2024 Monday Aug 26

Grindelwald and Environs

The weather was gray with low clouds. There was no rain so we decided to venture out for new transportation venues, new sites, and a different kind of hike.

Apologies to those who are hoping for grand vistas in Switzerland—it wasn’t that kind of day. Instead, we appreciated the quick changes in microclimates, the flowers we might otherwise miss if we were focused on mountains, and the sounds of he trail even when we saw only white.

Richard gives his impressions of the day in his Relive video:      https://www.relive.cc/view/vrqDNpm5zLO

Leaving Grindelwald train station, the clouds were obscuring the mountain scenery.
At Grindelwald Terminal, we caught our first cable-car—a 10-seater that would take us to Mannlichen to begin the Panorama Walk.
Mannlichen is higher in the mountains, and low clouds make it difficult to even see the cable-car on front of us.
Ready to begin the Panorama Walk from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg.

Turn your sound up and click on the picture to hear what we heard.

It is hard to imagine riding a bicycle with this obstructed vision, but some did.
We reached the Kleine Schiedegg train station after a 1.5 hour walk. Now preparing to head to Wengen, recommended by Rick Steves Travel. Trains in this region often travel on steep tracks. When the elevation is greater than 10%, they transition to a cogwheel train by utilizing a third rail.
The track with the middle cogwheel track.
Wengen is a beautiful town higher in the mountains than Grindelwald, and not so commercial.
We discovered that Felix Mendelssohn [Bartholdy], the musician, is well-revered in Wengen. He visited Wengen three times in his life, and as a skilled draftsman and painter, he sketched the area. This is probably the earliest uncolored drawing of Wengen. Today Wengen celebrates Mendelssohn Music Week, the Mendelssohn Memorial, and the Mendelssohn hiking trail.

Time to return to Grindelwald for an early evening. Tomorrow’s weather is supposed to be beautiful so we have scheduled a trip to Jungfraujoch and a hike down the Eiger trail.

8 Responses

  2. The quaint villages in Switzerland and Austria are so much fun to explore. Sorry about the overcast weather but better than the 90+ degree weather we have. Looked like a nice trail for your first hike. And cows are much easier to deal with on hikes than grizzle bears.
    Dan
    Looks like a fun day.
    Wendy

  3. The information about Mendelssohn is interesting. I love the flowers. Sometimes we forget to look down as we walk, noticing the ground life. We also forget to look high, but you remembered to do so, capturing the ethereal feel of your day.

    1. Thanks,Wanda, for appreciating the unusual day and all we saw. I guess it’s a bit like your appreciating the trees when you’re training for half marathons.

  4. I love the cows! They remind me of your donkey friends. Hiking in the fog seems like a cool experience – it’s not panoramic views, but it’s a different kind of ambience.