Europe on a shoestring - Day 3 (Jungfrau Region) [September 26, 2005]

Up at 05:00 (my turn to get up first my decision of time - but the time not to my liking ). We were all ready at 06:30. Caught the Lauterbrunnen - Wilderswil train at 07:11

Went on a rushed shopping spree of bread, cheese, salami, chocolates, croissants and coffee to take on our hike at the local supermarket.

The Wilderswil - Schynige Platte cogwheel

Took the cogwheel train up to Schynige Platte. Seems that we were the only tourists and apart from some railroad workers the train was pretty empty. We had been forewarned about bad weather and had taken wet weather gear along. I guess on hindsight it may have been forecasts of bad weather, possible trail damage and the early hour that no one was there on the train.
It was an old classic carriage that wound its way up slowly at inclination of around 30°. We reached our destination at 08:42. It was an amazing journey especially as the various peaks came into view.

Arriving at Schynige Platte

Using Samir'’s trusty compass and a map we were able to figure out which peak was which. From this elevation even the twin lakes of Thunersee and Brienzsee were are pretty sight,– both dark bluish green in color.
At Schynige Platte without much ado we began our hike,– the only people to do so - there was no one around. It had a dual distinction in the guidebook, that of -the classic Alpine hike… and the longest one too at 06:10 hours in duration. It'’s a classic Joe thing, just go for the bigger hikes from the word go -– stupid or not I do not know, however we were there -– and the only direction to go was forward. In retrospect maybe I was the least capable of the three of us to physically do it,– but again, I guess I had to prove a point to myself.

With Thunerese in the background

The views along the trek were absolutely spectacular! No other words or pictures could do justice to the visuals before our eyes. We moved through dense cloud cover, through effects of ice-erosion (yes we saw the ice itself), kept climbing till we were above the tree line and along the ridge.

Our first halt (1:30 hrs into our 6:00 hr trek)

Stops were only for photographs, food (and yes Toblerone is definitely food!) and brief periods of rest. At one point early in the hike cows accosted us (bells around their neck) blocking the path.

Ooops... Cow obstruction up ahead - and the bull ain't to happy either

Not sure about the disposition of the Alpine creature -– and definitely not wanting to irritate the bulls we had to cross them one by one. All this while we were all by ourselves,– no one to spoil the views - – just felt that we had the mountains all to ourselves.

The cows seemed to have the maximum 'patience' in this negotiation process... moving on only when they had their fill at that particular spot

The cows took about half an hour to cross as we '‘negotiated'’ our way through the herd.

The terrain changed as we climbed higher - becoming more austere... brilliant!!!!

The clouds which had been over the horizon now enveloped us - making the progress a bit slower. It was one of the factors which I had gambled with - the weather. This also explained the fact that in the whole hike we may have encountered only 20 odd people - that too in the latter 3 hours of the trek. It had been raining - and I began to wonder if the risk was going to be worth it.

We could certainly do with some better visibility here...

After a steep climb we stopped for a second time for some 'pet pooja' in the form of cheese and chocolate. It's amazing what that stuff can do for you. More importantly the brief stops gave our legs some much needed respite.

Our second stop after Wattenhutte

Along the way we used the help of well designed markers to help us keep our pace. This turned out to be important given that the onward connections were dependent on finishing the trek in 7:00 hrs (including time for lunch etc.) else we would have to undertaken another 2:50 downhill climb towards Grindenwald.

Marking our progress

After a few hours of walking to mist and fog and crossing a lone carpenter at Wattenhutte we came in sight of our final destination – Mt. Faulhorn at 2686m at 14:00.

When they say this ascent is steep - the damn well mean it!!

There is a simple bread and breakfast up there -– it is the oldest mountain hotel in Europe, with food being bought by helicopter (its THAT remote) and Mt. Faulhorn has the distinction of the longest sled runs -– at 15kms each.
By then we had thought about it and decided that each country we visit should have a particular objective, in the case of Switzerland -– it would be the '‘Search for Heidi'’ 
We found her here, in the most unlikely of all places, in the form of a simple, cherubic, smiling alpine lass Sarnaya. We had met our objective -– we had found our '‘Heidi'’. Between '‘bitte'’ and '‘dankeschon'’ we had a meal along with some of the restaurant stuff since we were absolutely famished. The meal she provided us was chick pea soup -– which well… tasted quite like dal.

Chickpea soup for the soul.... any warm food tastes soooo good after 4 hours of non-stop climbing

After that it was downhill all the way (btw downhill is as painful for the legs as uphill – and doubly more dangerous, if anyone is doing it on a regular basis I sincerely suggest the walking poles – very useful for balance in hamstringumstances).
So with the aching hamstrings giving way to the now aching quads we moved along passing the serene Alpine lake of Bachalpsee on our way to First.

Lake Bachalpsee (and yes - this definitely was not taken that day!)

Walking down towards our destination was done in record time - giving us a few moments to reflect on the events of the day - and share thoughts about the trek. When you are sitting high up on a mountain - philosophical thoughts seem to come naturally... wonder why??

Three very exhausted people after a long hike

At First we took at cable car to Grindenwald. This was another of our planned activities since I wanted to try out all the different combinations of travel while in Switzerland. That obviously included a cable car - and this 20 minute voyage was just what we needed. Amazing 360 degree panoramic view of the mountains and the valleys below while being safely cocooned within a small boxcar.

From First to Grindenwald

It'’s a very pretty town at the base of the mountains but felt too over-commercialized and crass for my taste (car parks, dance-clubs and shopping centers abound -– not exactly the quintessential Switzerland of my dream).
Due to the recent floods the train service was no longer available from Grindenwald to Interlaken so it was again up to the trusty bus service to get us through. Along the way we saw the destruction wrecked by the floods (bridges blown away, trees uprooted, silt everywhere,– and cleanup operations in full swing). Later on I got to know that apart from a lack of electricity for 3 days.– Lauterbrunnen, thankfully escaped the damage caused by the rains.
On our way home from the station we saw large number of sheep being led by the shepherds down from the mountain pastures towards the winter stables in the valley.

Guess this was a touristy thing to do... but what they heck!!!

In the evening we had a poor mans dinner of cheese, bread and salami purchased from the Co-op, again washing it down with wine,– which became quite a tradition during our stay in Europe. Helped digest the food, and along with a warm bath was the best elixir in ensuring a good, and immediate sleep. The low cost (max of 2Euro for a 1.5l bottle) also helped I guess.
Anil'’s dad called up that night I guess he was concerned what Anil was up-to :-)… felt a little odd, thankfully my folks have enough faith in me to leave me alone when I am on vacation - I guess for them no news is good news. Maybe different people are just different. Not saying that I didn'’t email them occasionally -–but call them, certainly NOT.
Since Anil was busy, Samir and I took the opportunity to walk through the village (its 15minutes walk) to see the Staubbach falls at the end of the village. It is lit up at night, which makes it a pretty sight.
Finally - more as an afterthought if any - enclosing what I could consider - 'one picture describing 1000 words - the Panaroma by Samir Ginde'