We're routinely humbled by the hiking prowess of the Swiss.

:):):)

We too were always being passed :)

Years ago the trail times were based on the reports of older hikers, some in their 70s! , who hiked the various segments (break times excluded). Now the times are calculated by computer, based on geographical information system (GIS) technology.

It is so nice to see the snow in your photos since it seems to be disappearing forever in this part of the world.

WeisserTee: Thanks for jumping on board and explaining the time calculations.
kerouac: It was nice to see snow in June but it was warm even at the Jungfrau and we could see and feel the snow melting as well hiked.
Pagngo: Thanks for your kind words. We really enjoyed every part of this trip and felt the timing in each location was about right. Good luck with your planning.

Day 24 – Wengen – Boat ride on Lake Thun

Forecast for today was again overcast, so we were waiting to make our treks to Kleine Scheidegg and the Jungfrau for the following 2 days when the weather was supposed to be sunny. Today we decided on a boat ride around Lake Thun. After breakfast we took the cog train back to Lauterbrunnen and then the train from Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken West where we found the boat dock. This was a free trip with our Swiss Travel Pass. While we were waiting for the boat to arrive, there were 2 different choirs with about 25 performers each singing in the waiting area. As it turned out, one of the choirs was waiting to board and they performed on the boat trip. Quite entertaining.

The boat was not crowded outside and we able to sit where we wanted. We thoroughly enjoyed the 2-hr trip which criss-crossesd from village to village across the lake framed by flowers, trees and small vineyards with snow capped mountains in the distance. We passed the Oberhofen castle which hung over the beautiful blue waters of the lake. There was a small group of young adults traveling together from Bern with whom we struck up a very pleasant conversation. We passed by the town of Spiez which looked like an interesting place to visit.

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We decided to get off in the town of Thun since there is a turreted castle from the 1100’s that we were interested in exploring. We were so glad we spent time here. This is a fairly large town, with a population of around 44,000. We ended up spending close to 5 hrs here. The weather turned sunny here by early afternoon which added to our enjoyment of wandering this lovely town.

We picked up a good map from the TI which was conveniently located in the train station. We found that all of the people that worked at the TI’s around Switzerland very friendly and helpful. We then proceeded on our walk around the Vieille Ville de Thoune , which is the old town of Thun. Another beautiful old town center with amazing architecture. We wandered the streets and then headed to the Castle Thun. As usual, it was a climb of about 250 steps to the top, but well worth the effort. This castle was also included in the Swiss Travel Pass so we already felt we were getting our money’s worth 😊 The castle has a nicely-presented museum inside, giving a good perspective of the history of Thun and some commanding views from the four turrets. Apparently, part of the castle was used as a prison during WWII and there are still engravings from the prisoners.

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As we exited the castle, we walked down to the river and found ourselves with the most spectacular view of the castle. There was a perfect little restaurant with tables lined along the river so we stopped for lunch to enjoy the view of both the castle and river, enjoying the little rapids and watching the ducks and swans swim by. A large bowl of mussels and spicy chicken with rigatoni in cream sauce along with some delicious local wine were consumed at this sitting 😊

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After we left the restaurant, we strolled along the river and came upon a beautiful wooden bridge with flowers exploding over the sides. This bridge reminded me of the Chapel Bridge in Lucerne, which we would re-visit in forthcoming days. There was a hip feel to this area, with lots of cafes filled to capacity. We strolled along the main shopping drag with its double-layered walkway, peeking into the shop windows and just taking pleasure in our surroundings.

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We took a train back to Interlaken and then on to Lauterbrunnen and back up to Wengen with smiles on our faces for this fantastic day.

Day 25 – Wengen-Mannlichen cable car to Kleine Scheidegg, Grindlewald and First

Yeah, today is sunny and supposed to be good at Kleine Scheidegg, so we walked out our apartment door 100 feet to the Wengen-Mannlichen cable car station for our tickets. We had no wait and immediately headed up looking out at the spectacular view of Wengen.

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We were looking forward to this walk as it’s supposed to one of the most beautiful easy walks in the area. We were not disappointed. We were able to walk the trails without jackets while seeing piles of snow all around. The trail to Kleine Scheidegg was 3 miles long, well marked and maintained and took us about 2 hours because we stopped for lots of pictures of the glorious mountain views and lakes and conversations with fellow walkers. Fortunately, the trail wasn’t very busy and it never felt crowded, unlike hiking the Cinque Terre trails!

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When we reached Kleine Scheidegg we stopped for an ice cream break at the Restaurant Grindelwaldblick, enjoying the stupendous views and then headed to the train station for our next excursion to Grindlewald.

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We boarded the train in Kleine Scheidegg without realizing we needed an additional ticket ☹ When the conductor came around asking for tickets, I gave him our Swiss Travel Pass thinking we were good and he told us we needed a ticket, that the train from KS to Grindlewald was not included in the Swiss Pass. Oh no!! Heart racing, we had read about people not having the proper tickets and getting a big fine. STRESS…..we were lucky as he only charged us the amount of the ticket plus an additional 10 CHF. We were glad we had the cash on hand, as he wouldn’t take a credit card.

An unbelievable thing happened on our way …..the train broke down at Grund!! This is unheard of in Switzerland. They announced it would take a few minutes to resolve but after about 15 minutes of waiting, we decided to get off and walk the rest of the way to Grindlewald. We were told it was a 20 minute walk. It turned out most of the walk was UPHIL and it took us more than 20 minutes! It was getting hot but we persevered, huffing and puffing until we reached Grindlewald.

This town is a little bigger than Wengen, Gimmelwald and Murren and it was rather busy. There were lots of touristy shops with the typical junk lining the main street. We didn’t spend a lot of time here so we wandered for about 30 minutes, then took the gondola to First. The gondola ride was a lovely way to spend 30 minutes high above the mountains.

First is for the adrenaline seeker. There were lots of activities available here including the First Flyer, First Glider, Mountain Bike and Scooter Bike. All of these activities looked a little to scary to me so we just watched. There were also lots of hang gliders and we were able to get up close to watch them take off. DH used to sky dive so he enjoyed talking to the hang gliders. I’m sure he would have liked to be able to do that. Again, some more great views from here.

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By now it was getting late, so we headed back to Wengen by taking the gondola back to Grindlewald and then the train from Grindlewald to Zweilutschinen and then to Lauterbrunnen and the cog train to Wengen. We took this route as it was free with our Swiss Travel Pass. If we had gone back to Kleine Scheidegg, there would have been an additional fee. This sounds complicated but it really wasn’t.

We were again exhausted after a long but exhilarating day.

Sounds like you had a wonderful time in the Bernese Oberland! I didn't make it to First, but visited most of the other places you did, so you are bringing back some wonderful moments -- including the paraglide over Staubbach Falls. :yay:

Looks like you had fabulous weather. Enjoying your report and photos.

kja & Melnq8: Thanks for still hanging in there.

Day 26 – Wengen to Jungfraujoch

We woke to another beautiful sunny day and the webcam showed clear sunny skies at the Jungfrau. We had purchased tickets from the TI in Wengen the day before to ensure seats on our desired trains. We took the train from Wengen to Kleine Schidegg where we changed trains to the Jungfraujoch. This trip takes about 1.5 hrs from Wengen and is quite expensive. If the weather is not clear, I don’t think the trip would be worth doing.

At 11,333 ft high, the Jungfraujoch is Europe’s highest train station. We didn’t have any issues with high altitude sickness while here or at any of the other mountain locations we visited. We had read that temperatures can be close to freezing at the Jungfrau but when we arrived, the temperature was reported at 45. It didn’t feel cold to us except in the tunnels walking from the train to the main building. Once we were outside, the sun was warm and we didn’t even need jackets.

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There is an observation deck with stupendous views both north and south. There are a lot of people and some confusing elevators, but we soon found our way to the areas that were of interest to us. There are some cheesy exhibits, including the Ice Palace but most of the enjoyment is outdoors. There is a ‘snow fun’ zone set up on the Aletsch Glacier which offers skiing, snowboarding, sledding, tubing and zip lining. We watched a newly married Japanese couple in their wedding attire slipping and sliding as they were attempting to have their pictures taken on the glacier.

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The snow tubing and sledding looked like fun and something we could handle, so we lined up for our tickets to take in this activity. For 20 CHF, you can take as many runs as you want in an hour. They have an escalator at the bottom of the run for you to pull your tube or sled back up and start all over again. We really had fun doing this.

We were told we’d need between 1.5-3 hrs here so we planned on the full 3 hours, which we needed. On our way out, we stopped at the Lindt Chocolate shop and bought some goodies for friends (and of course ourselves too) and then found our way through the tunnels back to the train station.

We returned to Wengen the same way and got back to our apartment about 3:30. We had time to rest and freshen up before our last dinner at our new favorite restaurant in Wengen, Da Sina. The weather was warm tonight so we were able to sit on the charming patio and enjoy a relaxing meal. We struck up a conversation with our Waitress, who spoke perfect English without any accent and we were curious where she was from. As it turned out, she and the other waitresses here were from Sweden. They spend their summers during school break here. She mentioned that almost 90% of the people that stay in Wengen are English speakers. I was somewhat surprised but not totally as I had noticed English spoken almost everywhere we traveled in this area, a lot of American accents.

As our day came to an end, we reflected on how lucky we were to be able to travel to such beautiful and interesting places.

I love your Swiss photos. Of course, I generally love any photos of Switzerland. I am always happy to see the perfectly rebuilt covered bridge of Lucerne which was totally destroyed by a fire in 1993, even though 79 of the 111 paintings were destroyed. Up until then, it was the oldest covered wooden bridge in Europe.

And of course one always wonders how a bridge in the middle of a lake can be destroyed by a fire. Looks like anything is possible after losing Notre Dame a few months ago.

Bookmarking for later. Thanks for writing!

kerouac: It was very sad to see the blackened paintings from that fire. I read that they no longer allow boats to go under the bridge which is a good thing.

joannyc and Adelaidean: Thanks for still hanging in there and your comments. So glad this is bringing back fond memories for you.
trophywife007: Hope you are able to glean some information that is helpful.