to find somewhere in Suffolk to practice running up a 2300m mountain.
Early morning panorama from Kleine Scheidegg as we wait for the train to Eigergletscher. The early impact of the rockfall can be seen near the left of picture, over the hotel.
Within 30 minutes there is a strip of cloud across the valley.
Marathon-runners’ bags at Grindelwald, to be taken up the mountain to Eigergletscher
Ascending the final part of the journey to First: spot the two zipwire riders, and the carts heading down the mountain. The rockfall-associated cloud is thinning quickly, but a lighter grey patch is visible on the Eiger. Also visible are several people on the ziplines that run down from First.
The cliff walk at First: not dissimilar to the one at Birg, but we quickly went round before beginning our walk proper.
Mark on the bridge part of the cliff walk
Gaining height
Our route ahead, climbing to the top of the Faulhorn (towards the right with the grey path almost pointing to it).
Wetterhorn, Schreckhorn, Finsteraarhorn and others create a stunning view behind Bachalpsee
The way ahead, level for a short while before resuming the ascent
Me contemplating the view
The view is great, but added to it for a little while was haunting music from down by the lake
Approaching the first col, which is a false summit for our route
A stunning panorama as we approach the summit of the Faulhorn
For hours the cloud from the south threatened to spill over, and though it built higher for a while, it never quite penetrated into our valleys.
On top of the Faulhorn: Mark may be contemplating the view, or he may be checking the cricket score on his phone
Our journey will continue along this ridge for a while before descending to continue along the parallel valley
As we descend, looking back to the Faulhorn
As we get closer to Schynigge Platte, the terrain evolves and maintains interest and variety both near and far.
Lake Thun beyond Interlaken
Later, the view from our dinner table for our final night

Day 9

Final morning, and time for a run, down from Kleine Scheidegg to our chalet, descending 687 metres. This was the furthest I’ve ever descended on a run, by a huge margin, relentlessly downhill and often very steep for a run, and I was a little worried that I might overdo it for my unpractised legs, but they coped admirably and didn’t complain at all. A very different challenge from running up it, of course. A great little outing to finish off before we caught our trains back to Geneva and the flight home.

Farewell Wengen, farewell Switzerland, it’s been great.

Kleine Scheidegg railway station
It’s officially 1h45 to descend to Wengen (and 2h45 to ascend). It’ll take me about 36 minutes at a cautious run as some of the gravel roads were very steep.
Note that the cow is not sitting on the bench!
Eiger and Mönch
The train that took me up to Kleine Scheidegg descends back to Lauterbrunnen
A self-service fridge en route to top up your cheese and buttermilk supplies.
A brief pause for a bench view
Getting closer to Wengen

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