Grindelwald hike & Interlaken cruise

Grindelwald

I repeated my 0700 departure to Lauterbrunnen again this morning, this time changing to Zweilutschinen, where I changed another time for Grindelwald.  I had to be particularly careful at Zweilutschinen as the train splits off to different destinations here.  Altogether the journey to Grindelwald took an hour.

I had to be careful not to get off at the wrong station with a similar name.  The one suffixed with Terminal served the cable car from Mannlichen while I needed the final stop where I had a 15 min walk to the continuous cable car making the 20 min journey up to First.

No one supervised the boarding of the cable cars.  I guess they’re so common here in Switzerland it’s like boarding a bus.

At First, I explored the small complex which joined on to the Tissot Skywalk.  The latter wasn’t anything exciting for me.  There was a mainland Chinese group here even though China still has strong quarantine requirements for people returning to the country.  And there was a couple all dressed up for their wedding photos.

I started my hike to Bachalpsee a little after 0900.  The trail largely went uphill and my bag, full of drinking water, felt heavy.  After 50 mins through easy unsealed trail I reached Bachalpsee, which looked like two inter-connected lakes (or ponds).

Some people were swimming in the water.  With cloud covering the mountains in the distance, there wasn’t a good reflection to be had in the water.

Here I had to make a decision as to whether to continue for another two hours to Bussalp, through tougher terrain.  It felt wise to save myself for the longer hike tomorrow. Not just in terms of the exertion but also being desensitised to the scenery.

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Cruise on Thunersee

With so much of the day left, Boo had suggested that I take a cruise on Lake Thunersee to or from Interlaken.  I descended back down to First around 1130 and grabbed lunch at Grindelwald at midday to eat on the train to Interlaken Ost.

Upon arrival, it was a short ride to Interlaken West where I had to wait about an hour for the cruise starting after 1400.  Toilets at regular train stations typically cost CHF1 so I wandered to use one for free at a mall.  Such facilities are also free at touristy stations eg. cable car or cog railways.

Interlaken, as the name suggests, is between two lakes.  The river Aare joins the two lakes through the town.  It was scorchingly hot so I didn’t wander too far to explore the town.

The cruise began with the boat going backwards for about 15 mins on the river until we reached Thunersee.  There was very little outdoor seating that was in the burning sun but I managed to grab a seat on the side of the boat.  As we made our multi-stops on both sides of the lake, I was sometimes getting too much sun and then some much-needed relief in the shade later.

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After about 1h20, we reached Spiez.  It was a hot walk up to the station where I got on the 1600 train.  I got back to my room around 1730 for another dinner of salad and half a miniature bottle of wine, all sourced from the supermarket.

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This would become my regular dinner in Switzerland (not always with the wind).  Dessert would sometimes be my muesli from Kuching with half a can of fruit salad and yoghurt.

Lauterbrunnen, Brig or Interlaken as a base

Lauterbrunnen is popular as a base for exploring Grindelwald, Mannlichen, Murren, Schilthorn, Gimmelwald etc.  In terms of transport logistics, it is probably the best.

Even though I booked 3 months ago, I had trouble securing suitable accommodation at Lauterbrunnen where I had stayed 30 years ago.  Likewise with Interlake, which would involve a little more travel.

I settled for Wengen in the end because I could get a private room with bathroom at an affordable price.  I had been worried about the logistics but it was very easy.  The trains from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen connect to Wengen within 5 mins on adjacent platforms.

Basically, Wengen is only about 15 mins more travel than to Lauterbrunnen.  One could easily spend that time travelling from Lauterbrunnen to the far end of town.

Wengen is covered by the Swiss Travel Pass but note that travel on the same line beyond Wengen requires extra payment.