Bernese Oberland Day 3

Welcome to my personal diary of the trip to the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland in September 2003

Day 1 .. Travel to Switzerland
Day 2 .. Meiringen to Grindelwald .. the Grosse Scheidegg
Day 3 .. Grindelwald to Mürren .. the Jungfraujoch
Day 4 .. Mürren to Griesalp .. the Sefinenfurgge
Day 5 .. Griesalp to Kandersteg .. the Hohturli
Day 6 .. Kandersteg to Gemmipass .. Leukerbad
Day 7 .. Gemmipass to Engstligenalp .. the Chindbettipass
Day 8 .. Engstligenalp to Lenk .. the Ammertenspitze
Day 9 .. Travel to Zurich
Day 10 .. Travel home

We're in luck! As we shuffle in for the 7am breakfast, the tops are clear, and the prospect of it continuing that way is good. So it's plan 1 .. our only chance of getting high into glacier country without a sacful of ironmongery .. and we're early enough to catch the 0819 train!!

We all leave at 7.30 and troop down the main street to the railway station to buy the megabuck tickets for the highest railway in Europe. It turns out that our Swiss Cards give us a 50% discount on the normal fare, which works out cheaper than the Good-Morning-Ticket for which there's no discount, so we can return from the mountain at any time. And at SFr78.90 (about £36) to return to Lauterbrunnen, it's pretty good value for money. As we buy our individual tickets, the girl at the desk eventually ignores sight of each Swiss Card and just issues a half price ticket .. and Mr and Mrs Logie, who are without Cards because they drove to Meiringen, also receive half price passage. Quelle prime!

The train leaves at exactly 0819 and descends almost 100m first of all to Grindelwald Grund (943m), before starting the steep ascent to Kleine Scheidegg, the saddle between the Männlichen ridge and the Eiger.

Technical note here .. it's a bit like Scotland where often a 'Beinn' Mor is lower in height than a neighbouring 'Beinn' Beag, such as Aonach Mor (1219m) being lower than Aonach Beag (1236m) .. but hill naming was all done by eye in the old days, wasn't it? The Grosse Scheidegg of yesterday is at 1962m, but today's Kleine Scheidegg is at 2061m. Strange. But, yes, I'll get on with it!

The views are spectacular on the ascent, especially of the North Face of the Eiger. And the views of John's face are similar when our friendly conductress asks to see his Swiss Card. 'Must have left it at Grindelwald Station' seems to do the trick.

We change trains at Kleine to a different type, which tunnels through the north face of the Eiger, through the Mönch and finishes below the Sphinx at the Jungfraujoch. The train has modern flat audio-visual screens which compensate for the fact that we're tunnel-bound. The av material is really well done and interesting, and the train stops at 2 stations .. Eigerwand where we can view the north face and Eismeer where we can view the Fieschergletscher through windows in the rock. On arrival, we ignore the commercialism and take the lift straight up to the Sphinx .. and emerge at nearly 12,000ft in brilliant sunshine to view the glacier panorama. Unbeatable!

After many photocalls and a quick look round, the majority decision is to take the glacier walk to the Mönchsjochhütte .. no mean feat involving 2km and 130m ascent to 3650m after no acclimatisation! After all, it is the highest restaurant in the Swiss Alps .. and the Swiss Alps have 9 out of the Top 10 highest mountains in Europe, beaten only by Mont Blanc. But more of that later! Liz and John decide to remain and view the tourist attractions at the Jungfraujoch.

After a high and hearty meal, the return to the Sphinx is slightly less taxing .. and everyone agrees to do their own thing before meeting for the 1330 train down. The descent is much quicker with no stops in the tunnel, and one or two heads were nodding before their re-introduction to the sunshine at Eigergletscher, where we had to await the passing of the upward train for some time.

The timed connection at Kleine for Lauterbrunnen was brief, and initial thoughts of an afternoon climb up to the Lauberhorn were dispelled when a sprinkling of rain made the decision for us. Aye .. we've had the best of the day!?

On this descent, our friendly conductor turned out to be an ex-pat Englishman, and brooked no Logie language excuse for the non-production of a Swiss Card. The headlines in tomorrow's Alpine Echo suddenly became apparent .. "SWISS CARD SCAM SCUPPERED!" As the train pulled into its first stop at Wengen (1275m), the culprit was removed and marched to the ticket office, where the matter was resolved to everyone's satisfaction.

In the valley at Lauterbrunnen (795m), although the sun is back out, the prospect of a steep 700m ascent to Grütschalp at 1486m on the other side of the valley is quite daunting .. and everyone opts for a trip on the funicular. At SFr3.90 (about £1.80) with Swiss Card, this is a real bargain not to be missed .. and the baggage handling system is an engineering miracle. This left us with a pleasant 4km walk to our next overnight in Mürren. The sun shone brightly, and the classic view of the Big Three (as above) and the Männlichen ridge slid slowly past us as the new prospects down the Lauterbrunnental came into sight.

The Eiger Guesthouse was very comfortable and run by a Scot and his family! A few visited the local swimming pool before dinner, and the evening meal was excellent .. and tonight was to be the last night for some time that we could enjoy a post-dinner drink at the outside tables!