2 weeks across Switzerland by train in Sept-part 5

Hi Forum folks,

Before I go on with part 5 of my trip report, I want to apologize tor any duplicate photos on my last posts.

Also, another tip:

(I don’t in any way want to disuade anyone from seeing Schilthorn.) But in a way, I was slightly disappointed in that the whole alure, all the hype of the Schilthorn, is the beautiful views of the “big three” (Jungfrau,Monch,Eiger). The only problem, currently, is that there is a lot of construction going on. They are building another cable car/way of getting up there (which is fine, they are upgrading), but in doing so, the whole platform /patio from which viewing the “big three” has been eliminated due to the construction. In order to see those views, one has to do so through the revolving restaurant, which can be awkward to not only those seated, but also to those who are trying to peer past them and take photos.

I was able to get some photos, but it was obstructed by that construction and the lack of a direct view. Anyway, just something to keep in mind. I actually had more fun at Birg, on the Thrill Walk, in spite of it lightly drizzling. Anyway, moving on.

>>>>Day 7: Grindelwald First

After making my into Brienz to see the Brienz Rothorn, only to see a “Sold out for today” sign, I put my STP to work. I walked across the tracks to the boat, which was waiting at the pier. Walked upstairs, took a few photos, and decided that even though I did want to take a boat ride on the lake, It was too long of a ride back to Int Ost. I was torn between seeing Schynige Platte or Grindelwald First. (I wanted to see First on my last trip, but G-wald was pretty much clouded in my whole time in Wengen). So I got off the boat and caught the next train back to Ost and into G-wald. While walking around, having dinner two nights prior, I had stopped into the tourist info adjacent to the Eiger Center (just past the bus stop on the right) to find out where the First valley station was to get my bearings.

>>>>Tip: For the non-tech savvy traveler such as myself, a way that I beat the lines was to go into that same tourist info to buy my First ticket. There was no line there, and when I got to the valley station, I bypased all those waiting to buy tickets, just as if I had bought one online. I realize this was September and not July or August, so it may not work during those months, but G-wald was still pretty busy. At the tourist office, I was not able to buy tickets for any of the activities at the top tuough. So, for me, that was not a factor.

So up I want, admiring the views of G-wald getting smaller and further away, and seeing Phingstegg com into view. There was some overcast whilst up there that cleared up a bit while going back down. I did not hike to Bachalpsee since I have been dealing with a torn miniscus in my knee and was hesitant about it. So I had my summit beer, a bowl of soup, looked around the souvenir shop, and made my back to the gondola for my descent. By now, of course, the sunshine was pretty good, making for some nice pictures. So then I took the train

one stop from G-wald to G-wald Terminal, where I boarded the fairly new Eiger Express.

The Eiger Express was very impressive. It is a continuously running gondola similar to that of G-Wald First, but instead of a 6-8 person car, it was rather huge. It has about, maybe 16 seats as well as plenty of standing room and is very comfortable. At this point, the sun was out. By the time I got to the Eigergletscher, of course, the sun was not out. It was a bit chilly, up there, but that disappeared as the hike went on. And so it went…so it was gray skies from the whole time I did do the hike down to Kleine Scheidegg (which I was also hesitant about) and, yet, glad I did. It wasn’t so much the bad knee, as it was my thighs. (I felt it for the next 2 days.) Most of the hike (from Eigergletschler to Kliene Scheidegg) was on……….basically, some hard, previously paved path that gave way to a lot of loose gravel which did make it hard to walk on. Especially going down a fairly, at times steep hill. Especially in the beginning stages. So I was really glad to have reached Kleine Scheidegg. When I did reach Kleine Scheidegg, it was almost like a ghost town. The souvenir shop folks told me that it was just that morning the hotels shut down for a while. I didn’t know that they did. I thought it was an all year round destination. (See pic.) So after the train back into into Wengen, I took some more pics and had a pizza at Sina’s, around the corner from the Hotel Schonegg. Then, I took some more photos on my way back to my hotel, including the iconic picture of the valley from just outside the church. Then we called it a night after climbing back up the steep hill into town for the closing of Tanners Bar.

>>>Tip: Tanners is a wonderful pub 9whed and run by Ronald. A very nice place to enjoy cocktails and friendly conversation. Small, but quaint. He may he closed until December when the snow and ski seasons lift off.

>>>>Day 8: On this day, I basically took it easy and just rested at the Hotel Edelweiss. The weather was just horrible. The radar showed nothing but clouds and rain for most of the day. I caught up on some soduko/crossword puzzles and did some reading in one of the lounge areas in the hotel. At 1800, there was a very nice wine and cheese tasting that took place. After that was dinner at the hotel, and after a while talking with some folks, I headed up the hill into town for my daily pub closing.

More to come.

Regards,

Danielsan