Tuesday 3rd September : Weather:18°C in Meiringen to 13°C in First to 22°C in Grindelwald: Overcast, no rain
Meiringen to Grindelwald: 10.2k walk from Schwarzenalp to First
Ascent and Descent: Ascent 000m, Descent 000m,
Time: 9am Bus to Schwarzwaldalp, 10am to 1pm 10.2k Walk to First: 2.30pm to 3pm Cable Car to Grindelwald
Accommodation: First Lodge Dorfstrass Grindelwald
Alp views to Gross Scheidegg
Looking back to Meiringen
The Eiger overhanging Grindelwald
Lunch at First with Eiger
Lunch view back to Gross Scheidegg
Cliff Face Walk at First, Eiger view
Highlight today was walking a variation of the Via Alpini from Grosse Scheidegg to the mountain cable car station called First on the Hohenweg 2400 across meadows and past alpine huts with a wonderful backdrop of the Eiger.
Our room is very quiet but it’s a warm night at 18°C. Ian pulls the doona out of it’s cover. We’re awake at 5.30am again for a cup of tea. We’ve made a slight change of plan after discovering a new route. We had planned to catch a bus from Meiringen to Zwirgi then walk to Grosse Scheidegg and get another bus down to Grindelwald. But late last night i read about a wonderful balcony walk from Grosse Scheidegg across meadows to the cable station at First. So our new plan is to get the bus from Meiringen all the way to Schwarzwaldalp, then walk up to Grosse Scheidegg and across the First, then get the cable car down to Grindelwald.
We have breakfast in our room of meusli and yoghurt then shower and pack and leave at 8am to walk to the raiway station where we get Bus 164 at 8.20am at a cost of 23 CHF each. It winds up a narrow one way road, the driver tooting a loud horner as the bus approaches a sharp corner, so that cars can pull over into a passing space. It’s a pretty road up the steep valley and at 9am we’re at Schwarzwaldalp, the last bus stop. It’s the same place we caught the bus down from in 2015.
We start walking in the cool air upwards towards Grosse Scheidegg along a mountain track through the forests, eventually after almost two hours arriving at Grosse Scheidegg with just a small cafe perched on top. Even though it’s a bit overcast, the views on both sides are magnificent back to Meiringen and over to Grindelwald, with the Eiger dominating the alps in the background. We can also see the high level track crossing meadows to the cable station at First.
It’s 11am and time for a coffee, with a banana and yesterdays bread. It’s a chilly 13°C, but we’re sitting behind an old farm shed in teh sun out of the slight breeze so we’re warm enough. At 11.30am we follow the signs to First, a 1hr 40 min balcony walk. The track is easy going with just slight ups and downs, so it’s possible to enjoy the surroundings without tripping over rocks and boulders. The Eiger is in full view above Klein Scheidegg, another mountain pass we’ll cross tomorrow. There’s lots of hikers on teh track and thankfully the mountain bikers have their own separate track a bit lower down.
At 12.30, we’re at First, with hundreds of tourists drawn to First by the manufactured activities - the Cliff walk on a narrow overhanging steel footpath, the zip line whisking daredevils down the valley and 100 mph in nothing more than a chair hanging from a steel cable, the trot bikes which are just large scooters, and the three wheeled buggies for racing down yet another purpose built track. The area is flooded with mostly Asian tourists from China and India.
We watch the goings-on from a bench seat with magnificent views all round while having lunch of bread cheese, tomato and ham. It’s after 2pm when we leave, the tickets to the cable car costing 34 CHF each. Transport costs in Switzerland are very expensive. We reach the bottom at 2.45pm and it’s only a 50 metre walk to our accommodation First Lodge. I wasn’t aware at the time I booked, why it was called First Lodge, but now I know it's because it’s near the First Bahn cable station to First. We certainly weren’t aware of this tourist attraction last time.
Our room 7 has twin beds and a private shower and theer is use of a small dining area downstairs for picnicers - like us! After a few hours of blogging and admiring the photos of today, we walk down to the VOI supermarket, a partner of Migros, just 200 metres down the road. Grindelwald is a bit like Chamonix, a ski resort buzzing with hikers in summer. We return in drizzly rain with fresh bread, ham, one tomato and two beers and after picking up the rest of the food from our room (cheese and butter and dinner plates), trot down to the dining room with a view of a pear tree through the double glazed window.
Ian watches the US Open highlights while I shower, then bed at 8.30pm.