Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland - Days 7, 8 and 9
On the bus from Munich we eventually begin to see lakeside Swiss villages - on our way to Lauterbrunnen.
Island living.
View across the lake.
Hilltop chapel.
Above the fray.
Our first glimpse of Lauterbrunnen through the valley.
The Jungfrau shows her face as we enter the valley.
Lauterbrunnen! Spectacular in any weather.
Our excellent Hotel Oberland in Lauterbrunnen Village. We were so lucky to have the room below the upper gable with the white balcony.
Looking up the valley - from our balcony.
Room with a view.
And to the north.
Hillside farming.
Substantial alpine architecture.
Staubbach Falls and Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche.
Next morning, we are up the cable car into the clouds.
To the top of the Schilthorn, 2,970 m / 9,744 ft.
We're in a cloud so we might as well stop and have a delicious meal.
We begin to get seductive glimpses of the Alps across the valley.
Clouds, shadows and sun paint the valley below.
We begin our descent out of the clouds back toward the village of Mürren.
Wild chamois dot the hillside.
Chamois family.
Mürren is perched on the cliffside.
Not much traffic in downtown Mürren.
We take the funicular up to Allmendhubel. The track splits just in time to meet the descending car!
We decide to walk down to the valley floor from Allmendhubel. The 8 hour trek is spectacular!
The wildflowers are abundant.
We found continuous pleasure in meeting other trekkers from around the world.
A rustic abode.
A hanging glacier just across the valley.
A barn floats in a sea of wildflowers.
Path down a steep pasture.
In Mürren, a deck with a view.
Might as well have two decks, with a view like this.
Continuing down to Gimmelwald, we were treated to an impromptu trailside alpenhorn concert. A quintet if you count the gnomes.
We begin to see blue sky. The high Alps might still make an appearance.
Looking up is always rewarding.
Just as rewarding is looking down into Lauterbrunnental. The Weisse Lütschine river flows south toward Lauterbrunnen Village.
Gimmelwald home with a view.
Gimmelwald resident.
BASE jumper floats toward the valley floor.
Alpine storage unit.
Double rainbow in Gimmelwald.
We are close to the pot of gold!
A Swiss alpine flower gallery.
Descending from Gimmelwald.
Something to anticipate around every corner.
Into the wild.
But, thankfully, the trail is always well marked.
We are nearly back into Lauterbrunnental, the last few miles are in sight.
The misty valley welcomes us.
Grazing in the drizzle.
The setting sun paints the higher hillsides.
Next morning we awaken to blue sky!
The valley throws off it's covers.
Our valley is bathed in sunshine as we climb by train and cable car to Männlichen.
From Männlichen we can see almost the whole Lauterbrunnental.
Looking south.
The view north toward Interlaken.
The high Alps show themselves.
A fellow hiker is enjoying a mountain walk as much as we are.
Bernese Alps: Jungfrau and Silberhorn at left, Breithorn and Tschingelhorn
at right.
at right.
Can't get enough of this vista.
Wildflowers frame the view down toward Grindelwald.
The Breithorn stands out above Lauterbrunnental.
Jungfrau lowers her cloud veil. 4,107 m / 13,474 ft.
Breithorn (3,780 m / 12,402 ft) and Tschingelhorn (3,562 m / 11,686 ft).
Playground at Bergstation Männlichen (top of gondola from Grindelwald) on the way to Kleine Scheidegg. Breithorn is the backdrop.
The Wetterhorn (3,701 m / 12,142 ft) rises above Grindelwald in the valley below.
We head toward the triumvirate: Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.
The legendary Eiger, North Face.
The 1417 steeple steps we climbed in the churches was good conditioning for this hike! We continue on to Kleine Scheidegg to catch the train to Jungfraujoch, the highest rail station in Europe.
The international "Do Not Dawdle" sign.
Jungfrau in all her splendor.
Silberhorn - 3,707 m / 12,162 ft.
Looking again toward Grindelwald Valley from near the train station at Kleine Scheidegg.
By train to Jungfraujoch (3,471 m / 11,388 ft) where we see the incredible view down the Aletsch Glacier - the largest glacier in the Alps.
A translucent cornice.
Climbers descend the Jungfrau above an impressive crevasse.
We head back down by train to Wengen. The Silberhorn rises above the cliffs.
We often heard a choir of cowbells long before we saw the choir members.
The Schiltorn is still in the clouds, behind the Birg peak cable car station.
From Wengen the view is clear: Breithorn, Tschingelhorn and Tschingelgrat. The village of Mürren is perched in the shadow below the cloud on the right.
Zooming in on Mürren from across the valley.
The Jungfrau Glacier spills below the Jungfrau and Silberhorn.
The clouds begin to get interesting over the Jungfrau.
The Breithorn attracts it's own special hat.
Now the clouds are dancing...
It's time to leave Wengen and make our way back to Lauterbrunnen Village for our last evening in Switzerland. We all promise to return!
And the Jungfrau disappears again behind her veil.